What are the differences between film and digital photography? // Columbus, OH film photographer

Sep 12

You may have noticed that I’ve been talking a lot about film photography over here, so I wanted to share why I love it, how it differs from digital photography, and how it’s making me a better photographer.

*Shooting with film is a little like listening to vinyl records. Canon EOS3 + HP Ilford Plus.*

First a little background: the first time I picked up a camera was in my 6th grade black and white photography class. We were SO lucky to have a darkroom, where I experienced the magic of developing film and printing my own images. I experienced the magic again during my freshman year of college, when I took Photography 101 and learned how to shoot film. But I got distracted and let it go, for about a decade.

Flash forward to 2011. I was enrolled in cosmetology school, which felt a lot like art school. I was creating fun hair and makeup styles for my peers and I wanted a way to capture it, so my husband gifted me a Canon Rebel digital camera. I was hooked. My friends and I would dress up and go around to the funkiest spots in town to take portraits. Then people started asking for senior photos, wedding photos, etc…which slowly led me to where I am today. I’ve made photos nearly every day since I got that camera in 2011.

Last year (2021), I left my job at the salon in order to focus on Heart Sung Photography. My client base was growing, but although I was spending more time taking photos, which I love, I was also spending more and more hours at the computer. If you know me, you know I do not like to sit (unless it’s by a camp fire). What was I spending all that time on? EDITING PHOTOS. Enter film.

Portra 800 for indoor portraits — *Pentax 645 + Portra 800*

In many ways film is so much simpler than digital. You take the photos, send them to the lab, get them back via email a few weeks later and ta-da, you have a gallery! When I was shooting exclusively with a digital camera, I found myself taking between 600-1000 photos for each client. 1000!!! That’s because photos are free with a digital camera, and I would click away hoping I was getting some good ones. And I did - I’m very proud of the sessions I’ve had over the last few years.

But I wasn’t being as intentional as I could be, and I was burning out. It takes a lot of time to go through hundreds of photos, culling them down to a manageable gallery size (for me, that’s 60-100 photos depending on how many people were at the session), and hand editing each one for perfect skin and settings. I know many photographers who love this process; I am not one of them. I’d rather be taking photos.

I began to notice that my favorite photographers of all time were shooting film. Their images had a certain look that I couldn’t replicate with my digital camera. I got curious, purchased a used film camera, and quickly became addicted. I love the grain, the softness, the skin tones, the colors and the feeling of film. I love that there is no instant gratification. I don’t pull myself out of the moment to look at the back of the camera. I’m so much more intentional about which images I want to take and how to set up my shots. And there is much, much less editing involved when I get my photos back from the lab.

Look, I am not going to argue that film is better than digital. Digital has many advantages over film (which I’ll go over in a minute). But shooting film has made me a BETTER digital photographer (it’s that intentionality). It’s made me a braver and more experimental photographer. I would absolutely encourage any photographer to try using film for awhile for these reasons alone.

So what are the differences between film and digital photography, besides user experience? What do I want my clients to know about film?

Film Pros: film loves light and delivers gorgeous colors and skin tones when outdoors or in brightly lit spaces

film has a nostalgic quality that can’t be replicated digitally, due to the grain and softness of film (digital cameras can have a clinical sharpness that I often tone down during editing)

film is great for experimenting with double exposures, motion blur and light leaks

Film Cons: Autofocus can be imprecise and barely functions in low light

The grain will not appeal to everyone

Images shot with a 35mm camera should not be made into prints larger than 16x20 due to loss of quality (images taken on medium format film will be just fine)

Digital Pros: great for learning as you are not spending money per image

Super sharp (sometimes too sharp for my taste)

AF is spot on and easily tracks moving subjects

Performs well in low light

Digital Cons: less ideal for experimentation

It’s easy to overexpose/blow highlights with a digital camera so subjects often need to be underexposed, and then properly exposed during editing, which can be time-consuming

The skin tones and colors are not as lovely (in my opinion)

So as you can see, each type of photography has it’s pros and cons. I would never go to a photo session without my digital camera (maybe one day, but right now I need the assurance my digital camera provides). But I tend to fall more in love with my film images, so my film camera never stays at home either.