Film Photography – Reasons why

Fujifilm kit setup for weddings

6 Reasons why Film Photography is a must

Film photography – reasons why you want it. Once upon a time, not so long a go all wedding were photographed on film and digital was only a dream. The ability to photograph 1000’s of pictures and save them to a memory card was never even heard of. Having studied at Thames Valley University in Photography and Digital Imaging after my HND all I knew was film photography. 

Back when I used to spend hours in the dark room I never realised just how it would set me up for my career in the wedding industry. By understanding much more than the basics I always used to end my day with a physical product. A print. Rather than having a large storage system with thousands of images I would never look at. I was able to walk out with something for the wall or a frame. 

I learnt how to correctly take a photograph, develop in the correct way and enjoy the results by mounting and framing too. 

So when was the last time you had a picture printed? Can you see it? Now, let’s dive in and let me tell you why film is a must for your wedding from the perspective of more than just the print aspect. 

1. The Appreciation of print – 

When served up with physical prints you are more likely to take the time to find somewhere to put it on show. Whether it be the wall, next to the bed or the old school mantle piece. The effort has already been made for you to get them printed. You may even choose to put the pictures into an album to cherish forever. 

2. Nostalgia – Timelessness

When growing up, all my parents had was the odd film camera. The photographs that were created were a snapshot and have a way of making me jump back to that moment in my mind. The look and nostalgic feeling that an image captured from the 80’s still feels like it’s the 80’s. I manage to relate to the print and feel almost like I’m able to time travel to that moment. Digital doesn’t have the same effect for me and looses all feeling of time in history. 
 

3. The beautiful film look and feel – 

Having full control over your camera setting allows for precise and complete control over exposure (the light that reaches the film). The shutter speed and also the development process of the film. Generally film also has a higher dynamic range allowing for brighter highlights and darker shadows. This can also be used to create beautiful contrast in imagery for a timeless feel. 
 

4. True colours and tones – 

Film comes printed without any filters. No, adjustments to how the room/space felt and looked on the day. Therefore the colours and tones of the images are captured true to life. With digital, exposure, shadows and highlights can be manipulated from the original picture. This means they can look too perfect. I love the imperfection of perfection that film offers. 
 

5. The excitement and precision –

With the ability of being able to freely shoot hundreds of images without running out of film the precision comes in. Having only a limited number of exposures per roll makes you as the photographer feel each image more. This allows for more thought out moments with careful consideration over culling later. Not only his but the excitement of getting the film back from development can make reliving the day more relatable. The print and scans of film images really do hit differently. 

 

6. Knowing you are hiring a skilled photographer over a weekend warrior –

There are now too many people who are very good at business but maybe not so good at photography. So when you are hiring someone with a true passion for photography and weddings they will know how to use a camera correctly. Rather than making poorly captured photos look good on the computer. Hiring a photographer who is very experienced and can turn to film when potentially everything goes wrong is a bonus and can save the day.  

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