Color Film Developing: How to Start & Supplies List
Developing your own rolls of color film can save you a lot of money over time!
If you're shooting more than 1 to 2 rolls of film a month, or you're trying to get more control over the artistic process of your film, learning to develop your own film is a rewarding and creative experience.
One of my first times developing film. Not the cleanest, but still cool. I’ve perfected my technique since.
I first started teaching myself to develop film during the 2020 lockdown. I remember sitting in my childhood bedroom, feeling a lifetime away from college and all the experiences and friends I had there just a few months prior. And I was sitting on a pile of film I had shot those few months ago and wondering how the images would turn out.
So, I go online and start googling ‘how to develop color film’, and to my surprise, almost every tutorial was by a man.
I browsed a couple YouTube videos that got me some of the way into what I wanted to learn, but for a lot of specific questions I had, I found myself browsing strange forums online where nearly every comment was by a middle-aged guy.
Now, I don’t care who it is I am learning from as long as they’re helpful, but there was something about scouring these forums for answers and not seeing any responses from women that felt discouraging. I was trying to get into this field, but there wasn’t anyone like me that I saw participating in it. I am also a very visual learner and like to have my information laid out in a clear, concise, and easy to read way, and these halfway explained videos and long forum threads were becoming frustrating.
In fact, I had read that metal film developing tanks (or dev tanks) are ‘wayyyy’ better than the common plastic ones we see used. In terms of chemistry and heat retention, they arguably are, but when I tell you I wasted so much time trying to wind a roll into one of those things in a darkroom bag, ruining perfectly decent film in the process, I learned that some of these guys maybe didn’t have the best advice for your young, broke, college student looking to save time and money. I wasn’t looking to achieve the decades old art of the same-day film labs of Walgreens in the 90s, I wanted an easy, modern, no-bullsh*t, cheap way to get my film into a light safe negative.
After a lot of trial and error, this is the exact process I use that I think is the easiest and cheapest way to develop your color film rolls at home. Developing will be messy(!), so use a bathtub or kitchen sink.
Supplies:
All of these can be found here as well!
Developing tank ( I recommend the Paterson Universal Tank)
Cinestill’s 2-bath developer process film chemicals
Darkroom bag
Bucket
2 black 1L bottles with caps
Thermometer you can dip into liquids
Funnel
Gloves
Film clips (to hang negatives from to dry, like clothing pins but stronger)
Distilled water (trust me on this, it’s a crucial step)
Timer (I just use my iPhone)
All of these supplies are the barebones necessary to develop film! I recommend the Cinestill 2-bath developer above because it works, it’s cheap, and it’s easy. Other chemicals can sometimes take upwards of 4 different solutions, but this is only two with a distilled water rinse (always a good idea)!
This develop comes in a two powder kit that can be slightly intimidating to mix into developer solution for any first-timer, but if I can pretend to be a woman in STEM, so can you.
I’ve created the video below to show you how to mix this developer into the liquid solution you need to start developing.
After performing some basic chemistry (carefully), you should have all the necessary ingredients to give your film rolls a good bath to make them into negatives.
A thing to note about these developer chemicals: they last for about 3 months or process 24 rolls, whichever you hit first. If you store your bottled chemicals well in a cool, dark place you may be able to make them last longer.
When you are done with them, do NOT just pour the chemicals down the drain. Look up your local hazardous waste drop off area or collection times and bring them there in scrap bottles or jars.
So, here’s my last piece of info. I’m going to copy and paste my list I follow when developing below. If you’re interested in a longer, detailed video on this process, let me know.
Color Film Developing (_/24 times used)
Load film into tank via darkroom bag. (If you’re interested in a longer post or video on this, let me know!)
Heat developer bottle to 102-105 degrees by placing sealed bottle in hot water in a bucket.
Heat fixer to the same or room temperature. (It doesn’t really matter, but I usually heat it in the bucket with the developer just to keep it warm)
Optional: Use warm/hot water in bucket to pour into the film dev tank to prep film for the temperature. This step is completely optional but some recommend it.
Once developer is heated, pour into light sealed film dev tank. Set timer for 3.5 minutes.
Agitate for 15-30 seconds first, than for 5 seconds of agitation every 30 seconds. (If you want a longer post on film agitation or a video tutorial, let me know.)
Once 3.5 minutes pass, pour developer back into the developer bottle.
Pour the fixer into the light sealed film dev tank. Set timer for 8 minutes.
Agitate for 15-30 seconds, then every 30 seconds.
Once 8 minutes pass, pour fixer back into the fixer bottle.
The film is no longer light sensitive at this point! Rinse your tank out completely with room temperature water from the tap. Do this until the water runs clear or for about 5 minutes.
Pour in distilled water for a final rinse. agitate for a few minutes, then pour out.
Unspool your film and hang to dry in a bathroom with the film clips (preferably, as it is the room with the least dust and direct light).
Wait until water droplets are completely gone and the film is completely dry. Usually around 2-3 hours. Then cut and scan.
If you have any questions, shoot me a message!
SHOOT MORE FILM!
-Hayley
