Black-and-white film and color film are similar in principle, but color film adds multiple image-forming layers.

Black-and-white film typically has a single light-sensitive layer of silver halides that records overall brightness, not separate colors. After development, the negative shows different densities from clear to dark silver, with tones reversed from the original scene.

Color negative film usually has multiple emulsion layers, each sensitized to different parts of the spectrum (roughly red, green, and blue). During development, these layers form dye clouds that carry the color information, producing complementary colors in the negative: cyan, magenta, and yellow. Color negatives also commonly have an orange mask/base.

So color film is not completely different—it builds on the same light-sensitive film concept, but with extra layers and dye-forming chemistry to separate and record color.

In practical use, black-and-white and color films also differ in look and handling. Black-and-white film is often considered more forgiving in exposure latitude, and its silver image structure gives it a different grain/tonal character than color film.