Film Portraits: Trusting the process, keeping things simple

Taking pictures with film and digital cameras during the same photo shoot was something I wanted to do for quite some time. The few times I tried in the past were frustrating and gave me mixed results. But, experience through trial and error built my confidence just enough that I now integrate film photography into my photo shoots more regularly.

Kodak Portra 800, Canon EOS 62o, 50mm F1.4 | @ohsnapitzlizzie

There’s something more than meets the eye when it comes to film portraits; as if there's an extra layer of authenticity. In this day and age, pictures taken using film are not just about looks; they’re about how they make us feel. With digital portraits, just about everything is expected to be perfect, whereas, with film portraits, any imperfection is part of the aesthetic; so for me, my results are usually right straight out of the camera, and not having to depend too much on image editing with film photography is quite liberating.

Fomapan 400, Yashica Mat EM | @todd.d.moore

With these past photo shoots, I avoided cliché poses and aimed for creating angles as much as possible; and by cliché, I mean body language that doesn’t seem natural or add anything to the image. I’m working on learning to look deeper into the subject's personality to become more responsive with the camera. When your results depend on human interaction, whatever you do is always work in progress.

Kodak Portra 160, Canon EOS 620. 50mm F1.4 | @tatiana.watson