Couples session on 35mm film

Amanda reached out to me on instagram to enquire about a couples shoot to document all the things that her and Liam love, which is walking the tree lined paths by the lake in Queenstown. She specifically wanted the session documented on film so that it would feel authentic, imperfect and nostalgic, three things that film does oh so well. I’m a HUGE lover of film, I pretty much only shoot it for personal projects and exclusively in my daily life when out adventuring with friends or on holiday. I have shied away from it in my professional work for a couple of reasons. The first being that for me it clearly separates my work and personal life. I was concerned that if I started incorporating it into my workflow that I would then lose some of the love for it and see it as “work” not “pleasure”. Secondly I thought that I might miss some key moments if I’m faffing around with an old camera that has manual everything. The want to be everywhere at once and document everything whilst also nailing two very different mediums seemed a little daunting. What if the film finishes at an inopportune moment and I don’t have time to change it? What happens if they are moving too fast and I miss focus? What happens if this age old camera breaks and doesn’t actually take the photos you think you’ve shot? All valid reasons right? And rightly so… my old Pentax had an issue where the shutter would stick and half of almost every shot was black with uneven exposure. I didn’t realise this until I’d shot 5 rolls on holiday and by that time it was too late. On a wedding day there are no retakes, moments happen in a flash and I would kick myself if I thought I’d missed something(albeit out of my control). But when Amanda reached out I jumped at the chance. I still shot some digital alongside as a failsafe - just in case, but it turns out it wasn’t needed. My cameras worked (if you look closely you can see the capping start to creep in on a couple of the colour shots - this was just pre Pentax meltdown), but I felt that a couples shoot didn’t have the same quick pace of a wedding. We had no agenda, nowhere to be, no hoards of family to get back to and no timeline to stick to. I love the results, film only complimented the moody morning and low cloud. There are still some focus fails, or “soft focus” as you might call them, but I love them all. Since this session I have shot a couple of rolls of 35mm film alongside digital at weddings, it was fun, it was a juggle, I didn’t LOVE it, I still think that sticking to one medium at a time would be better suited to get the best results. Like Jimmy Carr said in the diary of a CEO podcast …

“There is so much emphasis on being a good all rounder, but the world doesn’t reward all rounders. If you get a D in physics and an A in English, just go to English lessons. I’ll tell you what the world doesn’t need, someone who’s s**t at physics”.

I think that if I was to truly do film justice then my perfect scenario would be to have someone else shoot the digital side, making sure they capture all aspects of the day, whist I’m allowed the freedom to shoot at a slower pace, the way film’s designed to be shot, without the worry of missing anything. Being able to wait for those moments that you see coming without firing a shot off prematurely because you need to be somewhere else. I don’t actively advertise that I shoot film in my wedding packages, I will however shoot a couple of rolls at an added cost if you’d like, but just know that the results are never guaranteed and other than a few horizon fixes, I don’t really edit them, I like to believe that the film does all the talking and as a photographers true North I don’t think I could improve on it’s colour or style. Film is my happy place and it does have a soft spot in my heart. I think the images I’ve shot on film at weddings have become some of my favourite of all time.

Here’s to more shoots like Amanda and Liam’s.

If you think that a couples shoot or adding film to your wedding package might be for you… LETS CHAT!!!