Slide film for many decades has been the choice of professional photographers seeking the best color rendition. Kodak and other slide film manufacturers put serious effort into manufacturing slide film, especially into the now discontinued Kodachrome. Since slide film is designed for a variety of uses, you can get many different types for your work, whether outdoor or indoor with specific lighting situations.
Basics
Slide film is relatively delicate as far as its color is concerned. Given the wrong temperature or improper storage, the colors will shift and not turn out as expected. The best way to keep slide film as near to factory fresh as possible is to keep it in the freezer. Only take it out a few hours before use to let it acclimate to the outside temperature. Using this technique, you generally can keep slide film fresh even past its expiration date. When you are look for batches of slide film from websites such as eBay, look for sellers who tell you it has been kept in the freezer. In general, these will be pros or photo store owners who know the value of temperature control.
Film Types
When looking for slide film, keep in mind what you intend to shoot. If you are planning to shoot a portrait session, for example, you will want slide film that renders skin tones particularly well. Most films of this type are labeled as such, and the manufacturers assume you will be shooting with studio lighting, so the film will be made to capture the warmth of a human being. If you are going to be shooting outdoors in full sunlight, you will need a slow film. Slow film---between 25 and 125 ISO---has the least grain and will work well in bright sunlight for most applications. If you are shooting in low light, you will need a fast slide film that captures a lot of light to give you, say, a night street scene as it really appears.
Developing
You can develop slide film yourself. There are kits of chemicals with instructions available online and at your local photo store. The key to developing any film, but particularly slide film, is temperature. While black and white negative film has some latitude, and it doesn't make that much difference if the temperature drops during development, color slide film is particular. The temperature must not vary more than a degree or two during development. If you are unsure of your slide film development skills, use a professional lab, especially for a professional photo shoot.
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