Film Wedding Photographer in Colorado
Your wedding,
on actual film.
Unmatched color, real grain, and negatives you can hold. Every Colorado wedding and elopement collection includes 35mm film, because you deserve something real.
FILM-FORWARD · 35MM + MEDIUM FORMAT · MEMORIES YOU CAN HOLD
Film slows me down in the best way. A roll of 35mm has 36 frames, a roll of medium format has 10, and there's no screen on the back of the camera to check, so instead of popping off ten shots "just in case," I wait for the moment and take the one that matters.
And the color is softer than anything a digital camera gives me. Film was made for skin tones, so people look like themselves: warm, soft, and real. It takes the edge off harsh light too, which matters a whole lot in Colorado, where the midday sun is intense and half the year there's snow bouncing it right back at you. Highlights fade off gently instead of turning into a white blob.
Then there's the film itself. Your negatives read in order, frame after frame, like a little linear story of your day. And every one of those frames is real. A digital sensor records what it sees, but with film, the light from your actual day hits the film and causes a chemical reaction, and that reaction is the photo. When it's all done, I still love holding a strip of negatives up to the light and seeing a wedding day in it.
FILM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Why I still shoot film
THE BIG WHY
Why couples are choosing film
Couples choose film wedding photography for all kinds of reasons. Some are hopping on the trend, and honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. (Pinterest searches for film wedding photos are up more than 2,000%, so you're in good company.) Some just love the look: the grain, the warm color, photos that feel nostalgic from day one. And some want to recreate the albums their parents have, the ones that come out at every holiday.
Then there are the couples who just want something real in a digital age. Your phone holds thousands of photos you'll never scroll back to, and a negative is different. It can't be deleted or accidentally filtered, and it'll still be there long after the next app comes and goes. Hard drives fail, cloud accounts get forgotten, and file formats go out of style, but a strip of negatives just needs a cool, dark drawer. (People are still making prints from negatives shot in the 1800s.) Your grandkids won't need a password to see your wedding. Choosing film also slows the day down a little, and for couples planning a more intentional wedding, that's often the best part.
You don't have to do anything differently. As a hybrid film and digital wedding photographer, I shoot both side by side all day, usually with more cameras hanging off my body than seems reasonable. (I've made peace with looking like a camera store that grew legs.) Film comes out for the special moments when we have time to slow down, and for the fun ones when we have time to get creative and maybe even a little weird. Digital keeps up with the can't-miss shots and the fast, dark parts of the night.
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How it Works
Shoot Develop Scan Print
After your wedding, your rolls go to theFINDlab in Utah. Developing is the most critical part of the whole process, and it's the one I trust to the professionals. It's what turns the exposed film into negatives you can actually see: developer (a chemical) brings out the image, and fixer (another chemical) makes it permanent.
Next, theFINDlab scans every negative into a high-resolution digital file. This is where a lot of the film look comes to life, and it's a real collaboration. I use their custom scans, so instead of letting the machine guess, we work together on the color and the density (basically how bright or dark each frame is) until it matches the look I'm after: warm, true skin tones and soft highlights. When the scans come back, they get added to your gallery right alongside your digitals.
Film scans print beautifully, from a 4x6 for the fridge to a big piece of wall art, and you can order straight from your gallery's print store. Your album, included in every wedding and elopement collection, puts film and digital together on the same pages. Want to get real bougie with it? I can also order true photographic prints, made with light on real photo paper. More on true photographic prints.
Sneak peeks arrive in 72 hours, straight from digital while your film is at the lab. Your full gallery lands in 8 weeks (sessions in 4), with every film scan included. And your negatives stay archived safely with me. If you'd like the physical negatives, just ask and they're yours!
FILM STOCKS
Choosing the right film for your day
Every film stock has its own personality, and part of the fun is matching it to the feel of your wedding. Kodak Portra 400 is home base. It's warm and forgiving and gorgeous on skin, and it's the look you'll see all through my 35mm film wedding photos. For black and white, I reach for Kodak Tri-X 400, which has real grain and deep contrast and makes a wedding look like it came out of your grandparents' album.
