Why I Love Shooting Large Format Photography | 5 Reasons You Should Try It Too

In this video, I share with you my passion for large format photography and why I think it’s the best way to capture the beauty of the world. Large format photography is not only a technical challenge, but also a creative and rewarding experience. You will learn about the advantages of shooting with a large format camera, such as the incredible image quality, the control over perspective and depth of field, and the satisfaction of creating something unique and tangible. You will also see some examples of my large format photos and how they differ from digital or smaller formats. If you are curious about large format photography and want to give it a try, this video is for you. I hope you enjoy it and feel inspired to explore this amazing medium.
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A leap back into photography after a few years out, this time with a difference
Before I lost my passion it was all about the mega pixels and sensor size, and I became all consumed with getting "the shot", instead of enjoying the location, the walk, the company, this time however its different, its about the adventure and going back to the beginning, relearning film in 35mm, 120mm medium format and 4x5 large format.
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[@philipdahl9001]

Great video! Lots of good information. I started shooting 4x5 about four years ago and really fell in love with it. I should started fifty years ago but I was always kind of intimidated by large format for some inexplicable reason. 😁

[@andyemmett9930]

I’m feel the same to be honest, I used to admire a Lake District landscape photographer who always shot with one, but always thought it was to technical so stayed away…. Really wish I hadn’t and just got involved, it’s nowhere near as scary as it looks 😁

[@motorvelo]

f11. You could have used the front movement to drop the focus from the foreground to infinity.

[@monkeysausageclub]

Valid point regarding the amount if pictures people make. Just because you can make lots of pictures doesn't mean you should. I'm still contemplating embarking on 4x5, I made a start when I made a 4x5 pin hole. So I have the holders and the kit to develop just no camera or lens 😁

[@LonelyTreePhotos]

Another great one! Look forward to hearing your opinion of FPP Mummy! Your shots looked great; it's no Ilford, but at half the price (at least here in the US!), it's great for just getting out and exposing sheets

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks LonelyTreePhotos, I’ve just finished shooting it at Glastonbury Festival, managed to get 10 portraits with it and I have to say I’m really impressed with the film’s quality, nice negative with loads of retained detail, can definitely recommend it as a great cheap film stock 👍 going to do a video soon when I’ve finished my box

[@andyvan5692]

one thing, with asa 400 don't you need an ND filter?- to kill the glare off the water, and as it is technically a 'high key' scene.

[@JPjaRisti]

Great video! :)

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks 👍😁

[@GreggObst]

Considering the inability to shoot fast-moving subjects as a negative for 4x5 is like considering the inability to eat soup with a fork as a negative. It comes down to common sense when you are choosing your tools. Other than that, excellent points.

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks Gregg, love the folk and spoon analogy 👍😂 but definitely agree with your comment 👍

[@ddolde]

Been there done that

[@jonberube2489]

Hi, I've been binging your videos and was inspired to dip my toes into large format photography. I finally got my Intrepid 4x5 camera, the DAYI 6x17 back (My local lab only does 35mm/120 film, not sheet film) and two lens Fuji 90mm and Fuji 150mm. I was hoping you might be able to help troubleshoot/confirm an issue I'm having. With the 90mm lens I have the front standard mounted as close as possible to the rear and even when I turn the focus knob all the way back I don't have infinity focus on the DAYI 6x17 viewfinder. If I handhold the front standard and manually "focus" I can achieve infinity focus if I practically have the bellows completely collapsed. To hopefully remedy this situation I've ordered a recessed film board from Intrepid because I don't see how I can get the front standard any further back. Do you have any similar experience with this scenario to confirm if this is the correct/best course of action? The 150mm lens visually looks great on the ground glass and doesn't need as much bellow collapse as the 90mm. I'm hoping to get out in the real world and take some shots soon! Cheers from Florida, thank you!

[@andyemmett9930]

HI Jon, welcome to the world of LF full of highs and lows 😂 someone else asked me this the other week, so it’s a bit of a copy and paste answer which I hope is ok. Intrepid used to have some useful info on there website about it, but especially everything lens wise moves back a hole on the base plate meaning that the effective lens range of 150mm to 300mm although I just about get away with my 135mm lens but infinite focus can sometimes be difficult. a recessed lens board would be easier with my lens but I will probably just get a 150mm lens at some point. Basically everything wider than 150mm won’t work with the 6x17 back, it’s one of the drawbacks of using the 6x17 back on a 4x5 camera instead of a dedicated 6x17 camera such as a Shen Hao. Having said all of that, I’ve never been in a situation whereby I wanted a wider field of view while using my 6x17 back I’ve not tried my 90mm with a recessed lens board, you may encounter issues with the lens image circle being so close to the film, but I would be interested to know how you get on 👍 hope that helps let me know how you get on

[@miketramble1442]

I love seeing all you guys use 4x5s. My biggest worry would be what lens to buy and how to get it developed and converted to digital. What would be best for shots in woodlands? Does the quality suffer when its scanned?

