Selfportraits on film (Patreon)

While going through the behind-the-scenes from this shoot, I realized it lasted 45 minutes.

So yes - 45 minutes of me shooting self-portraits on medium format film)

Guess how many rolls I managed to shoot in that time?

Spoiler: not many. Just two.

How many frames is that? 22.

How many of them are more or less usable? 12.

In the moment, I was happy I managed to shoot two rolls. When I got the scans, I was happy I had at least 12 frames — because shooting self-portraits on film is always a bit of a lottery. But when I realized how much time it actually took… yeah. That’s when it hit. 45 minutes of my life for 12 frames. This is what film does — it grounds you. Slows you down. Forces you to accept reality. My only regret is that I didn’t push myself to shoot a third roll.

After this experience, I can clearly see that three rolls is the minimum if you want enough variety to choose from. Otherwise, it just feels… empty.

In 45 minutes, some people shoot a whole campaign. I got 12 frames — and a very clear lesson. Film keeps me humble.