The Magic of Film featuring Jacqueline & Luke

This week’s blog post is going to be a little different: I’m going to write a little about why I love the magic of film. I have already shared my engagement session with Jacqueline and Luke. I’ve written about how everything with them felt effortless and stylish. There’s no doubt in my mind that the digital captures I’ve already shared have proven this to be true. But when I got this film reel developed, I was reminded again on a purpose of photography: timelessness.

I would never tell my brides to rely on film. It’s a finnicky and fickle art and no one has time for that during their wedding day. The crisp and clear moments of a digital camera, all three thousand plus photos taken in triplicate during a wedding day, are understandably the foundation of the modern wedding portfolio. These are the photos you can reliably stretch over canvas for squares on your feature wall. These are the photos that you can upload on social media (though Instagram loves to mess with the quality!) and email to your friends and family. These are the photos you add to your grandmother’s rotating digital picture frame.

But when it comes to the magic of film, these are the moments that connect you to yourself. When I think of film photography, I think of grainy, slightly yellowed photographs of family members I may not have met. I think of Polaroids shaken as a child. I think of disposable cameras carted off on high school field trips to amusement parks with friends.

The Invisible String

Taylor Swift wrote about the “invisible string tying you to me,” and in some ways, that’s how film photography feels to me. There are no second chances with film. It is all in that instant. It is all in that moment. I think there’s something absolutely beautiful (and admittedly a little chaotic) about that. It is the exact truth of that moment. And when that truth captures the effortless love and style of the couple? It really feels like magic.

I can’t offer film for all of my brides. Some don’t want it and for others it doesn’t fit their style. Sometimes I can’t actually find more film for my old cameras at that time. But every once in a while, I get back a roll like Jacqueline and Luke’s. It makes me giddy to celebrate not only their love and engagement, but that I get to call some of these pieces a part of my portfolio.

So here’s a quick look at some of my favorite film moments from this session. You may recognize their counterparts from the digital collection I shared a few weeks back.