The artistic element that film brings to photography has always intrigued me, and I love the soft, elegant look that makes it so different from digital photography. I wanted to learn the ins and outs of film photography so I could implement it into my sessions and weddings. However, the more research I did, the more it scared me.
What I learned is that film is expensive. Not only do you have to find the medium format camera that was made over 20 years ago in excellent condition, but then you have to take on the expense of buying film and having it developed by a professional lab. At first, I thought to myself “why would I spend the money to do all of that when I can just edit my digital images to look like film?” Well, my friends, I am not afraid to admit when I’m wrong.
The look of film cannot be duplicated. Not only that, but the entire experience of shooting film brings a whole new element to photography. It requires new skills that force the photographer to compose their subjects perfectly before hitting that shutter button, rather than taking a test shot and checking the back of your digital camera to see if it worked.
There is no “test shot” with film, and this is part of what I love about it. What you see is what you get. Shooting film challenges me as the photographer, and this makes the reward even greater when the shot turns out even better than I expected. I was so grateful that Heather & Ethan were so patient with me while I used my film camera for the first time! This is a whole new challenge that I have taken on, but I’m excited to see how it will better me as a photographer for my clients!
