Families on Film | Film VS. Digital: What Families need to know before booking their photo-session

If you’ve followed my work for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I love to shoot family sessions on film. A question I get a lot from the film-curious is-- why film, when digital is much cheaper and the modern way?

Both mediums are powerful tools, but they create very different experiences for both the photographer and the family in front of the lens. Here’s what you need to know when deciding whether a film session is right for you.

1. The Look

Each film stock has its own unique character—from how it handles light, to the way colors render, to the texture of the grain. For client work, I most often reach for Kodak’s professional Portra line, which is loved for its flattering skin tones and color that feels both true-to-life and a little nostalgic.

The session featured here was shot on Cinestill 400, which I pushed to 800. (In simple terms, that means I intentionally underexposed the film, then asked the lab to extend the development time. The result is stronger contrast and more dramatic tones.) Cinestill is also known for its signature halations—the red glow you can sometimes see around bright highlights in these images.

I share this because it illustrates why the “film look” is hard to replicate digitally. Every film stock has its own voice. (Kodak is known for it's gold tones while Fuji stocks are known for thier lush greens for instance. IIlford's B&W film HP5 has an organic grain structure and while thier Delta stocks feature a strictly regimented T-grain structure).

Digital, on the other hand, leans toward crisp sharpness and accuracy—what the camera sees is often what you get. When I edit digital sessions, I’m essentially “painting” over the image, carefully crafting the mood in post-production.

Neither is better than the other, but they create very different experiences and aesthetics.

2. The Process

Shooting film naturally slows everything down. Each roll has a limited number of frames, and with my vintage cameras I’m manually focusing and metering for light. That means every image is intentional—or sometimes a quick, instinctive shot “from the hip” to catch a fleeting moment before it disappears (those are often my favorite images).

This slower rhythm often helps families relax. You’re not being rushed or asked to perform while I fire off hundreds of frames. With digital, I can take hundreds of photos quickly, which is wonderful for toddlers on the move or fast-paced events, but it creates a different energy than the thoughtful cadence of film.

Most of my film sessions last around two hours, but I also love documenting families for a half-day or even a full day—really leaning into the rhythm of your life and capturing your story as it unfolds.

3. The Tangibility

Film begins as something physical—a negative you can hold, a piece of your story etched with light into emulsion chemistry. Families often love knowing that their images started as something tangible, not just data on a card. I offer the option of sending you your negatives after the session because I believe it’s important for you to have that “backup” if it matters to you.

Your gallery is delivered as fully edited, high-resolution digital scans of those negatives. I shoot a combination of both 35mm and 120mm (medium format) film for my families. This means 35mm images print beautifully up to about 8x10, while 120mm film—because of its larger size—can be printed much bigger, up to 16x20 or more, with incredible detail. My preffered method of archiving film sessions is a photo book. If you are curious about what my personal design process looks like. You can read about it HERE.

The images files I create during my digital sessions are huge. I recommend that if you are looking to create large-scale wall art for your home that this is the way you go. While convenient and great for creating large canvases and prints, digital files can sometimes feel fleeting unless they’re printed—and hi-res files can quickly take up space on a hard drive. Film offers both: something physical to archive, and high-quality digital scans to enjoy and share.

4. The Wait

Film isn’t instant, but neither is digital. After a film session, your rolls are sent to a professional lab for developing and scanning. This usually takes a couple of weeks. I work with a local lab, Colour Works in Wilmington, DE, and they consistently surprise me with how quick and reliable their turnaround times are.

Digital sessions, on the other hand, don’t require a lab, but my editing process is extensive. A typical 1.5-hour family session takes me 8–12 hours of careful editing. If I have a full queue of sessions, my turnaround time can stretch to three or four weeks.

In other words, whether film or digital, patience is part of the process.

Many families tell me that waiting for their photos actually makes receiving the gallery feel even more special. The wait is always worth it-- the end result is a gallery of images that are carefully crafted and ready to become part of your family archive.

5. The Legacy

Most of us grew up flipping through photo albums filled with film prints. Choosing film for your family session can feel like a way of connecting with that tradition-- adding to the family archive in a way that’s nostalgic. Digital images certainly belong in the archive too, but film carries a unique sense of permanence and timelessness.

So, Which Should You Choose?

Choosing film for your family session isn’t about rejecting digital-- it’s about deciding how you want your story to feel. Film has its own look, process, tangibility, and rhythm. It invites patience and presence, and it creates something that feels lasting, and something that connects to the tradition of family albums many of us grew up with.

Digital photography offers its own strengths: flexibility and crisp accuracy. I love working with both mediums, and often do (all my digital sessions have the option for a film add-on).

Whichever you choose, the end goal is the same: to create photographs that belong in your family archive-- images that your children and grandchildren can hold, flip through, and remember.

You can read about my analog double exposure add-on HERE.

More about Film Sessions HERE.