Why I Prefer Film Photography

People are usually surprised when I tell them that I still use a 35mm film SLR as my main work camera.  I went to a conference about 8 years ago by a very well known children's portrait photographer who is passionate about film.  Before I went, I told myself I was either going to come home and buy a digital camera or commit to using my film camera as my medium.  After that weekend, I knew film photography was right for me.  As an artist, it is the medium necessary to achieve the outcome that inspires me. My passion in my work comes from the results that film photography produces.  To me photography is about creating the best product I can - not about the highest profit margin. 

When clients really want some color images I will shoot with both digital for color and film for black and white.  I find I approach both cameras a little differently.  There isn't the cost factor in the back of my mind while shoot with my digital camera.  I know I can just shoot away and delete any unwanted images.  Although this sound enticing, it actually works as a disadvantage.  I find that I might not take the necessary time to compose the shot and might not carefully wait for that perfect shot with digital.  I can just over shoot and assume that there are some good ones.  With film I tell myself with each shot, to slow down, to take my time, to make sure it is the right, perfect shot.  When I am shooting both film and digital for clients, I shoot away with the digital; then when I pick up the film camera I hear me telling myself, and the subject, make it count.  

After I make sure I have captured the perfect expressions of your children, I have the images processed and printed by a highly skilled craftsmen who has more than forty years of printing experience in the same print-making process as one hundred years ago. Film is individually hand-processed and treated to the highest archival standards.  Negatives are custom printed in a dark room. The result is a much richer image with more tonal depth and detail than anything created by a digital file. The final print has a timeless quality to it and, with proper care, looks the same as the images we see in art museums or our grandmother's attic. Even if your children's portraits don't end up on a museum wall, aren't they worth it? Your perfect child. The perfect shot. It's the perfect moment captured in time. 


Prints made from film last forever.