This post was originally shared in early 2021 when I had just begun incorporating film photography into my wedding packages. As of now (2024) I have been documenting most of my weddings on film! I’ve added new equipment and film stocks, attended workshops and learned both still and 8mm movie film from some of the experts. And all along the way I have had the honor of working with so many incredible, creative, artistic, and kind couples and their families. I wouldn’t trade it for the world! So for my most recent film work, please feel free to reach out or peruse through my website here.

Here is the styled wedding shoot on film:

On a cool, rainy day in November, Turi and Lynn joined me for a portrait session, shot primarily on 35mm film. We had floral arrangements made by Meg of Foliage Nashville and Nicole of Hiraya Flowers, and both styles turned out beautifully.
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I launched my film photography packages for weddings and portraits in 2020, and it has been one of the best things for me creatively and for my couples. Living in Nashville, many people are familiar with film photography. We are a trendy little city with photographers on every corner, and so many are familiar with the feel and the technology of film photography. And like most people born in the late 20th century, you don’t know much about it. So read below for a little bit of my experience in film photography.

I began shooting film for fun on travels after I found my mom’s old 35mm camera in a closet. I used it in college as I learned more about different types of film and how to shoot it well. The beginning of my journey with film in my business was with a portrait session in Portland, Oregon several years ago. I picked up a 35mm camera from the 1950s in a thrift store there, and got the cheapest film that a local camera store had in stock. (I was equally amazed and delighted that anyone in the city sold film in a storefront!) It’s called Kodak Colorplus, and I took it on every adventure with me. I was obsessed with the way it captured blues and greens in the landscape.

In the summer of 2020 I decided to try shooting more portraits on film, so I did some research and got a handful of rolls of Kodak Portra 400, a pretty standard portrait film. And I fell in love all over again. Its as gorgeous. I tested it along with a new camera in the Smoky Mountains on my sister and her husband, and haven’t looked back.

Film on a wedding day captures an elegance that digital doesn’t naturally carry. It feels authentic, personal, and elevated. It causes me to slow down and focus and it constantly amazes me in sunny scenes and cloudy scenes alike. For as long as I photograph weddings, I will incorporate film. It is timeless, gorgeous, and fills my creative soul. I am so excited to offer this with my 2021 wedding packages.