B. Farnum Photography ~Vermont: Blog

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Film vs. Digital Photography

Shot with Ilford XP-2 Film
Will Kodak's demise mean that the Analog world is coming to an end? Film was the way of life for many photographers, and in my opinion can still out preform digital cameras and software.  Analog photography has taught many photographers how to frame a shot before they click the shutter. I always take more time when shooting film. If you don't like a photo on a digital camera, you can view it on the back of the camera via LCD screen if you don't like it simply press delete. Many photographers who have only shoot Digital do not understand what an F/Stop, Shutter Speed and ISO have to do with the exposure of an image. 

Many photos that are taken these days are just merely snapshots in time, only having meaning to the photographer who is snap, snap, snapping.

The expense of shooting film is no longer cost effective way to run your business, with cheaper options like Compact Flash Cards and SD Cards higher profits can be reached by the photographer. You either had to get what you needed to get within 24-36 exposures or load another roll of film. I would than pay for developing and the files to be placed in high resolution on a DVD. The cost of doing 3 rolls of film and putting them on a disk was around $65.00.

The major benefit of being able to reformat, reuse, and re-shoot with a compact flash card is nothing more than amazing.

I still will shoot all of my images that I want in black and white with either Kodak,Fuji, or Ilford films. Many of the local photo developers here in Vermont have stopped processing TRI-X films so I am forced to shoot with C41 films.

I still love the look and feel of black and white films, It's not because of nostalgia. I just believe black and white film always has more definition, contrast and tonal range. But from a business stand point, you cannot beat the price of digital.

My Favorite Films to Shoot:
Ilford XP-2 Super 135-36 B&W (Chromogenic C-41) Print Film (ISO-400)
Kodak 35mm Professional Portra Color Film (ISO 160)
Fujifilm Pro 400H 120 Professional Color Negative (Print) Film (ISO 400)
Ilford HP5 Plus 120 Black & White Print Film (ISO-400)

B. Farnum Photography Portrait & Wedding Photographer