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Film Stock

A UX case study for an application for film photographers

Timeframe: 3 Months

My Role - UX Researcher, UI/UX Designer

The Client

Film Stock is an application with the goal of allowing film photographers to seamlessly and digitally record camera settings concisely.

The Challenge

With the rise of digital photography, many passionate photographers have been trying to preserve the art of analog photography by shooting with manual film cameras. However, digital photography alleviates a considerable amount of challenges associated with film photography. For example, digital cameras allow for instant image viewing and record the shot’s settings as metadata attached to the image. Film, on the other hand, has a more time-consuming development process in which the photographer is unable to know each image’s settings unless they record them. Film Stock’s inspiration stems from this major pain point with the mission to streamline the camera setting recording process during film shooting.

Research: User Interviews

I asked film photographers several questions pertaining to their experiences recording camera settings. Below are some of the answers I received: 
 
Do you or do you not record the settings of your camera? Why?
“Notes are important so that each shot can be a learning experience so I can improve. Recording settings allows you to go from observing to learning.”
“Yes, taking notes is especially important early on, either when you’ve just started or recently gotten a new camera, lens, or film.
“I don't because I've been doing this for long enough to not need to. If there is a reason why I need to remember the settings, I take notes on my phone.” 
“Yes. Note-taking is extremely important for film especially because the camera doesn't take notes like digital cameras do. Small changes have a big impact.” 
 
How do you record your settings? 
 
"Pen and paper and then digitally transcribe them after.” 
“I use apps for quick recording of settings, location, and a quick digital snap of the subject.”
“I use apps for recording information about rolls or individual frames. I’ve tried voice assistance but this doesn’t work well if there is a lot of noise or wind.”
“There are a couple of options: 1. Notes app on my phone where I record the camera, film, and the settings of each shot, etc. 2. Regular or specialized settings notebooks 3. Special apps that work like specialized notebooks but are faster and better organized.”

Research: Competitive Analysis

I performed a competitive analysis on two applications: NOSSAFLEX and Datafilm. Below are snippets of the setting recording process for each respective application as well as some design system considerations and limitations.

NOSSAFLEX 

NOSSAFLEX 

  • Digitizes the analog notebook experience by allowing its users to add camera, roll, and shot details

  • Contains a light meter to get readings for film cameras

  • Users can take reference photos of the scene and add shot description

  • Improvements could be made in regards to UI aesthetic

Datafilm

  • Very efficient camera settings recording page

  • Functionality wise it contains many features that film photographers use to record settings

  • Lacks an appealing UI aesthetic

Research Summary

  • A few, more experienced film photographers, choose not to record their settings, however, the majority believe it is beneficial to record camera settings to improve as a photographer

  • The traditional use of notebooks can be inconvenient, especially in non-optimal climates or temperatures

  • Added challenge of not being able to record the settings as metadata attached to the images

  • By creating a digital application, users will be able to efficiently digitally enter their settings which can be directly linked to their film scans post-development

  • The digital applications I analyzed are a great starting point. However, they have room for development by incorporating additional core features to improve the UX and UI

User Persona

Meet Joshua Williams. A novice film photographer trying to improve his photography. He wants an efficient method to digitally record his film camera settings. Joshua is also a visual learner and wants a way to view his camera settings with his film scans post-development to be able to learn and grow as a photographer.

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Information Architecture

Below is the design's IA which condenses various elements into three sub-pages allowing users to:

  • Record their camera, roll, and shot settings

  • View their library of digital scans

  • View/edit settings to manage their account or privacy

Designing the Solution

Interaction Design (Low-Fidelity Sketches and Wireframes)

Early sketches

Keeping functionality and minimalism in mind, below are the initial sketches and wireframes of Film Stock’s design. The design allows users to quickly pick up where they left off to enter camera settings in as little as three taps. The design captures essential information that photographers enter:

  • Camera: brand, model, format 

  • Roll: brand ISO, number of frames 

  • Settings: shutter speed, focal length, aperture, exposure, flash, reference photo, shot description

Visual Design (High-Fidelity Wireframes)

Shown below is a mood board I created that captures the inspiration for Film Stock’s design along with the chosen typography and color palette which stick with the retro and vintage aesthetic that film photography possesses.

Home Page

Efficiency and minimalism, two key drivers in Film Stock’s design, are heavily reflected on the home page. Here, users can:

  • Quickly pick up where they left off: tapping the camera shown in “recent” brings users to continue adding shots to their most recent roll

  • Scroll to view other recent cameras/rolls as indicated by the horizontal ellipsis

  • View all of the cameras and rolls in one location 

  • Add a new camera or roll

Camera/Rolls/Shots

Clicking a particular camera will allow the user to: ​

  • View camera, roll, and shot details for each roll associated with that camera

  • Add a new roll 

  • Favorite, edit, delete, or share an individual shot by clicking the vertical ellipsis

  • Upload a digital scan which attaches the settings of that shot to the uploaded image as meta data

Neilsen’s “Flexibility and Efficiency of Use” design heuristic is used to increase the efficiency of editing and deleting a shot by swiping left and right on a shot, respectively

By clicking “Add”:

  • A new shot is loaded that automatically records the date, time, and location of where the shot is created

  • Option to capture a reference photo and add a description to later identify which shot the settings correspond with upon receiving their developed film

  • Users record their camera settings by tapping each button to adjust the shutter speed, focal length, aperture, exposure, and flash

  • The settings are saved from the most recent shot to increase efficiency

  • Ability to edit all entered settings, as well as the date, time, and location after the shot is added 

Library

The Library page:

  • Displays all of the digital film scans uploaded by the user to each respective shot 

  • Attaches settings as metadata to each uploaded image

  • Allows users to favorite shots for a quicker view of which settings were used

 

This page is conditional on the user receiving digital scans of their film as opposed to physical prints. The purpose of this feature is to allow users who receive digital scans to visualize the settings with each respective shot and to attach the settings as metadata. Users who do not upload will still be able to decipher which settings belong to each shot by using their captured reference photo or shot description.

Settings
The “Settings Page'' is quite simple in design. It allows users to:

  • Manage their accounts

  • Edit privacy settings

  • Backup or restore their library

  • View recently deleted images

  • Ask for help

Functional Prototype

I created a functional prototype within Figma. Check it out here!

Conclusions and Reflections

As an avid film photographer myself, I was exceptionally excited to work with my client on this project. While I typically use my point-and-shoot camera, (a camera that doesn’t require me to manage many settings), I could still empathize with the pain points that resonated with my client and was eager to design an application that would help facilitate aspects of film photography. 

This was one of the more challenging projects I have worked on because in addition to the typical UX challenges, I also had to do quite a bit of homework brushing up on photography terms. Additionally, as this was my third UX project, I wanted to get a bit more creative in my design in terms of color palette, typography, and spacing. It took me many, many rounds of revision to arrive at a design that I was confident and proud of. While I am happy with the design I ended up with, if I were to do this project again, I would create animated wireframes displaying the user interaction of entering setting details or adding a new camera/roll to fully display the user experience. I would also perform validation testing to see how the design stacks up within the film photography community. 
 
Lastly, finishing this project has allowed me to reflect not only on this project but also on my journey into the world of UX. It has been especially rewarding to see how much I have learned and grown since my first case study and it is a journey I am proud to have embarked on. I continue to stay excited and hopeful for the future of my UX journey.

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