Engagement Photoshoot on Kodak Gold 35mm film.
My first ever couples photoshoot on 35mm film.
Back in June 2024 I bought my first ever film cameras as digital photographer was no longer a challenge. With my undiagnosed OCD I thought I shall also want to self develop and scan my film. Near this time I received a message from Luca who was already engaged to Sophie & he wanted a set of photographs of themselves together and also Digby, their little dog. Up until this day I had only shot digital for my paid work, but I needed a new buzz, so I took my film camera along with me and roll of Kodak film. That way I could cover all bases using the digital and anything achieved on film was a bonus.
My choice of camera and film.
To capture this on film my choice was Kodak Gold ISO 200 and they were taken on my Nikon F3. As I knew we would be shooting during low light the ISO 200 would have been enough and to be honest it was a film I just naturally bought to get going. The Nikon F3 is a legendary fully mechanical camera ( doesn’t need batteries and you wind each shot on ) and I used a 35mm f2 lens. Nikon was my first ever camera brand and il will always be a fanboy. Although now as I write this it’s more like Nikon, Mamiya, Fuji, Yashica Olympus & Pentax. Film photography opened pandoras box and I love it. Kodak Gold is a very well known and trusted film capable of handling most situations. You’ll see in the image above a light leak, completely un-planned and unique only to film as a natural occurrence.
Why I like 35mm film for a photos.
Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals, for the purpose of taking photographs - source wikipedia.
This gives a look that any digital camera won’t, as that is a mathematical equation producing an image. When shooting film for example there is only 36 shots on one roll of film, this slows the process down, meaning I wont just take hundreds of images of the same thing. In turn each image is unique and cherished more. Also the process of loading a roll of film to taking the image, developing and scanning is a little journey, there is a sense of achievement. Now don’t get me wrong digital has its place with being able to re take a photo and look it right away. Thats why I also had my Nikon d850 with me as back up. Film absorbs light differently, as you will see from the image below with the sun flare. Each film also has its own colour pallet meaning thats it, no editing of any colour, the photo is the photo and move on. Getting the exposure right is the main challenge.
The couple
Sophie & Luca both live very close to me in town, and they are now married, but at the time where planned to get married in Tuscany. They already had a photographer planned for this ( gutted ) but I was hired to photograph the ceremony they had at the Somerset Registry Office in Taunton. Some of their family members couldn’t make it abroad so they had the official marriage in the UK, with a secondary wedding in Italy for Luca’s family. At this time they only expected to get digital photos for their gallery, so anything else like 35mm film was a bonus. As this was my first time shooting film on a job I didn’t want the pressure, so kept it hush and got on with it. Each time I took a photo my F3 I took the same shoot on the digital.
Digital Photography.
I originally only posted the film photos from this shoot, but I wanted to post the digitals also not only to display more of what they got, but also to be able to show the difference. On the day I took 36 film photos and around 350 digitals keeping my options open and bases covered. Our location of choice was Valley Of The Rocks in North Devon, a well known part of the county for its epic sea views and rocky terrain. Climbing up and over this kept it fun, the beach is also west facing meaning with a clear sky the light can pour in sideways.
I now shoot film as part of my wedding packages.
Since this day I have progressed quite a lot with film and absolutely love it. When shooting weddings I now shoot digital and film as I did here and I’m slowly building up the confidence to just shoot film one day but thats takes guts, but its what photographers used to do. As part of my wedding packages I will arrive with 3 rolls of film - as standard for a 10 hour day, and the films will be professionally developed in a lab. That way I know they will be done properly and it gives me time to edit the digitals. I can add the film photos into the digital gallery or I can send them to you as a separate download. If film is something you really do like and want more off I can add more rolls into the package if would like this just let me know when contacting me.
