Should I Choose Film for My Hudson Valley Wedding?

When couples ask whether they should choose film for their wedding, my answer isn’t simple. Film isn’t a checkbox or a trend — it’s a temperament. The decision says something about you, how you want to remember your day, how you experience time, and how much you have to spend.

For those who connect with it, film reshapes everything. The pace. The rhythm. The way the photographer moves through the day. As someone who’s spent years working with 35mm, 120 medium format, and the unpredictable Holga across Beacon, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and Saratoga — I’ve come to see film not as a “look” but a way of seeing.

It’s slower. More deliberate. More alive.
And it’s not for everyone.

The Way Film Changes How I Work

You cannot rush film. It won’t save you if you shoot carelessly. Every frame costs something — time, attention, thought, money. That reality changes the way I think, the way I move. It makes me patient. I don’t overshoot; I observe.

When I’m photographing a wedding on 35mm, I’m aware of everything — the way light grazes a shoulder, a child standing by the wedding cake with a devilish look on her face, how the Hudson River mirrors the clouds at dusk. With 120 film, that awareness deepens. The camera itself slows me down. Each frame carries weight, and you feel it in your body when you press the shutter. You hear the click.

The Holga, with its plastic lens and charming unpredictability, invites risk. Sometimes it gives you an image that feels like memory itself — soft, imperfect, but utterly alive. Sometimes not.

That’s the quiet discipline of analog work. It demands presence, not performance.

What Film Looks Like

Film has its own language. Shadows breathe. Highlights bloom. Grain replaces pixel clarity with something tactile — something that feels like skin, not glass.

A portrait on 120 medium format feels sculpted by light, not lit by it. The tonal range pulls you into the air of the moment. 35mm renders the day with texture — it carries the heartbeat of motion, of laughter, of wind moving through hair.

And then there’s the Holga. The little plastic body with a lens that refuses to behave. It leaks light, vignettes edges, and blurs intention. Yet somehow, it often gets closer to emotional truth than a thousand-dollar lens ever could.

These differences aren’t about nostalgia. They’re about feel. Depth. Humanity.

As an analog wedding photographer in the Hudson Valley, I appreciate the way film captures more than just the surface of a scene. It records how the light hit a dress, the weight of a gaze, the tension in a smile, and the air between two people. This quality is why couples who hire me — whether they book me as a wedding photographer in Beacon NY or a Saratoga film wedding photographer — often tell me they feel the images reflect not only their day but the emotional truth of it.

Intentionality Over Convenience

Digital photography invites comfort. Infinite frames. Instant review. Undo buttons for everything.

Film removes all that. You commit to the frame before you see it. You trust your instincts. You let go of perfection and chase honesty instead.

Every time I shoot film, I’m reminded how decision-making affects emotion. The pace of the camera becomes the pace of the day. There’s a rhythm to loading new film, to checking exposure, to waiting for the right breath of light. The couple slows with me — not because they must, but because the camera asks them to be present. Because this is who they are and what they wanted.

That’s what makes film powerful. It doesn’t just record an image. It influences how the day feels while it’s unfolding.

A practical consideration for couples is that film requires intentionality from both the photographer and the couple. Sessions are measured; there’s less room for endless retakes. If you’re not able to put time aside in your schedule to shoot some film on your wedding day, there’s no need to torture yourself or me. Stick with digital. Shooting film is about endurance. The medium demands care, attention, and presence of every frame.

Couples hiring a wedding photographer in the Hudson Valley who uses film should plan accordingly. For instance, now-a-days, it’s not uncommon for wedding photographers to use 128GB memory cards. Those photographers can photograph an entire wedding on one memory card. Yet, I need to pause once in a while to add more film, and if in that small moment you lose your mind, film is probably not for you (LOL). Engagement sessions on film, lighting tests, and pre-wedding consultations help establish comfort and confidence with the medium. It’s not for everyone, but for those who connect with its rhythm and texture, film can create images that are both personal and profoundly resonant.

Funny thing is, 25 years ago this conversation wouldn’t even be happening because you wouldn’t have had a choice!

The Reality Check

Let’s be honest — film isn’t the easy route.

It costs more.
It takes time to develop.
It can’t be rushed.

There are moments when I have to pause mid-session to reload a roll, and that’s okay with me. But if that pause makes you anxious, film might not be your medium.

You need patience. You need trust. You need to be okay with not seeing the photos when you wake up tomorrow.

This slowness is part of the beauty. When couples hire me, we build space into the schedule — time to breathe, to set light carefully, to work with intention. The results speak for themselves: images that feel steady, enduring, and grounded in reality.

Although we live in a world of 20 frames per second and instant previews, there’s a part of us that aches for yesterday — a quieter rhythm, a slower way of being. Film reminds us of that. It trades speed of presence, for precision and honesty.

