Many times when I get contacted to shoot a wedding or a session, the clients don’t even know I shoot film or what film is. They just see my work and are automatically drawn to the depth of colors, the emotional connection, and the timeless feeling. So they want themselves photographed in that same way. It isn’t until the session when I pull out my bulky film camera and start prepping my rolls of film that they ask “what is that??” I answer by explaining that the majority of my photos on my website, blog, and Instagram are actually shot on film. WHAAT?! They had no idea that the photos they loved so much were in fact film images!
To all those questioning why you should hire the more expensive film photographer over the cheaper digital photographer, let me explain.
Film is like what our grandparents used to use when they would take photos before digital camera were created. They’d buy rolls of film to load into their camera to take photos. Then it would finish, rewind, and they’d have to load in another roll. But you know what’s so great about those old photos that make us continually drawn to them years later? The way they seem to look timeless like they’d never go out of style. The depth of the images. The way the light is captured. How the colors are so true to life. The way the photo looks more like a painting then a digitized image. That’s why I love film and why many people are drawn to it!
Both film and digital images are still delivered in online galleries and printed through our favorite online printers, so no differences there.
But what are the technical differences between a digital image and a film image? Why do they look so different?
With a digital image, there is a sensor in the camera that picks up the picture and copies it using dots (or pixels). With a film image, the picture is created by light traveling through the lens and onto a strip of film. This is why you see so much more depth and dimension with film images because it’s a real-life representation of the different intensities of light present when an image was being taken. Digital cameras copy it as best as they can, but they often come out looking flat and lacking punch (which is why they need to be edited so extensively). I barely touch my film images because they come back from the lab already perfect! Like a real piece of art!
But like any type of art, it’s subjective. If you are drawn to photos that have depth, true-to-life colors, and a timeless feel, then pay the extra money and hire a film photographer. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Enjoy some of my favorite film images below!