Capturing Life with an Analog Touch
The year was 1995.
Bill Clinton was president, Mariah Carey was on the radio, Windows 95 delighted nerds everywhere, and Toy Story made its film debut. It was also the year that I shot my first roll of film. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in 5th grade and I begged and pleaded with my sister to allow me to take her camera to school.
“Okay, fine..but you can only take 18 photos.”
For those of you born in the era of SpongeBob and iCarly, that's half a roll of 36 exposure film. Certainly plenty to document an entire day at school if you're being selective.
The fun began almost immediately. I boarded the bus that morning, camera slung around my neck. Walking past my classmates with the panache of a much older, much more confident man. They all wanted to see the camera, they wanted to take photos of each other. With so much delight in their faces it was impossible for me to a total buzzkill and say
"Actually, guys...I told my sister I would only shoot 18 shots."
Who wants to be that guy? I sure don't. So I made the decision then and there to shoot the entire roll of film.
I snapped photos of everything. Lunch time, recess, my friends and teachers. Film forces you to be intentional with every shot. Looking back at it all now, while I did my fair share of candids I also posed my friends and classmates and even tried to weave narrative in images, albeit somewhat rudimentary. By 2pm, I had already burned through all 36 exposures, and I couldn’t wait to see how they’d turn out.
When I got home that day, my sister wasn’t exactly thrilled but she was nice enough to get my film developed. I remember waiting days to see them. When I got my prints I couldn't help but smile to myself. Those grainy, slightly out-of-focus photos were full of life. They weren’t perfect, but they were real and they were mine.
That’s when I fell in love with film. There’s something about the process, the anticipation, the unpredictability, that has always drawn me in. Even now, years later, as a boudoir photographer, I still prefer shooting on film when I can. It adds a layer of authenticity and warmth that digital just can’t replicate. There’s no instant gratification, no deleting and reshooting. What you capture is what you get, flaws and all and that’s what makes it so special.
In boudoir photography, where the goal is to reveal someone’s true self, that authenticity is everything. It’s about embracing imperfections and finding beauty in the raw, unfiltered moments. Film allows me to do that in a way that feels genuine and timeless.
So, while the world has moved on to pixels and megapixels, I still hold on to my rolls of film. It’s where my journey began, and it’s where I continue to find inspiration. Shooting on film reminds me of why I fell in love with photography in the first place, it’s not just about capturing an image, it’s about telling a story and inspiring confidence, one frame at a time.