When I photograph on 35mm or 120 film, or even a Holga, I’m not chasing perfection; I’m searching for something real. I don’t fire off a hundred shots hoping one will work — I wait, I watch, I breathe. The camera becomes an extension of my intuition, not my impulse.

And I think that’s why film feels different to those who see it. It carries the warmth of time itself. The texture, the depth, the quiet imperfection — it reminds people of yesterday, security and a world that still feels human. There are no questions about what you see on film. It is pure. It is an honest version of truth, of reality.

Different Formats, Different Stories

Each film format has its own character — its own rhythm and voice.

35mm film feels nimble and immediate. It’s the format I rely on for movement, for life between moments — laughter on the dance floor, champagne pouring, the energy of motion and the ceremony.

120 medium format slows everything down. The detail is extraordinary, the tones softer, the depth more physical. It’s perfect for portraits, where a single glance or gesture can hold a story. It’s great for group shots.

Holga, the unpredictable one, adds spontaneity. The softness, the light leaks, the distortion — they make ordinary scenes feel dreamlike. Some of my favorite wedding images were born from Holga’s imperfections.

4×5 format is a treat for those who have time and can stomach the slowness of the process. Perfect for rich, architectural storytelling in exquisite, luxurious settings like Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. Think grandeur and tall windows. Not ideal for dad’s backyard garden.

Digital. Yes, I do shoot digital as well. In fact, most of my assignments require a mix of film and digital formats.

Together, these formats create balance. Precision meets unpredictability. Structure meets emotion.

Film in the Hudson Valley

The Hudson Valley rewards those who work with light. There’s a particular softness in the air here, especially in the evening when the sun settles low across the river. Film captures that tone differently — the moisture, the haze, the gold in the hills.

At Highlands Country Club, the late light bounces off the trees and onto the stone walls. On medium format, it feels three-dimensional. In the Catskills, clouds move across the mountains like brushstrokes — 35mm catches the fleeting play of shadow and color.

Even a Holga shot from the garden of a Saratoga estate carries that familiar texture of Upstate air — imperfect, nostalgic, deeply human.

Film honors this landscape because it’s patient with it. It doesn’t flatten the scene into sharpness; it breathes with it.

Why Film Feels Different

Clients often tell me they feel my images reflect not only their day but the emotional truth of it. And I think I understand why.

Although we live in a world of 20 frames per second and instant previews, there’s a part of us that aches for yesterday — a quieter rhythm, a slower way of being. Film reminds us of that. It trades speed of presence, for precision and honesty.

When I photograph on 35mm or 120 film, or even a Holga, I’m not chasing; I’m searching for something real. I don’t fire off a hundred shots hoping I caught one for my next photography contest — I wait, I watch, I breathe. The camera becomes an extension of my intuition, not my impulse.

And I think that’s why film feels different to those who see it. It carries the warmth of time itself. The texture, the depth — it reminds people of yesterday, security and a world that still feels human. There are no questions about what you see on film. It is pure as pure can get. It is an honest version of truth, of reality.

Digital however, has made truth negotiable. Photographers can smooth, blend, add, retouch, replace. Film doesn’t do that. What you see is what happened. The flaws are proof that the moment existed — and that no one else could have captured it quite the same way. This honesty has surreal weight. Each image is the result of deliberate observation and action. It’s why I continue to work with film and why decerning clients who appreciate timeless heirlooms continue to work with me.

Who Film Is (and Isn’t) For – The Old Souls

Film isn’t for everyone, and I respect that. If your wedding day is built around efficiency and instant gratification, digital is not your friend. You’ll have thousands of images the next day, and you’ll know exactly what you’re getting and you’ll be so happy.

But if you want to feel your day as it unfolds — if you value texture, tone, and the slow craft of observation — film will meet you there.

Film rewards patience and presence.  And it returns something no other medium can: images that feel true because they are.

The Real Choice

Film is NOT for everyone. Film involves extra preparation, higher costs, and great patience. But for those with a relaxed disposition, who value authenticity, visual richness, and the quiet power of analog photography, it becomes more than a medium; it becomes a partner in telling their story. Choosing film isn’t about nostalgia or trend. It’s about connection — to time, to texture, to truth. The medium changes how you remember your day and alters how you move through it. It teaches both photographer and couple to pause, to see, to breathe.

That’s what I love most about it.
Not perfection.
Not control.
But the quiet honesty that lives between moments.

Ultimately, choosing film is intentional and at some point, explaining why you should use it becomes kind of like explaining jazz. Couples who hire me as their wedding photographer in Beacon NY, or as destination film wedding photographer in Saratoga, or ask me to shoot 120 film at their wedding in Manhattan understand this without me needing to say anything more.