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks Mike, it’s very addictive once you start and it’s a different thought process and such a nice pace to work at. With lenses, I would start with 150mm or 135mm which are 50mm and 40mm at 35mm lens equivalent check out Alex Burke for some great info on that www.alexburkephoto.com/blog/2020/5/31/4x5-lenses-choosing-the-best-focal-length If you shot digital or even film of a smaller format (35mm or 120mm) look at what focal length you normally shoot at and look to start there, if you are shopping for one try eBay and go with lenses rated at Mint or N Mint and read the description, avoid lenses with Fungus, Large dust, Haze/Fog, balsam or Scratches and that obvious don’t work, small dust that does not effect the shooting is fine. It’s best to start with a lens that has no issues so it doesn’t affect your first 4x5 experience. In terms of developing and scanning… with developing, if you don’t do your own, first I would recommend giving it a go to anyone that has the space for it, as it’s such a great experience to see your negative through from taking the shot to developing and scanning, but if not no worries, most film labs will develop it for you, even though most will send it off to be developed which takes slightly longer than developing 35mm or 120mm due to postage, but it’s easy to find places that will take care of it for you. With scanning, there are a few ways and I will start with the best in my view.. Drum scanning - this is done by a lab and gives the best results, but to be honest I only do it for clients that want a very large print as the other options below will give you great results, certainly give you resolution that you could print an image large enough to wall paper your front room with (I.e large with amazing detail) Digital camera - most favoured option at the moment or seems to be by most people mainly due I would guess to the fact that most people already have a digital camera, this option really is down to the digital camera and sensor, but even a digital camera with less megapixels could give you a large image just by taking more shots of your negative and using Lightroom or PS to stitch them together, you just need Negative Lab Pro which is a Lightroom plug which converts your images for you, although again Alex has a great section on his website about manually converting negatives…. Oh and you will need a macro lens and a light board for your negative to lay on, lots of options about which range in price. Flatbed scanner - you can dry or wet mount scan with these, dry scanning give’s slightly less detail compared to wet scanning, however, I only really do dry scanning and I can print massive sizes with amazing detail from that method, however just be aware that not all flatbed scanners will scan 4x5 so I would recommend looking at the Epson 700, 750, 800 or 850 and get Silverfast AI which normal comes with the scanner, this software will deal with all of the scanning and negative conversions for you so no need for Negative Lab Pro, but it’s best feature by far is the IR scanning which gets rid of 90% of dust and scratches saving you hours in Lightroom using clone stamp. Of course you could also just ask your developing lab to scan the images for you also Sorry that was I long reply, I hope that all makes sense.

[@miketramble1442]

@andyemmett9930 thank you so much for all of that information. I think the Epson scanner would work great for me as would a choice of 2 lenses. One around 35 mm and one around 50 mm digital. I'm glad you explained about the mint too so I could get started on the right foot. The detail in the photos are what excites me the most so I want to get a good lens to start with. Thank you very much! Love the videos!

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks Mike, no problem. Epsons are great scanners you won’t go wrong 👍 Should also say that I would advise starting with a cheaper B&W film, I’ve actually been trying Mummy 400 and have found it to be cheap with an excellent result. I have great subscribers on my channel with amazing knowledge so please feel free to ask any questions

[@michaelsherck5099]

You called it "four by five." OMG, America is taking over the world! 😂 Good video. You covered the salient points very well, I think, especially since you use the white side of the dark slide to indicate "exposed" as I do. It isn't our fault everyone else does it wrong! 😂

[@andyemmett9930]

😂😂😂 thanks Michael, it’s watching to much Nick Carver that’s done it 😂 Great minds and all that 😂 it just makes sense 😂

[@allanhugh2044]

@@andyemmett9930 To be honest, the format is almost always expressed according to the way it has been exposed. In this clip there were 4 sheets exposed as 4x5" with the last one exposed as 5x4". This may sound silly, but if you are compiling many images of sometimes questionable orientation, then in 4x5" format the film notches are in the right upper corner for correct viewing, and for 5x4" format the film notches are in the upper left corner when viewed correctly. Quite an interesting lesson on what the Intrepid can utilise optic wise and what it can't. I didn't realise the Intrepid couldn't take anything wider than a 90mm, which in the main is reasonable restriction considering what the camera costs, nonetheless the ability to use wider optics can be very handy for architectural and sweeping panoramic imagery. I wonder if using an orange filter for the lighthouse image could have popped the contrast just enough to give it an impact edge?

[@andyvan5692]

at 13:49 you forgot one other benefit of 4x5" cameras, that when you buy the camera body, you are getting a t\s lens for free (as you can use ANY lens for t\s affects), as it's built in to the body, NOT the lens!, so you aren't stuck with an expensive tilt lens that you don't like the perspective of, you can change perspectives, but keep the tilt effect capability.

[@motorvelo]

By the way it five/four and ten/eight.

[@eltinjones4542]

Fair play to you, I love watching you guys but I put film behind me many years ago and don't plan to return Far too much hassle at my age 📷👍

[@andyemmett9930]

Thanks Eltin, think that myself sometimes 🤭 I was actually thinking about doing a digital video soon obviously to be put out there on a Wednesday, it’s nice sometime just to shoot digital

[@lensman5762]

Up to 6X9 cm the backs are sold at a reasonable price, about £150.00 mark. For some reason, once you go up to 6X12 and 6X 17 , than you are talking about £500.00+. It doesn't make sense , but that is how it is, sadly.

[@andyemmett9930]

I’m really tempted by a 6x9 back, like you say, really not sure why they jump up so much, same goes for the cameras also, frightening how much a Fuji G617 is

[@stevef2114]

the first shot is quite nice...not sure about the others.. no idea of your previsualization and why you wanted to take the shot. what is the image saying... what are the relationships of the subjects, texture etc... you said nothing on this. Also... you mention exposure triangle at the end, but in the first shot, you changed the aperture of f11 to f16 with faster speed film.. not sure why.. your focusing at infinity for that photo, dof you said at the beginning you wanted the scene to render soft with the mist and fade away? for the wind.. a faster shutter speed would of been taken care of with film choice.. why you stop down for??!

[@motorvelo]

Learn to use you dark slides correctly. White side out, unexposed, black side out, exposed. Everybody follows that convention that way you could hand your dark slide to anybody and they would know the state of the film.