All You Need to Know About Film Photography on Your Wedding Day
A guide for couples curious about 35mm, 120 film and how film fits into a modern wedding gallery
How to Weave Film and Digital Together
As a UK film wedding photographer, I’m often asked what film actually adds to a wedding day, whether it’s worth including, and how it sits alongside digital photography. And to clear up the biggest misconception straight away:
Film photography is not videography.
When I talk about film, I mean 35mm and medium format still photography — the analogue, tactile process where real light hits real emulsion.
For me, it has never been a choice between film or digital. It is about how the two formats work together to create a richer, more cinematic story of your day.
Film brings intention. Digital brings pace.
When they meet, your gallery becomes something layered and alive.
Why Couples Choose Film Wedding Photography
Film slows everything down in a way that feels grounding.
It changes how I see, how I frame, how I wait. There’s a quiet magic to it.
On film:
• Light blooms differently
• Colours shift into softer, truer tones
• Skin glows without looking retouched
• Grain becomes part of the mood
• The imperfections feel human and honest
A film photograph feels like memory, not a replica of the moment, but the way it felt.
Couples often tell me their film images feel “alive” or “like art you can hold.”
“We are so glad we added film to our photography package. It added an extra layer of authenticity. There was something special about knowing a specific moment was being captured with all its imperfections, and that is what made it feel so distinct.”
How Film and Digital Work Together on a Wedding Day
Digital gives speed, flexibility and full coverage of everything unfolding.
Film shapes the atmosphere.
Throughout a wedding day, I use both formats intentionally:
Where I use film:
• Morning prep for slower, intimate portraits
• Ceremony moments where quiet emotion unfolds
• Portraits on 120 medium format for depth and painterly softness
• Dance floor with 35mm for flash, movement and texture
• In-between moments and details that deserve a bit of soul
Where I use digital:
• Fast action
• Group shots
• Low-light movement
• Anything requiring precision or speed
If I shoot around five rolls, film usually makes up about 20 percent of your final gallery. It’s not an exact science. What matters is the feeling of the gallery, not the numbers. Adding more rolls simply shifts the balance and lets film take up more of the story.
Either way, the formats enrich one another.
How Many Rolls of Film Do You Need?
This is the biggest practical question couples ask.
One roll of film is rarely enough to make an impact.
It gives you a handful of frames, but not a feeling.
To make film meaningful within your gallery, I recommend at least five rolls which is included in my full day hybrid collection. This allows space for:
• Portraits
• Documentary moments
• Ceremony frames
• Details
• Transitions and atmosphere
Some couples book 10–20 rolls for a fully film-led story.
35mm vs 120 Film — What’s the Difference?
What Is 35mm Film?
35mm film is the classic still-photography format most people recognise. It has a smaller negative, which gives the images a raw, energetic, documentary feel. The grain is more visible. The frames feel immediate and honest. It’s perfect for fast moments, movement, dance floors and real, unpolished in-betweens.
35mm film
• Smaller negative
• Roughly 24-36 frames
• More visible grain
• Fast, reactive and great for movement
• Perfect for documentary moments and atmosphere
What Is 120 Film (Medium Format)?
120 film creates a much larger negative, which gives you more detail, depth and softness. The look is cleaner, smoother and more sculptural. Skin tones roll gently. Backgrounds fall away in a painterly way. It feels luxurious. Medium format is ideal for portraits, quiet moments and scenes where you want timeless elegance rather than speed.
120 (medium format film)
• Much larger negative
• Roughly 10-12 frames
• Soft, luxurious depth
• Incredibly flattering for portraits
• Painterly tones
• Slow, intentional and cinematic
Loading 120 Film
Digital vs Film
Film Stocks I typically use
Portra 400 / Portra 800
• Dreamy skin tones
• Gentle contrast
• Beautiful in natural light
Ilford HP5 (black and white)
• Timeless, textured
• Perfect for ceremonies or moody interiors
• Stunning when pushed in darker light
CineStill
• Amazing for low-light and ambient scenes
• A cinematic glow digital can’t replicate
Your film is developed and scanned by my trusted London lab. While film takes longer to process, it never delays your final gallery — it simply appears after your preview.
Is Film Wedding Photography Right for You?
Film isn’t for everyone. If these things matter to you, it might be exactly right:
• Atmosphere over perfection
• Mood over symmetry
• Unexpected little moments
• Texture, grain, light and movement
• A gallery that feels lived in and cinematic
If you love the idea of your wedding feeling like art, memory and cinema at once, film will change the way your story is told.
Bring Film Into Your Wedding Day
Film isn’t an add-on. It’s a decision about how you want your day to feel when you look back at it in twenty years.
If that sounds like you, I’d love to hear about your plans.
Film works alongside digital in any package, or we can build something that’s almost entirely analogue.
Either way we design it together.
• View my latest work
• Read more about working with me and film add ons
• Enquire to create a film and digital wedding story that feels like you
tell
me
your
plans
PHOTOS WITH
BACKBONE
Named one of the UK’s
Top 50 Wedding Photographers
Professional Photo Magazine
2025–26
Featured in Vice, Love My Dress, Together Journal, Condé Nast Traveller
and the Financial Times.
Get In Touch
Based in the UK
Willing to get on a plane
© 2026
