Something we hear over and over again in our initial client meetings is "Your pictures look different than everyone else's, but they're still timeless. How do they look so soft?" And honestly the number one most important piece of that puzzle is the fact that Justin has over 16 years of experience, and he truly has a gift that you can't teach in my opinion ;)
But the other piece that makes all the difference is the fact that we use film. When I say we use "film"- a lot of people think I'm talking about movies. But I mean "old school", load it in the camera, have it developed in a dark room, FILM that we put in our cameras! You'll see a lot of people stray away from film these days because to be honest, it's a specialized skillset that takes a lot of practice, and it's more expensive. But we understand that delivering high quality, timeless, gorgeous imagery to our clients is beyond worth it. Keep scrolling below to find out why you need to hire a film photographer for your wedding day.
1) They’re more patient
Using film is an art, and one that takes time to learn. In today’s day and age of fast moving technology and “do it for the gram’” attitudes, patience is a dying attribute. When Justin was learning to shoot film, he estimates he spent 250+ hours perfecting the right camera, the right film, the process of metering light, and all of the other things that go into making a talented film photographer. Not only that, but when he’s actually shooting on his film camera, he’s much more patient than when he’s blasting away shot after shot digitally. This allows for him to take better photos overall, because he takes him time setting up the perfect backdrop, lighting, and composition. Which of course all boils down to- you’re getting way better final images!
2) They’re more detail oriented
Did you know every time we click the shutter of our film camera it costs about $3.50? (Not including the cost of the actual camera- that’s just the film and processing!). Because of that, we’re not careless with the images we take. Hair tie on the wrist? Funny facial expression? Weird dead stick on the ground in front of you? These are the things film photographers notice and correct in real time. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have one AMAZING photo of myself than 15 sub-par options. When it comes to a wedding day especially, it’s all in the details, and film shooters know how to capture detail in the best possible way.
3)Your images will look more timeless
The first film camera was invented in 1890, so I feel pretty confident saying going on 150 years later it’s clearly not going anywhere. To put it simply: photos look better when they’re taken on film. Film captures colors as they actually are and yet somehow subtly softens everything so you look your absolute best in the final product. No weird orange-y filters here: film captures the day as it actually looked so you won’t flip back on your wedding 20 years from now and say “ugh- that looks so 2023!”.
Clearly we have a passion for film and I could go on for much longer, but hopefully these three reasons help you to understand the importance of hiring a film photographer for your wedding! Not only is the actual final product more expensive and a higher quality, but the patience and eye for detail your photographer has is priceless and worth the investment for the most important day of your life.
If you want to learn more about our process beyond the film photography, be sure to fill out our contact form. Can’t wait to hear more about you and your big day!
Happy plannning!
Ashley
