Black & White Film

Taking photos on a black and white film could be quite demanding these days. I got the call on a late afternoon for a wedding day assignment and it clearly came out of the blue because I just did not have time to plan and the wedding itself was way too casual.

Since the couple are my friends I wanted to do something really special so I went on to buy an ILFORD FP4 ISO 125 Black & White Film. I am not saying that this film is really special, however shooting a special moment like this with a film camera is quite rare in this digital age.

All set, my Minolta Dynax 3xi had a brand new battery inserted and а Sony lens mounted. At one point I felt I just had to start taking pictures so I can see what the final result would be sooner. Of course, I was backing almost every shot up with my trustworthy dSLR to make sure I have a display feedback straight away.

After all the excitement of the wedding day I finally sat down to give it a thought. 

Back in the day photographers would really work hard to frame the shot, to consider the exposure and play with the focus to get it right and there was no display to get feedback straight away and no way of telling if someone had blinked...

Has digital photography actually taken something away from photographers? Maybe it has. We have all the tools now. We take thousands of images at weddings and other special occasions without having to think too much because everything can be cropped, adjusted, re-touched... 

Anyway, I was really happy about shooting both with my digital SLR and on film that day. The photos came out good and really had the retro feel which can be sort of emulated in Photoshop. I personally do not like aging photos using software because it makes them look cheap. That's just my opinion though.

I really like the good-old-day-feel of the photos shot on film.

I guess it's the small imperfections of the final result that give the nostalgic and romantic look of the image.

Here's my advice for shooting special events on film:

1. Hold the camera steady (especially when shooting low ISO film).

2. Watch the framing.

3. You never know if someone had their eyes closed until you see the images so take more than one photo at the important moments.

4. Shoot with your dSLR as well so you can back yourself up and play it safe.

5. Developing certain films can be a pain so ask who can do this for you before decisively buying a certain brand.

6. Before embarking on such an adventure make sure that you've shot several films and know your dated equipment.

Please share, comment and ask questions!

Regards,

Kamen Kunchev