To your eye, resolution adds to a picture's richness and realism. Click the camera's shutter. You've exposed millions of tiny crystals in your film to light. They instantly react, reflecting the shape and color of your subject. Areas of brightness, darkness and color have been captured on the film.
Chemicals are applied to the film, the crystals break down, and the film is stabilized.
It is no longer light sensitive. When light is passed through the negative onto light-sensitive paper, dark and light are reversed. The paper is developed in the same manner as film, and the results are your prints. A scanner records your film or print and creates a new electronic file. Learn more about how this works in Capturing Digital .