Lauren & Steve on Film

“Why is it you shoot weddings on film?” people ask. That’s a good question. Considering I have a perfectly lovely digital camera. And film costs a lot of money, it needs to be developed and scanned. Yes, film is more expensive. It does have to be developed and scanned – but digital photos have to be processed as well.

On a wedding day I will shoot film for as long as possible – which means as long as there is enough light. Once it gets dark outside or we move to a more dimly lit church, I will switch to a combination of black and white film and digital to make sure that nothing gets missed.

I’ll send the film to my professional lab who have set up a custom profile with my exact image processing specifications. They develop it, scan the negatives directly and return high resolution digital files to me with the most beautiful tone and colours. I then post-process each image individually to ensure they look perfect.

This is where film really starts to shine. It has such a unique look with creamy and soft colours and the depth of field going from crisp to smooth so beautifully that you think you can touch it. It has an incredible dynamic range when it comes to tones and retaining details in the shadows and the highlights.

Shooting film takes skill and forces me to be a better photographer. There is no way to try and see if my exposure is correct. I can’t change the film halfway through a roll. I need to nail it. I need to know what I am photographing before I photograph it.
But the lack of a screen on the back of my camera gives me freedom as well. I can interact with my subject and connect by being fully focussed on what I am photographing.

When I look at great film photographs from 40 years ago, they seem rich, inviting and above all, timeless to me. That is exactly how I want you to feel about your wedding photographs when you look back at them.

Film is special. It feeds my soul. It’s tangible and leaves you with actual images to hold in your hands.

So when Lolly and Ste got married I knew I wanted to photograph it on film.

Shot on Portra 400 and 800, Ilford Delta 3200 with a Hasselblad 500 C/M and Nikon f100, scanned by the FIND lab.

© Ann-Kathrin Koch 2012. Images look best without watermarks on them. Please don’t use the photos without asking me first.