WE SHOOT FILM – Florida, New York City Wedding Photographers
Why hire a wedding photographer who shoots 35mm film photos? With the rise in popularity of film photography, especially in the wedding industry, you may be asking yourself, “why?” In a world dominated by digital technology, why would someone opt for their wedding photos to be shot on rolls of film in a vintage camera?
The nostalgia of analog film on a wedding day is unmatched. It’s something I truly feel that digital can’t touch. Shooting weddings on film has made me a better, more mindful, and creative photographer.
I wanted to share WHY I chose to start incorporating wedding film photography into Grace Torres Photography, and why you may opt to choose this add on for your wedding day!
FILM FORCES YOU TO SLOW DOWN
In a world full of excess and overstimulation, film brings back simplicity and slow mindfulness to photography. On digital, I can take thousands of photos on a wedding day and not bat an eye. The only thing I really have to worry about is sorting through all of those photos. Film is expensive and it is limited. Each roll only allows 24-36 exposures (photos) and you want to use those shots wisely. This forces me to slow down, think about composition and lighting, and time my shots right to nail the shot on the first try – and most of the time, I DO. I rarely have to toss out a film photo. I am so selective about which moments I choose to capture on film that I rarely delete anything.
THE VIBRANT & SOFT SIGNATURE LOOK
I love shooting weddings on film on Kodak Portra 400 which gives a soft yet vibrant look to photos shot in any lighting situation. It holds the highlights extremely well in harsh light and softens them effortlessly. While I believe that both my digital editing style and the look of film give that “timeless” look, having both styles of photos in your wedding photo gallery just gives you some more variety.
THE EXCITEMENT & NOSTALGIA
There is nothing like waiting for your film scans to come back from the lab – ESPECIALLY wedding photos! While you will receive sneak peek digital photos from me after the wedding, you also will get your film scans back within 2-3 weeks, which is even faster than a full digital wedding gallery would be completed. Hiring a film wedding photographer can help bring some excitement to waiting for your photos to arrive.
FILM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
You love the look of 35mm film and appreciate the messy and candid moments You want more variety in your wedding gallery You want to see your wedding day through a lens with grit and imperfections that only film can capture
FILM PHOTOGRAPHY MAY NOT BE A GREAT FIT FOR YOU IF…
The added price for the film and developing is not worth it to you You enjoy more clean and polished photos You don’t enjoy grain and motion blur in your photos
HYBRID DIGITAL AND FILM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Hybrid shooting is when the photographer is shooting on both analog film (in my case, it’s 35mm film) and digital cameras. I am still mainly a digital wedding photographer, but I have loved shooting film at my weddings SO much and it’s my dream to shoot an entire wedding on film one day – so if you want film only wedding photos, let ya girl know ;)
If you’re interested in learning more about film wedding photography packages, you can inquire here and you can view my full film portfolio here!
P.S.: I shoot film for leisure too! My favorite thing to do on trips is carrying my Contax T2 point and shoot film camera around with me. It's light, compact, and turns quality images every time! Here are some of my favorite film photos from my travels!
This blog was written by Grace Torres Photography, a luxury wedding photographer based in Florida and NYC and adventure elopement photographer traveling all over the world, but specializing in Sedona, AZ, California and Utah elopements.