A personal look at the photographs I’ve made on film at real weddings, and how to choose between an entirely analog or a film-and-digital experience.
The first time I brought my film camera to a wedding, I wasn’t looking to start a new trend. I wanted to see what that day would be like if I took photos more calmly and with greater care.
Since then, I’ve brought a film camera to several weddings, along with my digital cameras. Film photos have become a different kind of keepsake: a few carefully chosen shots, the atmosphere, and the little moments unfolding around the couple.
That experience made me reflect on what couples might want from film photography. Some are drawn to the idea of having their entire wedding photographed on film; others prefer to combine it with digital. Both approaches are possible, and the right choice depends on what matters most to you: the atmosphere and process of film, the breadth and flexibility of digital, or a thoughtful combination of the two.
Since then, I’ve brought my film camera to several weddings along with my digital cameras. What continues to draw me to it isn’t the promise of perfection, but its imperfections: the grain, the subtle variations in color and light, the way each frame has its own character. These characteristics give the photographs a sense of life that digital photography can never quite replicate.
Film requires me to slow down and act more mindfully. There’s no endless stream of frames, no instant preview, and no way to correct every little uncertainty on the spot. Instead, I have to trust the light, wait for the right moment, and respond to the moment before me. On a wedding day that always flies by, this way of working helps me capture the quiet moments that slip in between—the ones that often turn out to be the most meaningful.
It is often in these unplanned, in-between moments that film feels most at home: a quiet glance, a gesture, hands finding each other.
Film will never make a wedding day slower, quieter or more perfect. But it invites me to pay attention to what is already there: the changing light, the nervous laughter, the people who hold each other close when no one is watching.
That is what I want my photographs to keep—not only how your wedding looked, but how it felt to be there.
If this is the way you would like your day to be remembered, I would love to hear your story.
