I taught darkroom photography for 15 years. Yes, there is a wonderful craft element to it. I would tell my students you have to do 20 things right even to make a bad image. If you do everything right AND it’s a good photo, taken with a manual camera, that’s a thrill. But it sure doesn’t make you a ‘real’ or ‘better’ photographer. I’m thankful that I learned on film, so I fully understand aspects like exposure, ISO, burning and dodging, etc. But I actually think I’m a better photographer with digital. I don’t miss the endless hours in the darkroom tbh.