Want to get funky? Ask me about the fun films I love experimenting with. Some add punchy contrast, some brighten up the colors, and some throw in a few light leaks for a little extra character. We'll talk through the vibe of your day on our call and pick what fits.
WEDDING DISPOSABLE CAMERAS
See your day from their perspective
Disposable cameras on your wedding tables are hands down one of my favorite add-ons, because they let you see your day through your guests' eyes. They get the photos I never could: the selfies, the silly faces pulled for a best friend, all the moments where it matters that the person in the photo knows the person behind the camera. They're a little blurry and a little chaotic, and that's exactly why couples love them.
I set the cameras out with a little card telling everyone what to do, and I keep an eye on them all night. If the cameras need a little more love, I'll find the extroverts in the room and send them on a mission. At the end of the night I collect them, handle the developing and scanning, and the guest photos land in your gallery right next to mine. Five cameras come with The Legacy and ten with The Heirloom Weekend, or you can add them to any collection: $550 for 5, $950 for 10.
YOUR NEGATIVES
Archived, and yours
Every roll is developed, scanned and archived with me, so your negatives are safe long after the gallery link is forgotten.
If you’d like the physical negatives, just ask and they’re yours.
PRINTS
True photographic prints
Film keeps your photos real from the camera to the lab, and you can keep it going all the way to your wall. I can order true photographic prints for you. Instead of ink on paper, light is projected through your scans onto light-sensitive photo paper, and then the paper goes through its own chemical bath to bring the picture out, just like your film did. It doesn't get realer than that.
You can see the difference the second you hold one. The color is smooth and continuous instead of made of tiny dots, the blacks run deep, and the whole print has a glow that's hard to describe until it's in your hands. They're the perfect match for film, especially medium format, where that bigger negative holds up beautifully on a print big enough for the wall.
Questions about film
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For most couples, yes. Film gives you color, skin tones and soft highlights that editing can only imitate, plus a physical negative of your day. And since 35mm is in every collection I offer, you get it without paying extra.
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Nope. 35mm is included in every collection and session. Medium format is included from The Signature and The Overlook up, and it's $600 to add anywhere else.
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No, your gallery is a mix. I shoot film and digital side by side all day, so you get film's unique character where it shines and digital for the can't-miss shots and the fast, dark parts of the night.
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Honestly, that's totally up to you, and we'll figure it out together on our call. If film matters a whole lot to you, I'll shoot more of it, and if you'd rather slow down with it just for the portraits, we can do that too. It also depends on the length of your day and the light, but for a full 8-hour wedding day, you can expect about 3 rolls.
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Yes! We'll talk about the feel of your day as it comes together, and I'll help you pick films that capture it, whether that's more traditional styles or some funky alternative films. If you've already fallen for a specific look, tell me. I'd love to hear it.
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Not for you. Every roll gets developed and scanned at the lab, but that's already built into the 8-week gallery timeline.
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35mm is the warm, true-to-life film look you'll see all through my portfolio, and it's beautiful on its own. Medium format is the one I get really excited about. The negative is about four and a half times bigger, so your portraits come back with finer grain, smoother skin, and enough detail to print big for the wall.
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It sure does. Film loves light. It smooths out harsh midday sun, handles bright snow and highlights gently instead of blowing them out, and really glows when the light hits just right. That's a big reason I love it for Colorado weddings.
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I keep them archived safely. If you'd like the physical negatives, just ask and they're yours.
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Film loves natural light, so it shines while you're getting ready, at golden hour and during portraits. But that doesn't mean the film stops when the sun sets. Just like with digital, flash creates the light we need to keep shooting, so film can stay on the dance floor right alongside digital.
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Every roll goes to theFINDlab in Utah, a professional film lab that develops it and scans it at high resolution. Then I edit the scans alongside your digital photos before they go into your gallery.
Let's go shoot some film.
Every film wedding is a little creative collaboration: your people, your places, and the films we pick together to match the feel of it all. Tell me a little about your day and I'll get back to you within 48 hours.
