When I first started film photography, I spent hours researching the best film stocks and watching tutorials that promised professional shots if only you bought this £24 film stock. In the end, I chose a classic: Ilford HP5 Plus, one of the most highly recommended films for beginners. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with it.

I really enjoyed using this film because it’s affordable, allowing me to snap as many photos as I wanted without reserving it for dedicated projects. I loaded it on one of the hottest days of the year, providing plenty of light. I discovered two things:

1. When I had a shallow depth of field, it looked like I had overlaid a piece of frosted glass on the background.

2. The blog posts don’t lie when they say it’s versatile. I shot the beach in Brighton, inside a pizza oven, a medieval carnival, and portraits of my family.

One of the attributes I look for in a film is grain. I am not sure why it is so aesthetically pleasing to me, but it is, and this film has delivered.

At school, we are set up for black-and-white film enlargement from negatives, so I could give it a shot with this film. However, just in case, I always send my films to ‘AG Photographic.’ They provide digital scans and send the negatives back via post in less than a week. Here’s the link if you want to check them out

This is a film I would strongly recommend to anyone, from professional to amateur, or even someone who hasn’t held a film camera before. You just can’t go wrong! Here is a link to the product