Why I decided to start shooting digital again
After shooting film pretty exclusively for 18 months, I have grown to love the process of film. I love how it makes me slow down and makes me more intentional in my shots. So it may seem weird that I have decided to start shooting digital again. Let me explain why.
About a month ago I was looking through past albums of photos of my kids and I noticed that I had so many unscripted, documentary style photos of them and our day to day lives. I realized that since I started shooting film I am taking a lot less of those types of photos and it made me feel sad. I also realized how much I missed that style of shooting. The ability to click away once in awhile and not worry about how much money you are spending. The ability to shoot in many different lighting scenarios indoors and not worry about how I loaded ISO 400 film and already shot half the roll at that rating. Because life doesn't always happen in gorgeous light but it still can be beautiful to capture. Then a few weeks later I did my business expenses for the year and saw I spent over $2,000 on the buying/developing/scanning of film and it made my jaw drop. Luckily I am able to sell my film photos through Stocksy but still - that could have been an AMAZING vacation somewhere!
Some friends suggested that I shoot digital for a day or two and see how I feel about it. So I did. And honestly I felt the same as I do about film. Because in the end I care about WHAT was captured, not HOW. Sure the film process is fun, to slow down, take your time, think through everything. But its also fun a lot of fun to document and click at will, trying lots of angles and being a fly on the wall.
I know I could have shot these on film too - but the difference is that I didn't run in front of her to take a meter reading, interrupting the moment. I didn't say have to say "wait! do that again!" or "can you move here?".
So now I feel pressure to decide, am I film shooter or a digital shooter - especially for my client work. And I honestly don't have an answer to that yet. I won't stop shooting film - but I won't limit myself to it either.
