Why Choose a Film Photographer?

So what?!

That’s the question I often get. Not usually from potential clients, but from other photographers, and people learning about my business for the first time.

It’s not necessarily the most tactile question, but it is a valid one. So what? Why should you choose a film photographer for your wedding. Shooting film isn’t cheap, nor is it quick, and camera technology has moved on in leaps and bounds in the last 20 to 40 years. You can take snapshots with your phone, and let it do all the hard work for you. Or I could take thousands of frames with a pro digital camera and pick out all the nice ones from the comfort of my own home.

My first reaction of ‘because I want to do it’ isn’t the response that most people expect to hear, or really appreciate, but the truth is; I do want to do it, and it really is a good reason. Let me explain…

Everybody is different, and as photographers, we can’t be all things to all people. If you have seen a certain style of photography you like, and that is what you want for your wedding, then you need to find someone that shoots/edits in that style. If you want hundreds of highly edited, razor sharp, modernist images, then I am certainly not the photographer that you would want to hire. It would be a disaster for you, and a disaster for me. However, if you want hand selected, very real, in the moment, classic style images; then I really could be the photographer you need. Or why not have both? I am happy to work with another photographer, either one you already have planned, or I can help you find one. And if I’m not the primary photographer, you can get my services for a lot cheaper.

Emily + Jon at Euridge Manor; Taken on my Leica M6 with Kodak Portra 400

For me, photography is very much about creating art from a moment in time. I prefer to create that art in the moment that it is happening. I appreciate the skill and the talent to create stunning images through editing software, but that has never been my passion. Which leads me back to my point; if my style of photography is something you like, then I am the best person for you. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.

Takara + James at Royal William Yard; Taken on my Pentax K2 with Ilford HP5

Film has a look, and a style of its own; but more importantly, it has a feel. It has character. When you aren’t focused on the clinical clean lines of a digital image, you can look more at the subject and the memories it rekindles. When you spot the grain in the image, it reminds you that the picture was created not with ones and zeros, but with bits of silver, crystals and chemistry; actual, touchable things.

It is real, and I love it.

Emily + John at Euridge Manor; Taken on my Leica M6 with Kodak Portra 400