I shot a roll of Kodak Gold 120 film on a Pentax 6x7 without a light meter

Portrait photos taken on a Pentax 6x7
(Image credit: Hannah Rooke)

Last year I bought a Pentax 6x7 from a friend for a very very good price – but I left the chunky medium format beast sitting on my shelf as I worked up the courage to use it. The reason being, I didn't own a light meter and I wasn't about to go out and buy one. I didn't want to waste film or pay to develop a film that wasn't exposed correctly, but I found a workaround – and to my complete satisfaction, the scans I got back were better than expected. 

Most film photographers will tell you to invest in a light meter. Even photographers who use mirrorless cameras and DSLRs will sometimes use a light meter to get the exposure just right, especially when shooting with flash. When using a film camera with no built-in exposure gauge (like you have on the Nikon FM2) you either need to rely on the Sunny 16 rule or use some sort of meter. I didn’t have one, so instead I set my exposure using a digital medium format camera – a Fujifilm GFX 100S.

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Hannah Rooke
Freelance contributor

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. Hannah spent three years working at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant, using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With eight years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.

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