This day was a first for both of us. For the couple, this engagement session was one of the first steps on their road to the wedding day. For me, this special session was the first time ever capturing an entire engagement session completely with film photography. The couple wanted their entire engagement session solely on film so that’s what we did! See how we photographed their love with film photography on 35mm!

The Session: A Love So Sweet It’s Easy to Capture

I didn’t even bring out my digital camera during this session and it still became one of my favorite shoots ever. This was literally the first session I had ever done where I only shot with film photography on 35mm! The session was slow and purposeful and every time I took a photo I was hoping it would become one of their favorites.

McKenna is a photographer herself so when she inquired with me for a film-only engagement photo session I knew we had to make it happen! I was nervous because I didn’t even bring my digital camera as any kind of backup. If something went wrong, the photos were gone!

But, it really couldn’t have gone any better! McKenna prepared really well for it with a handful of different engagement shoot outfits and some props that made the session super fun! The lighting was perfect, their outfits were great, and they just enjoyed being together during the session.

McKenna and Tate have taken photos together a handful of times so they were comfortable in front of the camera. This is really helpful especially for film-only engagement photos that require more patience. They are both so easygoing and kind that it made this film engagement session both fun and enjoyable!

The Location: Glacier National Park in Film Photography on 35mm

Glacier National Park is always such a special location to shoot and even more so when using film photography on 35mm. On this particular day in November, there was some lingering snow on the ground after a recent small storm. The weather allowed us to just take our time with hardly anyone else present.

Surrounded by such beautiful scenery, it was easy to walk around the lake and explore together. This relieves so much pressure from trying to think of a hundred poses as fast as possible to keep the session going. It was sweet to feel that pressure lifted due to how much there is to explore in such an epic location.

We meandered through the prompts and poses that felt right and it all fell right into place. I was nervous that the 5-6 rolls of film would fill up really quickly and I wouldn’t be able to fill the full hour with film. But, when I finished shooting all of the film, it had been over an hour and a half! I love adding a few rolls to capture wedding photography on film too!

I’ve said a lot about Glacier National Park already–below are more stories and resources to plan your own session!

Glacier National Park Tips

• Montana Wedding Guide: How to Plan a Glacier National Park Elopement
• Unexpected Adventure Turned Engagement Session
• Surprise Proposal Ideas
• All-Day Rainy Engagement Ideas
• Glacier National Park Elopement Adventure

The Photos: How to Shoot an Entire Session with Film Photography on 35mm

Sessions shot entirely with film photography on 35mm are nerve-wracking and it’s not for every engagement photo photographer! I was even nervous about not having a digital backup even though I’ve shot a lot of film in the past year. As a professional traveling photographer, you should never agree to something without 100% confidence that you can deliver.

But, even still, sometimes you do have to take risks and do things while you’re scared because the results might just blow you away! I often love my film photography more than a lot of pictures I’ve taken over my career because of the fun and ease I experience in taking them.

Before saying yes to anything of this nature, make sure you’re comfortable paying attention to different lighting scenarios. You want to ensure that you’re familiar with your cameras and switching out film once you’ve finished a roll. The last thing you want is to be flustered in the moment trying to unload your film and mess it up! If all of these components are good to go, then do it!

It’s always nerve wracking when you have so much control over the images yet so little over the finished product. These images are just so sweet to me that I’ll never get over it! Enjoy the slowness of film and let it reignite a new love for photography that you may have lost in the craziness of running a business!

I want to extend massive thanks to Richard Photo Lab for doing all the film developing and scanning–you guys are the best!

Even if you just want film added to your digital wedding or engagement session–we can also make that happen!