What is analogue film & why I use it to photograph weddings – Film Wedding Photographer
Film Wedding Photographer -35mm & Medium Format Film
What is analogue film & why I use it to photograph weddings.
Film Wedding Photographer -35mm & Medium Format Film.
Picture this: a wedding album filled with timeless, dreamy images that capture the essence of your special day with unparalleled warmth and depth.
Enter film wedding photography. In an era dominated by digital technology, we are are rediscovering the charm of analogue wedding photos.
If you’re planning your wedding and wondering if film wedding photography is the right choice for you, this post will tell you all about analogue photography and why I use it to photograph weddings.
35mm Film Wedding Photography.
MY BACKGROUND IN ANALOGUE FILM PHOTOGRAPHY
From a young age, I was curious about cameras and photography. My parents always had a camera and documented our holidays, weddings and family moments on film. The feeling and warmth of the images always takes you back to the moment. Nothing beats looking through albums of photos and the physical of old film photos in a digital world.
I always loved posing for photos. I remember styling my dolls and teddy bears and asking my mum and dad to photograph me with them. On my 7th birthday, we went to Euro Disney and I asked my dad to show me how to use their camera. They went out and bought me a film point and shoot camera.
Photography became my film lifelong passion as a teenager when I learnt photography in black & white film at school. I took artistic self-portraits and photographed band and live music concerts. I fell in love with the darkroom, processing and printing my photos. I shot film through art college as well as photographing on digital.
When moving to digital my photographic style was still heavily influenced by film. My digital style is timeless and inspired by the colours and nostalgia of film.
I moved back to photographing in film in 2023, it felt so natural and instinctive to use a film camera again. Using film in a modern style of photography felt nostalgic and authentic when looking at identical digital images with no soul. When shooting both together my work blends seamlessly to create a timeless style.
So what is analogue film? How does it differ from digital? Why should have my wedding photographed on film?
What is analogue film photography?
Film wedding photography is not just a nostalgic nod to the past; it’s a sophisticated art form that delivers stunning results. Unlike digital photography, film offers a unique texture and richness that can transform ordinary moments into extraordinary memories.
Analogue film photography refers to photography using a traditional analogue camera and a roll of film. The film is a transparent plastic strip coated on one side with light-sensitive silver halide crystals. A roll of film is loaded into the camera and the light interacts with the chemicals in the film and an image is recorded.
The pictures collected in your film roll come to life when the film is processed in a photo lab. In the modern age, the film is scanned into a computer giving you a digital copy of the physical negative.
Read more about film wedding photography in the New York times.
Types of analogue film – 35mm and medium format
The most common type of analogue film photography is 35mm film. Each roll of film typically has 24 or 36 exposures. If you had film photos of you taken growing up, this is the format they were most likely taken with. It is the smallest format and has lots of grain but that’s part of the charm of this format.
Medium format film (or 120) has larger negatives and is more expensive than 35mm film. The increased size of the negative allows for more detail in your photos. The images have a 3D lifelike feel with a blurring of the background. The cameras I use for medium format film have a 6×6 square and a 6×4.5 rectangular size. You can also get 6×7 format camera. With 120 film, you get 8 to 16 images per roll.
I combine 35mm and medium format for a true luxury feel to your film wedding photography.
How does analogue film photography differ from digital?
Digital photography captures images on light-sensitive sensors and puts them onto a memory card. Digital cameras are quicker and can take hundreds or thousands of photographs until the memory card is full. You can download these images to a hard drive, edit them, and use the memory card again.
It allows you to review your photos instantly and adjust your exposure or composition. It has a lot of latitude to edit the colours and exposure of the images and photograph in low light with little grain. With digital, you can track your subject to make sure it is in focus and requires very little technical skill as a photographer.
Analogue film photography is a slower and more intentional process. It requires a strong technical skill to compose, expose and focus photos. You need to understand different film stocks and how to use them in varying lighting conditions with and without flash.
Although you can edit digital photos to look like film, it can never replicate the crazy light leaks, imperfections and feel that make analogue so authentic.
Digital cameras are designed to create perfect images. Film cameras capture the day in a more authentic way. Embracing the imperfections of film allows me to tell the story of your day in a way that brings you back to how it felt.
Why should have my wedding photographed on film?
I would highly recommend choosing to have your day photographed on analogue film. The feeling and nostalgia of analogue film with the colour and grain of the images is the true magic of film. Film photography possesses a distinctive and timeless quality that digital cameras simply cannot replicate.
There is something incredibly special about holding a physical photograph in your hands. Film wedding photography brings a tangible, nostalgic element to your wedding memories. The act of flipping through a photo album filled with printed images is a sensory experience that digital screens simply cannot match. This is why I always recommend having a wedding album or printing your film photos. You can print both from the digital scans, or from the negatives.
What photographing on analogue film has taught me as a photographer.
Moving back to using analogue film in my wedding photography has helped me make my digital work even stronger as well as creating art with my film photography.
- Film has taught me to have more trust in myself that I can capture a moment in one frame (or maybe two!).
- A slower and more intentional approach makes for better photos – I’ve been using around 10 rolls of film alongside digital and feel like those 300ish film photos tells the story of the day perfectly.
- The feeling and authenticity of my film photography makes me emotional every time I get scans back from the lab.
How do you combine analogue and digital on a wedding day?
From photographing around 250 rolls of film at over 60 weddings and other photoshoots over the last 18 months, I’ve become a strong and accomplished film wedding photographer.
I know my cameras and film stocks inside out, knowing the best medium for each image, depending on the light, film stock and moment. My key approaches are listed below:
- Digital first then film. I’ll often use my digital camera like a sketchbook to an artist to find the light, composition and exposure. When I am happy with the image, and it feels like a work of art, I then take an image on my film camera.
- Best medium for the moment. I know the strengths of each medium and appreciate them for what they are. A fast paced moment where I need the focus tracking, I’ll use my digital camera. Where it’s slower and more emotional I’ll use my film camera. It often depends on the film stock in my camera, with film you can’t change the iso (film speed) which is why I always have more than one film camera on me. Sometimes the film I have loaded won’t be right for the moment.
- Photographing instinctively. I often photograph instinctively and what feels right in the moment.
- What do the couple want from their day? I always ask my couples the preference of how they would like their day to be captured.
My unique approach and experience with film photography gives you the best of each medium in your wedding photography.
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Loraine, I am so obsessed!!! Thank you for capturing the magic of our weekend!!
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EDINBURGH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I capture wedding and elopement photography worldwide.
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