Film Photography

By Jacey Wilson

Portrait/Landscape

Users of film enjoy capturing all types of photos. While portrait and landscape typically refer to the orientation of a photo, I will be using those terms here to discuss photos of nature and other scenes (landscape) and photos of people (portrait). Certain cameras and film types may limit a photographer's ability to maintain quality from a distance, but landscape and portrait photography both remain popular amongst film users nonetheless. User preference and context of the shoot/lifestyle captures has an obvious impact on whether landscape or portrait shots are chosen. The biggest consideration for those new to shooting film is the stillness of the subject, particularly when using a point-and-shoot camera.

My personal preference between landscape and portrait photography tends to be portrait. This is true for me whether the photos are captured on iPhone, DSLR, small digital, instant film, and 35mm film, but it particularly applies to film. While I do enjoy the occasional landscape film photo, I tend to be much more excited to receive my portrait scans back after development.

I tend to place more value on photos of people, particularly when it comes to film. If my goal is to take an accurate photo of a landscape to remember it as a scene or show it to others, I reach for my iPhone or DSLR.

Photos, of course, do not always fit into one of these two categories exclusively. Portrait photos that also allow a landscape to participate in creating the memory and feeling of an image tend to be some of my favorites. These two beach photos taken in Oahu, Hawaii in November 2024 illustrate this principle successfully. The first photo of just the landscape is still an image that I love, and the second photo that features my friend Belen captures the memory and feeling of that moment even better.

Overall, environment, experience, and personal interest may influence whether a person captures more landscape or portrait shots. My personal advice to those interested in beginning film photography among other forms is to focus on documenting people! These tend to be the shots most valued when film development is received as well as for the future. I would also recommend avoiding either shot altogether. Although I focus on lifestyle and portrait shots, I believe one of the best (if not the best) photos I have ever taken on film or otherwise is the landscape shot featured at the top of this site! The pink sunset photo was captured on a 35mm disposable film camera in Banzai Pipeline, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii in January 2021.

Selfies

Perhaps the simplest form of any photo, selfies seem to exist in all forms of picture-taking: this includes film! This may be a little more risky, since the photographer cannot view the potential image at all before snapping it, but it tends to yield well-liked results that similarly capture the feeling of a moment. Additionally, selfie-taking in film has the potential to solve a minor problem many lifestyle hobby photographers run into: the one who is behind the camera is never in front!