One of my favorite mediums to use is classic film and an old-school camera where you have to put the film in the camera and load the film. Roll the film, do a test shot and then use the full role of film before developing to see what’s on the actual images. Some people think that digital is the safest option for business work for instance, if you’re taking photos of somebody for a project or for a business they might think digital is the best way to go about that. However, I think some is a really valuable asset that creates a unique look for your brand and well it does have grain, which I incorporate into my digital prints as well, there’s something about film that just can’t mimic digital. It never looks exactly the same. There’s a feel to it and even though lots of photographers have gotten close and I consider myself one of them - I’m starting to lean more towards keeping them in separate realms and allowing my digital digital. And what I mean by that is, shooting events or for brands I want my photography to have a feel when you look at the film photography and I want to have a polished look when you look at my digital work so they’re contrasting. They are working together visually. However, I want it to feel a little nostalgic when I use film because that’s my first medium that I learned to work on and I think having a nostalgic feel for brands is something that’s a little bit trendy right now and something that we can lean into and allow people to kind of have that vibe of classical look with modern experiences.

In the image below, we shot with modern lighting and were able to fuse modern styling and lighting with classic traditional film photography so if that’s something you’re interested in collaborating with me on, I would love for you to read through my Q&A below and get some more information about what I think film photography means…

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Hiring Considerations Q & A

How do I find a professional film photographer?
- You can find a film photographer by referral or word of mouth. I personally like to rave about it so people will know that I am a film photographer, and not all photographers are created equal. Some people have no interest in working with film. Some people are only just learning because it’s trending. However, I’ve been a film photographer since I was literally five years old played on the playground with my film camera so I’ve been doing this for a while and I feel very confident in my film and resources of how to utilize my film correctly.
What should I look for in a film photographer’s portfolio?
- When looking at a film photographer’s portfolio you want to look for even lighting a lot of beginning photographers will just take their point and shoot camera and just snap away which is fine. But, if they aren’t aware of their settings and their exposure triangle, if you don’t know what that is your photos might be overblown or underdeveloped and that’s not really something that is easily to fix in a film photograph as it is in digital. Digital is definitely more forgiving where as film is the shot you shot. Make sure that your photographer has a variety of lighting options; natural light and flash photography with their film work and make sure you like what you see.
What types of shoots work best with film (weddings, portraits, editorial, etc.)?
- Personally, I think that all shoots work well with film I think that for weddings specifically it’s really important to have both film and digital while both have their pros and cons. You want to lean into the strengths and avoid the weaknesses of each so my biggest fear shooting entire wedding on film ONLY would be that something could happen to my film and I wouldn’t have any back up. Were as with digital, I have two SD cards in my cameras at all times so even if one card gets corrupted the other card is usually safe and you don’t have security with film. Granted, it would take something really extreme like Fire or flood damage - it just wouldn’t make me feel good to know that that risk was even an option for couples on their wedding day and I want to have a back up plans for every possible scenario and my back up plan for film is digital. I really love doing portraits on film. I think it’s so delightful and grainy and rich that happens with film and I think that’s a really fun way to preserve our memories of ourselves so portraits are a fantastic way to use film photography and of course editorial as I’ve already explained is just another way to create a unique brand voice, not everybody is investing in some photography for their editorial shoots and therefore you’re gonna stand out with a unique look Especially if you are trying to stay trendy with the youth. They’re nostalgic for a time they didn’t even live in.
How much does film photography cost compared to digital?
- Here is where the issue lies with film photography. It is a lot more expensive than photography. With digital photography the upfront cost of buying your camera is the biggest investment, but your SD cards are reusable and you don’t really have to keep reinvesting in your equipment. For film photography each roll of film cost about $20-$30 and then if you take it somewhere to get developed it’s another $30 and if you get prints it could be even up to another $20 or $30 depending on where you go and who’s developing it for you. So, anywhere from $60-$80 per roll of film. I could develop it myself and sometimes I do. It’s just a matter of being realistic with my time and knowing that a lab can do it quicker and easier, so I will sometimes still send it out for another professional to do.
Do film photographers also provide digital copies?
- As a film photographer, I do provide digital copies of my film meaning that you’ll still get a CD or a USB or a digital download whatever you request and prefer you can use these images the exact same way that you would use the digital copy, the lab or myself scans in the printed image. The only differences is that you also get the film upon request and negatives are technically archival meaning that they should last for 100 years if stored correctly.