It’s been one year since I decided to search for the film camera my father-in-law had given me a few years ago, connect a lens to it and shoot my first roll of film. I didn’t read any “how to(s)” ahead of time, had no clue what I was doing and started shooting just like it was a digital camera.

Lesson learned; my first scans were less than impressive and I quickly realized I needed a lot of help. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time pouring over articles on Shoot It With Film‘s website, plus shooting a lot of rolls of film.

It’s been a lot of trial and error, but film breathed new life into my photography when I needed it the most. I became interested again in shooting things that bring me joy, besides family photography. Plus, the delayed gratification of receiving my scans with the final results is semi torturous, yet very rewarding.

Here are my top 5 highlights from a year of shooting film.

Everyday Adventures

I had fallen out of love with documenting my kids, because the last thing I wanted to do was upload, cull and edit more images. Film revived this for me and I’m happy to have captured a lot more of our everyday adventures this year, without spending hours editing images.

Travel

Very similar to documenting our everyday adventures, editing images after a trip just didn’t appeal to me anymore. Plus, my digital gear is heavy and bulky and doesn’t make traveling with kids and all their stuff any easier. Bringing my film camera along still takes some work packing wise, but I limit the rolls of film I bring, so I’m not overshooting and still present on my trip.

I Am Project

Who knew I had more I wanted to express about myself through my photography. I sure didn’t, until I did. This was my first personal project and I knew it had to be done on film. Plus, I was so proud that Shoot It With Film agreed to feature the project on their site back in April.

Experimenting

Shooting film still feels like one big experiment, but I’ve enjoyed trying out different concepts like light leaks, double exposures, expired film and grain. By experimenting, I’m less burnt out and it’s inspired me to be more creative and free in the way I shoot families.

Intention

I finally got the courage to shoot a few family sessions on film this spring/summer. I don’t believe I’m a better photographer because I shoot film, but I do believe the effects of shooting film have made me a better photographer. I slow down and it’s forced me think about how I’m going to achieve what I’m after in one or two shots. Sometimes those extra two seconds might cost me the shot, but with film, I don’t just click away hoping I get what I want.

If you are interested in seeing more of personal work on film, check out my Shot on Film series.