Why I shoot Film | Clarksburg, Maryland Family, and Newborn Photography

A question I get a lot is people asking me why I shoot film. There are certain qualities that film has that digital doesn’t have. Even with the best “Film for digital presets” there is a feeling that film gives that I find to be timeless and classic. That is exactly how I want my work to look.

A lot of the work you see on my site has been shot on film. That’s right, good old analog film. I absolutely love the look that the film produces. Shooting film forces me to be a better more thoughtful photographer. I don’t have a memory card that has a 12,000 image limit. Each roll gives me 16 shots. So, I slow down, look more carefully, meter my lights and compose more thoughtfully. These are some of the reasons why I shoot film.

When I look back at my family albums from when my parents were younger, everything is on film. There is a certain nostalgic feeling that comes with those photos and I love that. I love the soft muted colors, the matte feeling that shooting with film brings. I love shooting older film cameras. You get to actually manipulate the camera. You turn knobs, rings, flick switches and hear KERCHUNK when you press the shutter. It’s the same reason I prefer stick shift cars over automatics, you get to DRIVE the car.

Film also comes with a layer of security that digital doesn’t have. digital images are all stored on the cloud or hard drives. These can easily get damaged, become outdated or just go offline. Knowing that I have the negatives for every shoot means that I don’t have to worry about loosing all my work the grid goes out or my drives and back ups fail. That being said, I have 4 working backups at all times! So If a client has an accident and loses their photos, I can always get them back to them with no problem.

To see how your beautiful family looks on film, give me a call or reach out below and let’s chat!