Accidental or experimental? Light leaks are something that most film photographers encounter at some point in their film photography journey, but what even are they?!
Elliot Masters, our brand ambassador and very talented photographer and illustrator delves deep into light leaks, giving you a practical guide on what they are, examples, and how the less conventional shooting trick, can actually look pretty cool in an intentional way!
What’s the deal with Light Leaks?
So, you’ve just got a fresh roll developed by the wonderful team at filmprocessing.co.uk and you might encounter this scenario:
A bunch of bright streaks across your photos popping up in random places.
‘What on earth are those?’ you might ask.
Well, they are one of the things that I think makes film photography special: they are light leaks.
Light leaks are where your film is exposed to extra light other than from the shutter opening on your camera. The light can come from a few different sources but we’ll get to that further down.
Light leaks can be subtle or a very dominating element of your image.
Below are a couple of examples where the light leaks dominate the photo:
Here’s some examples of more subtle light leaks:
How do I get these light leaks?
Now, you might be thinking, ‘Hey, I haven’t got any righteous light leak action on my photos. How do I get them?’.
Well, there’s a few ways, but with any of these methods there is very little control on how and where they occur in your frame.
- The main way I’ve got light leaks is to shoot with film stocks that during the manufacturing process have been ‘re-spooled’. Examples of this would be the Candido series, Cinestill or Washi film. For film stocks like Candido and Cinestill they started off as cinema film stock and the process of re-spooling the film and removing the remjet layer of the emulsion makes them, in my experience, more susceptible to light leaks, especially if you load them into your camera in sunlight- see examples below. NB: Removing the remjet layer also causes halation which gives that glowing element around light sources.
I swear that the good people at Candido know exactly where to put these light leaks as they always occur in the most welcome places.
- Use cameras with worn out light seals.
The foam light seals that keep light out of your film camera where there is a join in the design can perish over time. When they become worn they can let light in to the camera exposing your film to light and then voilà, light leaks!
However, if the light seals are completely gone you could end up letting too much light in and destroying your film to overexposure.
- Use plastic cameras without foam light seals
Cameras that embrace the creative imperfections of film photography, such as the Lomography Diana F, don’t have foam light seals and are held together by interconnecting plastic sections. These plastic sections aren’t always the tightest and their inability to keep light out can be great if you’re hoping for some light leak action.
- Don’t let a box tell you what to do.
On some film packaging, there’s a message advising you to load your film out of direct sunlight. If you ignore this it can sometimes contribute to light leaks and also lead to ‘light piping’. Light piping is where the light gets through the felt film leader part of the canister, causing a strip of light to leak through. A risky approach but it can pay off for some creative looks.
- Slightly open the back of your camera whilst shooting.
The most extreme method. I haven’t done this on purpose but other, braver, photographers will ever so slightly open the back of their camera letting in light to the back of the film. However, this can lead to losing photos due to extreme overexposure or fogging.
For me, it’s way too risky but if you’ve got cash to burn and don’t mind potentially ruining a whole roll this is one method to try.
Here’s a couple of shots from removing a jammed roll that wouldn’t rewind out of my camera, in a dark bag that I realised wasn’t light-tight until after it was removed…
How do I avoid these light leaks?
You’ve seen the examples and decided that light leaks aren’t for you- fair enough and you’re now deep into the blog and want something for your time. Here’s how to keep your photos light leak free:
- Get your camera serviced. A good camera service will check your light seals are intact and if not, replace them.
- Do as the box tells you to. Load your film somewhere dim inside and out of direct sunlight.
- Use film stocks that haven’t been re-spooled as part of the manufacturing process. It’s not a guarantee that you won’t get any light leaks but is far less likely- think your Kodaks, Ilfords etc…
- If shooting 120 film, avoid ‘fat rolls’ which cause edge light leaks, by keeping the film wound tight with one hand whilst sticking down the adhesive strip with the other.
I’ve seen those ‘first of the roll photos’ are they light leaks?
These are less of a light leak and more a light blast. They occur when the first part of your film roll has been overexposed to light when loading the film into your camera. Also known as ‘film burn’ because they look like you have torched a section of your negative. This is due to the light hitting the felt part of the canister.
Personally, I love first of the roll photos and I get very excited when I have one that really works with the subject I’ve shot. You won’t achieve these with a camera that has an automatic film winding system so you’ll need to use a camera with a manual film advance.
Conclusion
Light leaks, for me at least, are glorious, unpredictable, frustrating and fun. Yes, you could edit light leaks into your photos but for me that defeats the point.
With film, the element of the risk is what makes it exciting, light leaks add an extra layer to that. These random, spontaneous flashes of exposure to your film can give photos an extra element of visual flare (pun intended) but can also run the risk of destroying an image.
This is what makes film a special medium, having that element of the unknown to surprise you.
Let us know what you think in the comments – are you team light leak, or is it something you avoid at all costs?!