How many pros still use film?

[NZDavid]

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Many pros seem to use digital professionally but shoot film cameras for pleasure. Why? Do any pros still shoot film for work? What kind of shots? Portraits, B+W landscapes, street photography, gallery work? Just curious.

[earleygallery]

A lot of pros shoot film 'professionally' from what I've seen/read. Digital makes sense for press, pap and advertising and many clients demand it (speed, ability to preview/approve on the spot etc).

 

I was at an exhibition and met the photographer. He shot with a medium format rangefinder, I asked if he always uses film and he said "yes I never compromise my art".

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[Riccis]

All my personal and paid work is shot on film with either Ms, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad SWC or 8x10 Deardorff.

 

Cheers,

[earleygallery]

All my personal and paid work is shot on film with either Ms, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad SWC or 8x10 Deardorff.

 

Cheers,

 

Respect to you!

[Allen in Montreal]

I would be fired in a nanosecond if I shot film for most of my clients.

Many times, I am sending a jpeg from iPhone within minutes of shooting.

But I am blessed to have a few clients who will still take a black and white print from time to time.

I shot a building for McGill University on 8x10 E-6 and scanned it for them, as long as they get a DVD, they did not notice or care.

 

I shoot a ton of B+W with an M6, a Canon 1v, Mamiya 7, Pentax 645 and large format (4x5, 5x7 and 8x10) for myself and to put on walls of offices.

I would say the clients who have a print on the office wall are the most open and appreciative of the effort.

 

 

 

Many pros seem to use digital professionally but shoot film cameras for pleasure. Why? Do any pros still shoot film for work? What kind of shots? Portraits, B+W landscapes, street photography, gallery work? Just curious.

Edited October 8, 2011 by Allen in Montreal

[thebarnman]

We do.

 

The B&W we process in the studio and print in the dark room. The color is developed at a pro lab.

 

Welcome to Empire West Studios

 

(I'm an intern there)

[andybarton]

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So, is that shot on the front page shot on film?

 

What happened to his foot on the right hand pose?

[thebarnman]

So, is that shot on the front page shot on film?

 

Yes, why wouldn't it be?

 

There's a whole section of montages all shot on film. http://empireweststudios.com/content/montage.html

 

 

What happened to his foot on the right hand pose?

 

If you look at the site, you'll see there's lots that have the same effect. It's the way it's crop.

[andybarton]

Thanks. Just asking, not accusing.

[thebarnman]

Thanks. Just asking, not accusing.

 

No offence taken! I thought maybe you were wondering how an image could contain multiples of the same person if shot on film.

 

Since this is about film, and only film, it just so happens we also have a section called "film strips." It's actually film strips showing the order in which the images were taken.

 

Nobody Does It Better

 

Another words, you can see the numbers of the film frames. The images of those frames are the actual images. NOT images picked out and placed there.

[jerryharwood]

Hi; for me, film is king; most people only look at the image, not how it is made. I only use digital for wildlife shots. The only real reason to use digital is speed- not always necessary, required, or otherwise. When you see the look on a clients' face when they see the image, that says it all.

[too old to care]

We do.

 

The B&W we process in the studio and print in the dark room. The color is developed at a pro lab.

 

Welcome to Empire West Studios

 

(I'm an intern there)

 

Looks like a nice place to intern.

[AlanG]

Considering this question is on the Leica film forum, you are probably going to get more positive answers for film than if you were on something such as a Phase One camera forum.

[Ronan]

Professionals that make a primary (and usually only) living from Photography do not shoot film. They shoot digital, mostly Hasselblad (fashion), Nikon and Canon.

 

Now their are niche professionals that shoot film, mostly the 4x5, 8x10, etc crowd. They are few and do not make a living from only that (at least not anymore). The need for digital there is also getting higher. A lot of them stick a digital medium format back to their 4x5. Some rich photog also put out $250,000 for a digital 8x10 sensor...

 

Their are exceptions to every rule, but its been sometime since successful professionals stop shooting film.

 

The one's that haven't, will soon (once their income is reduces too much from fighting digital professionals that have a much quicker turn around, and have the ability to show their work right there and then, or they make enough, usually from shooting photography as a second job, to switch to digital).

 

Most will tell you they are glad to shoot digital. It gives faster results and for cheaper. Thats a big WIN for a photography business, only an idiot wouldn't see that.

 

You know... theirs a reason why most photography businesses use digital cameras and why we see this photography revolution. It's all thanks to the digital camera

Edited October 15, 2011 by Ronan

[mod2001]

Professionals that make a primary (and usually only) living from Photography do not shoot film.

 

Interesting, i personally know 2 professionals which only shoot film , and as i hear from some Magnum-photographers, 50% of them still shoot Film too, especially the younger ones. At least it depends on your business as photographer if your able to work with film or not.

 

Yogi

[Guest srheker]

Most will tell you they are glad to shoot digital. It gives faster results and for cheaper. Thats a big WIN for a photography business, only an idiot wouldn't see that.

 

Thank you, that's very kind of you!

 

Sometimes I forget that photography is all about "faster and cheaper".

[Stealth3kpl]

Sometimes I forget that photography is all about "faster and cheaper".

That's the way of the world now. Faster, cheaper but demanding the same or better quality and complain bitterly if it doesn't.

Pete

[earleygallery]

Ronan clearly hasn't read this thread! Many pro's shoot film. Don't just spout your opinion, it's better to quote facts.

[Frase]

I do but only for fun but have never met any professional photographer that still shoots film, but I'm a press photographer so maybe there are still fine art photographers etc still shooting film.

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[Stealth3kpl]

These two still use film. I visited their shop whilst ice climbing near Cody, Wyoming. They had some superb, very large enlargements on every wall of the gallery. The quality was excellent. The large format images looked like oil paintings, and the range of tones took the breath away. On my first visit there, the lady, Leslie, was dabbling with Canon digital but a couple of years later when I returned with the wife on a trip to Yellowstone, she told us she'd returned to film. Jim had never wavered and I suspect the difference in quality between the two media really showed as they hung side by side in that gallery.

Pete