I recently got asked to shoot a wedding for a couple of my good friends that are going to be getting hitched. At first I hit panic mode because I sold my dSLR and don’t want to rent one for the wedding. I figured I could probably borrow one and I have plenty of time to figure out who would be willing to loan me a camera for an afternoon. Then I realized that was just a dumb idea. Why would I shoot a wedding with equipment I’ve never used before… I realized that I am already more then equipped to handle a wedding, as long as I can shoot it on film.
I wasn’t sure how I should handle the situation with my friends, would they be okay with me using film to shoot their wedding? Well if they want me to be the photographer they would have to be or they could hire a photographer (and at that price they could probably buy me a digital if they insisted on digital and still come out ahead). I reminded the bride to be that I had sold my dSLR and would only be able to shoot the wedding if I could shoot it on film. She asked me what does that mean? I told her that meant she would be getting wedding photos just like everyone else has for the last 40 or so years before the proliferation of digital cameras. She was okay with that.
Right now is actually a great time to shoot on film believe it or not. With the new Portra 400 and Ektar 100 at my disposal I can get great quality photos and proof them with no financial expense. Will it be time consuming, yes, more so then digital. But I’m okay with that. This is my wedding present to my friends so I am getting off cheap.
