There are many reasons to choose a film wedding photographer. We’re hybrid film photographers, which means we photograph on film and digital cameras. We use both a medium format film camera and a digital camera to capture the wedding day as it organically unfolds. When we take a photo on our film camera, we are forced to slow down and photograph the moments that truly matter. The ones that make us FEEL something in that moment. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s timeless. It’s a hands-on process with loading and unloading film, measuring the light, and ensuring the composition is perfect, but it’s worth it to provide. There are so many benefits to choosing a film or hybrid wedding photographer! 

1. The Tones Are Unmatched 

Compared to a digital image, film is unmatched. The tones and colors that the various cameras capture are starkly different from each other. It is possible to edit a digital photo to look like film but at the end of the day there is still a serious difference in the tones and colors. In addition to this, bright highlights taken on a film camera look almost ethereal where in digital images the highlights can easily get blown out. 

Related: Nicole & Blake’s Wedding (Photographed on Film)

2. Forever Timeless

Film has been around for ages. “Analog” photography is what was used long before the digital age. It’s not defined by Pinterest or trendy styles. While there can be varying styles within the fim world, the medium, as a whole, is incredibly valuable and will be a timeless and classic style- forever. The look of it has true depth and you can almost feel the raw and gritty texture of the soft portrait. It is not crisp or as crystal clear as digital- and that’s why we love it. 

Related: Kenzie & Nick’s French Park Engagement Session (Photographed on Film)

3. Your photographer is invested

With digital photos, photographers can take thousands of photographs for free. When you are shooting on a film camera, it costs photographers roughly $3 per image- whether or not they end up liking the photo. This is why every single frame matters. The photographer is invested financially and emotionally in your wedding day- it’s important to get every single film image right; every click of the shutter matters. 

4. Incredible Skill is Required

When you’re shooting digital, you can afford to mess up a setting because you can usually correct it quickly and easily. With film, you cannot get a visual check of the photo so you have to be confident in the lighting, metering the light, the settings, and the focus. Film requires a very specific skill set to master all of these requirements and it is definitely not for beginning photographers. 

Related: Julia & Tyler’s Intimate Private Estate Wedding (Photographed on Film)

5. More Connection & Intimacy 

In a film photograph, the artist connects deeply with our subject or subjects. The lighting has to be just right. The client has to feel comfortable. The photographer waits until the moment is just perfect- they FEEL something and their clients are truly connecting and that is when they click the shutter. 

Related: Film Wedding Photography Inspired Editorial