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I cut my teeth on film when I started out as a wedding photographer in the early 2000s.
Though quick to make the switch to the ease and versatility of digital, I always missed the feel of shooting analogue. Slowly, I started to reintegrate film photography into my personal and professional shoots.
It goes without saying that film photography comes with … well, a whole load of pressure. With time and practice, though, this sense of risk dissipated, and I found myself ever more eager to enjoy the magic that can only come with shooting on film.
The best thing nowadays is that you (and I) don’t have to choose between the two options; you can have both: the film to create and capture the magic, and digital to make sure that even if things don’t go to plan, you still have all those important moments preserved.
Although there are additional costs to shooting on film, there is additional value for you as well.
Sure, film wedding photography is the ‘in thing’ right now, but it’s also timeless. Film is how photography has started and it’s here to stay. Think of the classic wedding photos in your grandparents’ living room. Even 50 years from now, you’ll look at analogue snaps from your big day with a wide smile, remembering just how special it was.
Whether you want your wedding day to be shot entirely on film or to have it as an add-on is completely up to you. A full-day wedding shoot on film only can add well over $1,500 in film alone, not to mention development costs.
You might consider film as an add-on, a valid option with fewer additional costs and more variety to your wedding photos. As I mentioned before, film has a different feel and that ‘special something’ that digital doesn’t always capture. At the moment, you can add a roll of film to your digital wedding shoot for as little as $350.
The magic of film photography is not just in the tactile experience of picking up the developed prints. It’s created in the moment the picture is taken. The photographer has to slow down, find the best light, and take an extra moment to focus. It’s that extra time and care that make those moments so unique.
In an age of instant everything, we are all looking for something more thoughtful, nostalgic and everlasting. This is why film wedding photography is on the rise once more.
As a photographer, I consider an analogue shoot an interesting challenge that both sparks and feeds my creativity. I am absolutely in love with both black and white and colour film, in both 35 mm and medium format.
In my arsenal at the moment I have a Leica MP and Mamiya 645 cameras. My favourite films are Ilford HP5, Ilford Delta 100, Foma, Fuji C200, Kodak Gold.
Even if your wedding is a while away, you don’t have to wait for the experience. A couple’s session is the best way to trial your options and see which style suits you.
This isn’t a film shoot, but if you’d like to see a beautiful example of a sunset couples shoot, check one out here.
If you’d like me to shoot some film (or digital or both) for you, please get in touch with us here. We love to chat and explore what’s best for you. No two couples are alike, after all.
Winnie-the-pooh
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians on whose lands we stand.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
This land always was and always will be aboriginal land.
©ACROSS THE FOREST. PHOTO BY ANTON KROSS. ILLUSTRATIONS BY RAISA KROSS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SYDNEY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. AUSTRALIA. WORLDWIDE.
