An analogue autumn wedding on 35mm film

I have recently started offering wedding photography on 35mm film, well actually I should say re-offering as when I started in wedding photography it was 100% film. Film can be more challenging in dark conditions so what better challenge than to photograph a wedding in October on a dark overcast day!

I set out to produce a set of images that stand out as not being digital, I can’t see the point in shooting film and having results that look very similar to digital photography as you might as well save the expense and extra work involved with film. Personally I love working with film, especially black and white.

Film used

Kodak Portra 800 colour film shot at box speed and processed by myself using a Jobo Duolab and C41 chemistry.

Ilford HP5 plus shot at 400iso, 800iso and 1600iso, processed in Ilford Ilfotec DD-X.

Cameras used

I used two different camera systems, a vintage Nikon FE which dates back to around 1978 and a slightly more modern Canon Eos1N which dates to the 1990’s and was the very camera I used back then for my press work. The Canon benefits from auto focus which is my preferred method in very low light (used here for the dancing and children running outdoors), I used a Canon 24mm F1.4 L lens. The Nikon is manual focus which works well most of the time but is extremely challenging in dark conditions, I used a range of Nikon lenses from 35mm to 85mm. The Nikon is better for the ceremony as it is fairly quiet and has manual film advancing, the Canon makes a fairly loud sound due to the built in motordrive for advancing the film.

You can read more about my 35mm film analogue wedding photography by clicking here.