FILM! WHY U SUCH A BITCH!

The great thing about digital photography is that learning settings is pretty easy. Find a target and fire away until you get everything just right. The results are instant. You don't have to worry about wasting a shot. If the end result sucks like a mother is unsavory, simply delete it and move on. Now film is a delicate creature. There is no guess and check. Once your shot is taken, that is it. You have 24 shots on that roll and by god you had better get at least one right. Of course, this is where we run into another obvious issue. The fact that you do not get to see the product of your toil until the film is developed. But fortunately for us all, there is a solution. Though the solution to the problem does take some effort, it is well worth it. You will need to manually record all of the settings with each shot. There are plenty of log books you can purchase, like this one here. Of course you can make your own pretty easy too. Fortunately for you all, I have done some of the work for you. Simply download the "film exif" on this page. Open the file with Microsoft word and print out a few copies. I would suggest putting them into a binder so as not to loose them. By recording information, you will be able to compare your results to your methods at a later date. If something works, keep doing it. If something doesn't then change it. 

At first many rolls of film will come back lacking a good shot. But as you learn what settings are needed in different situations; more and more rolls will come back with great shots. This is how I started. While frustrating, the experience was invaluable. After moving into the world of digital photography the knowledge implanted into my brain from the film experience allows great shots to be taken on the first try, rather than the tenth.