Film Photography Engagement Session
When Kimberly and Aaron reached out to ask me to shoot their fall engagement session I was so excited – and when she said that she wanted film photography I was over the moon! This was a somewhat rare opportunity. A lot of couples aren’t necessarily interested in the aesthetic, the art, or the additional cost involved with using film.
SO, WHY DO I SHOOT WITH FILM?
Film photography is so tactile, so organic! When considering why you want a film photography session there are a lot of things to take into account. There is something exciting about not being able to immediately review the images like you can with digital photography.
I choose to work with film largely because of the aesthetic. The film grain and the unique colours depending on the film choice really affect the final product in a big way. The more you shoot the more you get familiar with the colours, tones, and dynamic range of each film type. Even in challenging environments where lighting is not optimal, the dynamic range of film really shines. I particularly love working with Kodak Tri-X, a crowd favourite for documentary photographers in the golden days of film.
The timeless feeling of film Photography
This may be more accurate with black and white film, although colour also has timeless qualities that are imbued with heritage. There is such a variety to choose from when working with film. Black and white photography, colour photography (and all of the different kinds of colour film), film grain, cameras, lenses, film size…. the list goes on.
What is black and white photography?
Black and white photography refers to images that are absent of colour. They’re created using different tones of grey, ranging from white to black. B&W photographs are a beautiful, artistic form of photography that are powerful and nostalgic.
WHY DO YOU WANT BLACK AND WHITE FILM PHOTOGRAPHY?
- Evoke emotion: Black and white photos naturally let the viewer focus on other elements of the image like form, tones, gestures, and emotions. With the absence of colour these other components come to the forefront of the viewer’s experience. I particularly love how much emotion hands can communicate, especially when shooting on black and white film.
- Remove distractions: Colour is a strong communicator of meaning and sometimes it’s communicating more than we want, or something different than what we want as photographers. By shooting in black and white you can remove the distraction of colour. That means there’s more focus put on things like the subject, textures, light and shadow, contrast, shapes, and composition.
- Add drama: Photographing in black in white can change the feel of your photography making it feel more dramatic. There’s just something about a colourless photo that can make your composition more striking, raw, or moody. Playing with elements of light and shadow with couples can create stunning emotive results.
Enjoy The Power Of Slowing Down
Digital photography gives you the freedom to shoot as much as you want until you get “the shot”. Or run out of space on your SD card. 😜
Film photography, on the other hand, forces you to slow down your process. Partly because each shot costs you money, you will take more time to compose your shot, make sure that when you release the shutter it’s capturing the emotion of the moment instead of wasting a frame.
Especially in a culture defined by instant, short content – TikToks, Reels, and Vine (RIP) – where our attention spans are short and we consume content instantly, there is an opportunity to create content that is slow, still, considered, and takes us out of that instant consumption state of mind.
More thoughts to come on shooting film. For now, if you want a film session of you and your lover connect with me here or hit me up on Instagram.