Kodak Ektar 100

This was my first time ever shooting the film stock -- Kodak Ektar 100, and it did not disappoint! I have the entire roll posted below and in my opinion, every photos is a hit. For those of you getting into film photography, I find that everyone raves about the classic film stock -- Kodak Portra 400; however, I find that Kodak Ektar 100 is every bit as good, if not better than Portra 400. One other thing of note, Ektar is about $5 cheaper than Portra 400 for a box of 5 rolls. Considering film is so expensive, when possible, save a dollar here and there if you can!

Where this film stock shines: Portraiture & Landscapes.

I mainly photograph portraits, so, as you can see, the majority of my photos on this roll are portraits. I find that this film stock absolutely shined when shooting portraits. The colors rendered are crisp, clear & saturated. I think for this roll, Ektar was perfect, because I ended up photographing many people with different colors on them or around them, so the vibrancy of this film stock added to the scene for every photo. Admittedly, this was unintentional, but, I was very lucky to have been surrounded by so much beautiful color. I generally find that Kodak stocks are always warmer than Fujifilm, and I feel like on this hot summer day, this film stock more than delivered. As someone who grew up on shooting exclusively black & white film, I now revere in shooting color film stocks. I genuinely feel that the colors that film stocks produce have so much more character and charm over digital photography. I don't mean to be on soap box & rave against digital photography, I shoot digital all the time. However, I just feel that film has this essence that is unmatched from digital. Having said that, if you are just getting started in the film world, don't get discouraged by the learning curve. I've been shooting film for nearly 5 years now, and it has taken dedication & practice to get to this point where I feel extremely confident when shooting film.

Where this film doesn't shine: Over saturation

I know that this may seem like a contradictory statement, but if there were any con to this film stock -- saturation. For this afternoon, the saturation ended up working out just great. However, I could see how the saturation may have been too much if I were in the studio. When in the studio, a more tempered look is usually desired and I can see why studio photographers may prefer the look of Portra 400 over Ektar in the studio. However, I think I Ektar may be the winner if you're planning on shooting outdoors. Well, it's rated at 100 ISO, really your only option is to shoot it outdoors, or, in the studio with a strobe. I plan on using this film stock in the studio to see how it holds up. We'll see if the saturation of this film is too much bite for the studio, stay tuned!

Grade: 9 out of 10

Being that this film stock is considered Professional, you really can't go wrong with it. I recommend shooting this film on a bright sunny day!