Perfect imperfection, unique lighting and the suspense of waiting to see what gets developed, are why photographers say they use film
Film photography allows people to appreciate the boring, experience the surprise of opening newly developed film and capture memories to look back at, said two BYU-Hawaii students and an alumna. “It’s real, it’s genuine and it has personality,” said Bryton Pack, a junior from Utah majoring in business management, about film photography.
Pack said he loves this type of photography because it’s imperfect, and it gives a nostalgic look. “The beauty of photography is there is beauty all around us, but it depends on how you capture it,” he said. Sometimes people like to take a photo of things that are pretty, “but sometimes you can find pretty in very mundane things, too,” he continued. Everyone should try to pick up a camera and just take a photo, he added.
Anna Yamaguchi, a visual arts sophomore from Japan, said film photography allows her to preserve memories. She said, “Just looking at the photos is a wonderful experience for me… It takes me back to what happened. Like what we did, and what I felt at that time.”
Marlee Palmer Young Yen, an alumna from Utah and Ke Alaka‘i’s art director said she got her first film camera in 2021. She said she loves that she does not see the photos right away. “My favorite part is getting those photos back… It’s like a surprise every time like ‘Oh, I don’t remember taking that photo,’” she continued.
Pack said he has been doing film photography for about four years and digital for two years. Film photography was what got him into photography, he recalled. He said he had friends who were photographers. “They had these nice film cameras back in high school, and they would bring them to many events,” he said. Pack said he saw the outcome of his friends’ photos and thought it looked cool. “I had to get myself one, and I had my buddies who knew enough to help me out,” he shared.
Yamaguchi said one of her friends back in Japan invited her to a Japanese photographer’s photo exhibition. “When I saw his pictures, I also wanted to take photos like he does,” she said. She looked him up on social media and learned he uses film, she shared. “So I bought a film camera and just started from there,” she continued.
Surprise and reward
Aside from the surprise she gets from seeing her developed film photos, Young Yen said she’s very proud of herself finally figuring out the settings. “It’s rewarding after having so many blurry rolls, waiting to get a roll out and see that it has perfect lighting and perfect focus,” she continued.
Pack also said, “I think it’s the delayed satisfaction.” Film photographers cannot see their photos until after they are developed, and sometimes it takes weeks or months before they get developed, he continued. “I love the process… It’s addicting,” he continued.
Young Yen added recreating a film shoot does not give the same result using digital. “You can try recreating it with filters, but films just have such a unique look to me,” she continued. “I think more people should try it out. We should bring back film photography,” she said.
Digital and film
Yamaguchi said she takes a lot of photos and uses both digital and film. She said digital photography is convenient and easy because she can take a photo anytime. “But for film, I think about what I want to take a photo of and why I want to capture the moment,” she said.
Pack also shared his love for digital photography, but said he prefers film more. With digital photography, photographers take photos in a raw format and edit the color, lighting, contrast etc., said Pack. “But once in a while it’s nice to just take a film camera and take a photo of the moment,” he continued.
Young Yen also said she uses both digital and film. She said she always brings two of her film cameras and still takes digital photos at the same time. “It’s for convenience and safety just in case the roll does not work out and vice versa,” she continued.
One of Young Yen’s film cameras is manual, and her other one is automatic. She said she doesn’t need to adjust the settings for her automatic film camera. “For my manual film camera, I have to change the aperture and the shutter speed,” she continued. Young Yen said it’s trial and error because she can’t see the photo right away. “If you have a film camera, you have to learn how to work with the settings,” she added.
Challenges
“You should never expose film rolls to light because it ruins it,” said Young Yen. She said her two cameras require a different way of loading the film.
“Before unloading a film you have to wind it up all the way,” she said. If it’s not properly done, one of the photos will be ruined, she continued. “It’s really hard. I had to watch YouTube videos, and I still have to,” she shared.
“Film photography is expensive,” said Yamaguchi. When she started doing film photography seven years ago, it was already expensive, but she said she could still afford it because she was working part time. Today, she said it’s more expensive. “As a student, it’s hard to buy one, but I can still work and earn,” she continued.
Pack said aside from film being expensive, there’s a bigger learning curve when it comes to film photography. He said you need to know more about how cameras work, how to adjust the aperture, the shutter speed and film speed. “But it’s fun!” he continued.