There are so many shoeboxes stacked in our cedar closet filled with prints and polaroids—every photograph I have until my late 30s was shot on film and printed. There’s really nothing better than sitting on the floor getting lost in piles of old photographs. We don’t have kids, so someday they will all end up in the hands of our nieces & nephews (or in an antique store)
How long have you been shooting weddings on film?
Literally all our lives, my first camera was a Polaroid - but professionally at weddings, around 10 years.
In 2015, we began shooting weddings with a few rolls of film in our bag simply for our own satisfaction. Most of our couples didn't seem excited about it, or even knew what it was, so the pressure was off, which allowed us to get really creative with it and experiment with expired film stocks. All those years, we shot “safe” on digital and got weird on film, and it made us so happy …. our clients always loved it too… we were hooked. So when demand for analog picked up around 2022, we were ready with open arms and have gone full throttle ever since. Documenting weddings on analog film for couples who now genuinely appreciate it as much as we do has breathed new life and immense excitement into our process. And since analog limits us to a small, finite number of frames per roll, it has sharpened our intuition as photographers. Film has forced us to slow down, and as a result, our work has become so much more personal and intentional.
How much film vs digital do you shoot at weddings?
Mike shoots exclusively on film cameras; he usually brings 5-7, a mix of 35mm and medium-format cameras, and averages 700+ final images per wedding. Chellise blends digital and film - typically delivering an average of 60% analog to 40% digital.
What’s your film shooting style?
A cross between New York cool kid energy and romantic surrealism. While we always get the money shots that are to be expected and that mom wants, we’re not going for the polished "perfect" wedding feed - we prefer a more human, deeply personal touch with a little lucid dream dropped in for the art wall. We attract couples who don't want their photos to convey wedding strip-mall-pinterest-board-energy, and this has a lot to do with the cameras we bring to weddings that are not so typical.
What’s the biggest misconception about shooting weddings on analog film?
The most misleading phrase we keep hearing on repeat is that “film has its place” - implying that digital is needed for backup and for dark spaces. This statement is false and misleading, given that every wedding documented before digital took over in 2007 was taken on film. Look at your grandparents' wedding album.
So, it is not true. It simply depends on the photographer's level of expertise and comfort in using remote flash in dark, cavernous venues like those in NYC. Mike is exceptionally skilled in this arena. For a visual reference, see the images below.
How do you handle dark spaces at weddings when shooting on film? What’s your lighting setup?
Unlike many film photographers, we do not use continuous lighting (floodlights that stay on constantly and kill the vibe). Instead, we use discreet remote flashes, allowing us to pop flash for a nanosecond when needed without affecting the ambient lighting of your wedding.
Where is your film developed?
Our film is developed & scanned at Primary Photographic in NYC.
Do you edit the film?
To a limited degree, yes. Each film stock has its own defined color profile; however, we may adjust the color, blacks, contrast, exposure, etc.
How do you deliver film photos to your clients?
While we would prefer to send a massive box of 4 x 6" prints as the final product, that's not going to fly these days, so all of our film is scanned in high resolution, color-toned in-house, and sent to our clients in digital format for download.
Analog has a way of making a photo taken yesterday feel nostalgic….
