Portra 100 | Film | Tips for Photographers | Rudy & Marta

A few days ago, I went ahead and did something that I had been holding off on for awhile.  Recently, Colonial Photo and Hobby developed some expired film exposures for us.  Some things were beautiful, like the Portra 100, while others were downright abysmal.  Keep in mind that I have not perfected the use of any film camera.

The F100 has been the first film camera that I’ve used that has actually been up to my personal liking.  It’s great bang for your buck if you’re looking at getting into film.  In my opinion, Portra is probably on of the most versatile and beautiful films I’ve seen in a long time.  Especially, if you want something to come out the way that you see it with your eyes.  I think that’s the biggest seller for me.  I haven’t tried every film that’s out there.  Personally, I usually stick to my regulars and then switch it up with a unique roll here and there.

” Some things were beautiful, like the Portra 100….”

On my Instagram, you can see the picture I took right before I took them to Colonial Photo & Hobby.  I take any rolls that have photographs of my clients to Richards Photo Lab.  They’re a bit pricey, but worth every penny.  They take your fiilm photographs and enhance any sort of awesomeness that was captured.

I’ve had a few soon-to-be-brides come up to me in the recent month and ask about some of the images that I’ve taken in the past with film.  I was shocked with disbelief every single time.  I don’t know what it is, but sometimes I feel like the whole wedding scene is leaving film.  There are a couple of people in the industry that use film.  Not many locally in Orlando, but still.  There’s probably one or two photographers nation wide that actually use film exclusively.

There are plenty of reasons for it, but they’re super pricey.  With good reason though.  Using film isn’t cheap.  It’s definitely pricey.  I digress.  The moment that those brides asked me for the film images, a part of me kind of hoped that there would be more people asking for film.  Film has more people interested in the look, love, and feel that comes with it’s use.

“Portra is beautiful.  I want to use more of it.  I want to have more wedding snippets photographed with it.”

Of course, I know I’ve said this in the past, but there’s something organic when it comes to the images that from film.  It changes that way a photographer thinks.  There are multiple photographers that spray and pray for images in hopes that there’s something good to use on that memory card.  I’m not going to lie, I’ve done that.  Film taught me not to.  I used to take thousands of wedding pictures to only have about 300 to deliver in the end.  You start to rethink the way you take images when there’s only 24 to 36 exposures on a roll.

Marta and I have always been a fan of capturing things the way that we see them, so when we started using Portra, we knew that Kodak had the same thing in mind.  The Portra roll is fast, low grain, and on point with skin tones.  We tried the Ektar, but that needs a whole different post to review it.  Portra is beautiful.  I want to use more of it.  I want to have more wedding snippets photographed with it.  Nothing crazy, but I just want a handful of moments in film.  Nothing over the top.