Wedding Photography on Film
Why I take photos on real film, even at weddings, and yes even at night:
I (very humbly and with gratitude) consider myself to be an artist and art is subjective to be sure. For me and my taste, I prefer the look of film photos over digital photos.
If you also love the look of film, you already know what I’m talking about. The meaning of the phrase “the look of film” is also subjective. In the wedding industry, this typically means a style of images with a certain aesthetic, often referred to as “fine art,” which was made popular in the early 2000s or so by Jose Villa.
The term “fine art” is going out of style in the wedding photography industry, but the light, pastel, painterly images certain combinations of camera/lens/film can create remain timeless and sought-after.
I predominantly shoot medium format (120) and 35mm film. I have also used a disposable 35mm camera with a flash on it just for fun at the end of a session and still preferred those images to digital images of the same scene. It’s a personal preference and if you know, you know.
Why I sometimes shoot digital:
Every once in a while I will see some amazing digital work and think, wow maybe I should give digital another chance. I always end up underwhelmed by and large with my digital work. Digital isn’t the right medium for me as a photographer and that is ok. That said, all my second photographers for weddings shoot digital and I sometimes shoot digital at weddings. Why? Time. Digital is really fast and sometimes you need to shoot quickly at fast-paced live events. My heart melts for the slower, more deliberate moments. And again, that’s ok. I can do both, I just prefer film overall and am really passionate about it.
Why I shoot film at night/in the dark:
It looks better. When I say better, I mean that for me it looks more emotive, romantic, grainy, beautiful, time-tested, quality. One myth that is far too prevalent in the wedding industry is that it’s not possible to shoot film in dark spaces or that digital is somehow a “better” tool for this. When photographers say they shoot all film except when it gets too dark and digital is the better tool, this just means they don’t know how to light for film or they don’t know how to shoot film in dark places. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think it’s important for film photographers who DO know how to light for film and shoot in the dark to speak up and be just as visible as photographers who choose to shoot digital at dark wedding receptions so that clients don’t mistakenly believe that digital is the better tool for dark spaces, that’s just simply not accurate. Digital is faster, but it is not the better tool. For my own wedding photos, it’s important to me that my chosen photographer be able to shoot film at my reception. If they want to shoot digital, too that is fine, but film images at receptions are a MUST for me and my clients.
What questions do you have about shooting film or hiring a film photographer?
Drop me an email anytime!
Warmest Winter Wishes,
Ashley
December 16, 2020
When it comes to wedding photos, by law the photographer owns the copyright. So what happens if you don't want your wedding photos shown in your photographer's portfolio or socials? This is a controversial topic within the wedding community and many of my peers in the UK were gobsmacked (jk jk haha) to find out (or thought it was very American) that most of us charge a fee for not being able to share our work. My stance: If I accept only non-disclosure clients who sign a contract for me not to share their photos in my portfolio, how am I supposed to get new work? My business would fail. With each wedding my work gets better. It just does and should. I need to be able to show what I am capable of to prospective clients. I also know for a fact that many wedding vendors claim "NDA clients" as an excuse for lack of REAL in their portfolios or lack of portfolios altogether. There are so many scammers in the wedding industry who have zero shame when it comes to claiming they have experience when they absolutely do not. They will take your money and leave you with a horrible product 9 times out of 10 and for some reason people are scared to leave bad reviews, but I digress.
Recently, I came across one opinion from a wedding stylist on TikTok (I love her, but I'm not going to tag her here because I'm about to somewhat disagree with her) who suggested that since we are "service providers" we should "humble ourselves" and understand that we are simply paid to show up and capture a client's wedding and if we need portfolio material she suggests we should "hire models and do styled shoots like everyone else." That's a fun opinion, truly. I understand her desire to align herself with her prospective clients. I also don't think this is great advice for a few reasons.
One, as a pro wedding photographer and small business owner, I am selling a service that results in a product. The product is wedding photos. The product is NOT models pretending to be married in the easiest, highly stylized, best, most emotionless conditions where nothing is difficult or funny or surprising like it is on a real wedding day. Many of my clients hire me for my ability to capture their family and friends (not to mention themselves) so honestly and so beautifully in a candid way that preserves personalities and spirits in a way that is nearly impossible to do as a non-pro with a camera. I think the wedding industry at large has lost the plot when it comes to understanding what makes wedding photos "good." It isn't something you can fake. It isn't easy to do, actually! Not in a truly artistic way. There is a huge difference between a gallery of snapshots with no clear intention behind them except to show "hey this is a wedding meeting bare minimum technical standards" and a gallery that makes you FEEL. If you know you know. Not everyone knows and that's ok. Bare minimum technically correct snapshots have a huge market! That isn't what I'm selling, though.
The argument could be made that styled shoots are harmless examples of your work like when Arby's takes some photos for their adverts of beef sandwiches made of styrofoam or whatever and painted to perfection. Model sandwiches in perfect lighting in unreal conditions. You know you're not going to actually get that model sandwich. You're going to get something inferior every single time and you're ok with it because it still tastes ok and it's cheap. That doesn't work for wedding photography. That's a fast food model for low stakes sandwiches that cost like five bucks. It does not translate for a luxury experience of a hardworking pro photographer capturing your live event. It just doesn't. The results of a styled shoot should not be similar to a real wedding unless you're only hiring models in love and their entire families to be in your shoot. No one sane is doing that and that's not a fair representation of your ability on a real wedding day as a photographer.
My solution and my standard for my small business is to succeed by being truly excellent at taking real wedding photos on real wedding days. My portfolio is a reflection of exactly this. I make it clear to prospective clients in my contract that there is a fee if they do not want me to share their photos. I completely understand the many reasons someone would want their photos kept private and I am totally willing to do that if it is info that is given to me upfront and we agree on a fair contract to that end.
I am the only me and I can only take on so many weddings each year. When I accept a wedding I am turning down ALL other requests for that date, which means I must decide that a wedding is a good fit and fair terms for me and my business goals as well as fair to my prospective client. I treat my clients fairly and handle their wedding with the utmost respect. I never make them feel like I am using them for marketing in an unfair or unusual way. I also expect to be treated fairly and to have my policies respected. Not being able to share any photos I captured as a pro wedding photographer prevents me from potentially booking future clients and this means loss of income for my small business. So many people claim to support women entrepreneurs and small businesses, yet when we assert our absolutely fair policies, suddenly it's controversial and we should simply "hire models" for fake shoots. I hope I have made a compelling argument for my position and that you have enjoyed learning about this topic! It's difficult to leave emotion out of something that is so close to my heart, my livelihood, and what I have dedicated the last 1.5 decades of my life to, have sweat for, have broken toes and bled for, have cried over, and have put my best effort into. So please refrain from overly emotional negative comments and I will do my best to respond to anyone who would like to discuss this respectfully. Thank you so much for reading!
