STARTING OUT
I'm approaching the 10th Anniversary of opening my photography business! Like so many other photographers, I accepted assignments of all types when I started out. I did that mostly because I was just thrilled that anyone would hire me to take their portraits or to photograph their event. It also helped me get established and there certainly is nothing wrong with that! Over the years, however, I learned some things about myself and about how I wanted to run my business. First of all, I learned that I enjoy shooting a particular subject, high school and college seniors, more than I liked photographing weddings or newborn babies. That led me to specializing in senior photography and saying No to pretty much anything else. That decision allowed me to focus on my clients so much more and to give them a better experience.
SPECIALIZING
I decided to make seniors my niche in 2014 - fast forward five years to 2019. I had the busiest fall season of my business and I spent A LOT of time at my computer editing! Digital photographs are what I call "hyper-detailed". When focused properly, you can practically count the pores on a client's skin and see your own reflection in their eyes. That's kind of cool but when you're a typical teen that means digital images can be pretty harsh if you're not having a stellar skin day on the day of your session. That also means I have to spend a lot of time retouching. I retouch skin because I feel that zits, bruises, scratches and mosquito bites are temporary so why would we want to document them when they'll be gone in a few days? That fall I was so stressed out and physically worn out from sitting at my desk for hours on end and I knew a change was needed.
For years I had been admiring the work of several film photographers and I loved how soft and real their images felt. I hadn't shot with film since 2006 and, because I didn't know photography back then, I was often disappointed in the results. Shooting with film and not having the benefit of being able to "cheat" and look at the screen to make sure I got the shot was a scary idea even though I had put in a lot of time, over several years, learning photography and how to use my camera. In 2018 I went ahead and bought a film camera but I was so convinced that the pictures wouldn't turn out well that it took me over a year to send in those first few rolls to be developed! When I got those pictures back and discovered that I really DID know what I was doing, I knew one day I would make that switch back to film.
7 REASONS WHY I SWITCHED TO FILM
1. TIME - I know a lot of photographers who really enjoy the editing part of their job. I'm just not one of them. When I get my scans back from Richard Photo Lab, it usually takes me less than an hour to make small adjustments to my pictures. Things like straightening a horizon, cropping or cloning out a distracting element don't take much time. Shooting with film allows me to offer more sessions, gives me time to take care of myself and the house and, most importantly, lets me spend more time with my family.
2. COLOR - I have a strong preference for the colors rendered on certain film stocks as opposed to the colors produced by my digital camera. Digital greens and oranges especially are almost neon and there really is hardly any getting away from green here in Georgia where we are surrounded by trees and grass and that orange clay is everywhere. Granted, a lot of that has to do with the settings on my digital camera. But when I'm trying to get soft accurate skin tones and I want my client to stand out more than the background I prefer film stocks like Fujifilm Pro400H (which is tragically being discontinued) and Portra 400 and 800. Trying to get digital images to look like these films stocks is nearly impossible and, again, would require a lot of time post-processing. There just is no real substitute for film color!
3. SECURITY - I never have to worry about lost images because, with film, I have a "hard copy" - the negatives! When stored properly, the negatives will last for generations - long after a computer has crashed or some website storage is shut down. In fact, many years ago, when my daughter Anna was just a toddler, she scribbled in pen on all the faces in my wedding album! But I have the negatives from my photographer and can print those pictures again and don't have to worry about them being ruined.
4. DYNAMIC RANGE - This is a technical reason but one I think is important. I like my images to be bright and I also want to be able to see the detail in the sky and highlights. Film handles the highlights SO MUCH better than digital! Here is a great article on the differences in dynamic range from digital vs film.
5. AUTHENTICITY - I'd say this is more a psychological reason than a technical one. Yes, scans that I get can be edited digitally but my options for editing feel more limited. With digital there are no limits. I'm personally tired of wondering, "Is that image real?" When you can manipulate any element, like adding fake skies, body contouring, composite a flock of butterflies and falling leaves into an image, then it all starts to feel fake. There just seems to be an added element of believability with film.
6. LACK OF PERFECTION - My daughter, who is almost 16 years old, said that the only thing she doesn't like about film is that you can't see it right away to know if you got the shot you want. But that's actually one of the things I like about it. With film, you're not so focused on getting the "perfect" shot. Life is not perfect, you're not perfect, I'M not perfect! Let's all relax and just enjoy the moment and be present with one another and not worried about being perfect.
7. TRUST - In this age of mistrust, it is so very important for us to learn to trust one another again. That feels vulnerable and scary. At your session you can't verify that I got the shot or that you like how you look. You have to place trust in me - that I know what I'm doing and that I have your best interest at heart. My job is to find beautiful light in a setting that matches your personality and to help you feel comfortable and pose you in a flattering way. After 10 years, I've learned a lot about how to do my job well and you can trust me to get it right!
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