You love the nostalgia of your parent’s wedding photos, the rolls of negatives and Polaroids, so you’ve decided you want a film wedding photographer for your Utah wedding (though hey, I travel literally everywhere). I loveee talking to couples about this potential option and meeting others who are passionate about film!! If this sounds like you, let’s talk about it. Here’s my thoughts on why you may want a film wedding photographer.
Why Have a Film Wedding Photographer?
In a world that is ever being engulfed by technology, we see a world that is being curated for “perfection” and efficiency. When I started shooting film in 2019, I fell in love with the slower process and the very hands on nature of analog. It is something irreplaceable by AI and “the machine”. It isn’t perfect. With grainy shadows, light leaks, a dollar price per photo, and the knowledge that whatever you got, you got (no 60fps here), it is a medium that needs to be approached with a great deal of intention.
Taking that intention into weddings days creates something special. It creates something you know is real and a way to actually hold your memories after the day. You see it in the content of the photos as well. I already have a very heavy documentary-style approach with very minimal to no interference, and with film, I find myself in a constant state of anticipation. Anticipating emotion. Anticipating smiles, laughs, tears, hugs, glances. In forever search of what will be meaningful on such a precious medium.
Having a film wedding photographer is for you:
- If you value the tangilble – the film strips, the polaroids, the negatives – the proof of existence and these pure moments
- If you love the aesthetic – the soft feel, the grain, the colors of a slightly older time, the gritty realness
- If you care about the process – the intention behind every step of shooting and processing and developing and scanning.
What Does a Wedding on Film Look Like?
Here are a few snippets of my most recent weddings I’ve photographed as a Utah film wedding photographer.
Other Vintage Film Formats and Keepsakes
Beyond the photographs themselves, there are a few other ways to have analog memories of your day. Super 8MM film is vintage video film, a BEAUTIFUL counterpart to 35mm and medium format photographs. If you would like to see examples of super 8 film, here is a link to my YouTube where I have what that looks like.
Additionally, Polaroids are such a fun keepsake. I shoot a handful of packs of Polaroids at every wedding.
And my favorite thing to do after weddings?! Gift an heirloom box. I create heirloom boxes for all my couples. This is a little glass box filled with prints, Polaroids, film negatives, a wooden USB of all your images, and a cyanotype print of your day. This box is a way to beautifully display these nostalgic memories of your wedding.
Hi! I’m your film wedding photographer.
I am a film wedding photographer in Utah. I do travel quite a bit all over, specifically in the West for weddings and elopements on film, and have also found myself oversees. If you feel strongly about film and want your wedding documented this way, you can reach out to me here!! I would love love love to immortalize your nostalgia this beautiful way. I love connecting with couples who share these values in art and memories.
