Why I Shoot on Film

Film photography was replaced by the cheaper and faster digital camera in the late 1990s. Digital photography is speedy, crisp, and ubiquitous, so why shoot on film?

I began shooting on film (again) as a way to challenge myself. Film cameras don’t offer the gadgets and auto-corrections of digital cameras. I wanted to truly understand light and composition, without any shortcuts, and film provided me with that opportunity.

And then I fell in love with the practice. My film camera offers me three main benefits.

Presence. There isn’t much to fiddle with on my film cameras. I can’t show you a preview. I can’t add filters. It is the closest thing to my naked eye. When I take your photos on film, I get to be as close to staying present with you. This allows me to really see you, to help you feel more comfortable, and to stay continuously engaged at the moment with you. And the results of my photographs are a testament to that engagement, closeness, and moment-to-moment presence. It is just me, a simple lens, a strip of film, and you.
Color and Depth. Digital cameras want to help you take a good photo. In order to do that, they often flatten the field, so that everything you see is at the same distance from you. The camera on your phone is especially adept at flattening the field. This isn’t accurate to how you actually see the world with your eyes. Our eyes see some things in focus and some things out of focus. The film is able to capture the world the way your eyes see it. Some things are close and detailed, and some things are fuzzy and further away. I am able to adjust what is crystal clear and what is softer when I take the photos. This offers realism and truth that digital cameras often do not.
The film also offers a richness of color that digital cameras often do not. When you take a photo on film, you are literally being captured as a light being etched onto a filament (the film). Not only is the physicality of this process beautiful and metaphoric, but it also gives you images with warmth, thickness, softness, and dimensionality, unlike digital photos.
Artistry, Mystery, and Risk. I love that I don’t know exactly what I am getting when I take photos on film. Photos taken on film can’t be previewed. The film has to be sent off for development and this takes time. I have found that the mystery of the process itself allows for more risk-taking, more play, MUCH less self-consciousness, and greater artistry. My subjects and I are just playing in the present moment, unsure of what we are creating, but trusting the process. I find this play and risk to be the most valuable part of the creative process … and it is what allows for the beauty, soulfulness, risk-taking, and aliveness of my photographs. You can’t see what we are creating, you have to wait for the final result and we just get to be present and playful. In this world of instantaneous expectations, this itself is an incredible gift.

Most of my subjects tell me that the process of the shoot itself, even without seeing any images, is the ultimate gift.

For these 3 reasons, film photography is my passion and my focus. You get to create art. You get to be art. You get to embody yourself as an artwork. And the exquisite photographs speak for themselves.

Film photography was replaced by the cheaper and faster digital camera in the late 1990s. Digital photography is speedy, crisp, and ubiquitous, so why shoot on film?

And then I fell in love with the practice. My film camera offers me three main benefits.

Presence. There isn’t much to fiddle with on my film cameras. I can’t show you a preview. I can’t add filters. It is the closest thing to my naked eye. When I take your photos on film, I get to be as close to staying present with you. This allows me to really see you, to help you feel more comfortable, and to stay continuously engaged at the moment with you. And the results of my photographs are a testament to that engagement, closeness, and moment-to-moment presence. It is just me, a simple lens, a strip of film, and you.
Color and Depth. Digital cameras want to help you take a good photo. In order to do that, they often flatten the field, so that everything you see is at the same distance from you. The camera on your phone is especially adept at flattening the field. This isn’t accurate to how you actually see the world with your eyes. Our eyes see some things in focus and some things out of focus. The film is able to capture the world the way your eyes see it. Some things are close and detailed, and some things are fuzzy and further away. I am able to adjust what is crystal clear and what is softer when I take the photos. This offers realism and truth that digital cameras often do not.
The film also offers a richness of color that digital cameras often do not. When you take a photo on film, you are literally being captured as a light being etched onto a filament (the film). Not only is the physicality of this process beautiful and metaphoric, but it also gives you images with warmth, thickness, softness, and dimensionality, unlike digital photos.
Artistry, Mystery, and Risk. I love that I don’t know exactly what I am getting when I take photos on film. Photos taken on film can’t be previewed. The film has to be sent off for development and this takes time. I have found that the mystery of the process itself allows for more risk-taking, more play, MUCH less self-consciousness, and greater artistry. My subjects and I are just playing in the present moment, unsure of what we are creating, but trusting the process. I find this play and risk to be the most valuable part of the creative process … and it is what allows for the beauty, soulfulness, risk-taking, and aliveness of my photographs. You can’t see what we are creating, you have to wait for the final result and we just get to be present and playful. In this world of instantaneous expectations, this itself is an incredible gift.

Most of my subjects tell me that the process of the shoot itself, even without seeing any images, is the ultimate gift.