Some of you may know that I'm working with music and fashion photographer Bryan Sheffield [link] and I had a chance to sit down with him and music video director Ryan Rickett last Friday to have a cool discussion about shooting film. Some technical stuff was discussed; both Bryan and I felt that it was extremely difficult to emulate the color and contrast response of film in programs like Photoshop, at least to a level we felt comfortable with.

The meat of the conversation was not only the aesthetic choice to use film but the different shooting habits we fall into when shooting digital or film. Because of the huge time delay between shooting and seeing your photos film breeds a higher level of confidence in your skills. You tend to slow down a lot more when you know that when the shutter opens, you're committing to that exposure, that framing, etc. That time delay also tends to tighten up the editing process because you're approaching the collection of photos with a renewed eye the next day or a few days later.

I guess it sparked something in me. I'm back to shooting a little bit of film after not touching it for a little over three years. I've also shut off instant review on my digital SLR. Besides checking exposure, I think I'm going to rely a bit more on instincts and happy accidents than strict clean technical work and if you're close to me then you know it's a balance I'm always trying hard to find.

Just some interesting thoughts worth sharing.