A few weeks ago i shot Ritienne Zammit's look-book (if you don't know who she is by now.. check out her website! http://www.ritiennezammit.com/) and on the shoot I had 2 bodies - One digital 35mm and one film Medium-format 60x60mm.

Even though Digital has evolved from Film photography, the reality is that there is very little in common between them.

Starting from the way we approach shoots, Digital will produce a more 'perfect' photo - simply because it allows us to take hundreds of photos and see the results in real time. This encourages a machine-gun approach and allows minute corrections as we shoot. We can take the same picture over and over again until it's as perfect as it can be. Film photographers claim that this is "wrong" but the truth is that previous tools did not allow for this approach.

For each film, you have exactly 12 shots in this particular case - and knowing that you have to make them count changes the way you shoot. You start to pay infinitely more attention to the model's eyes and the rate at which she is blinking, her breathing, etc.

Once the shoot is done, the process to be able to see the photos is also miles apart. With Digital, I put my card in the computer, clicked a few times and voila Lightroom chirped happily that my photos are now loaded and can be used. Film on the other hand required me to extract the film from the reel (in a changing bag or pitch darkness), and bathe it in a bunch of chemicals. Behind the scenes little tiny crystals in the film are reacting to these chemicals and transforming them into a photo. Once this process is complete, then I can either print or scan these photos into the digital world.

The quality of the finished film is not only dependant on how well you can light the scene, but also on the type of film chosen, the chemicals chosen, how well you can develop a film, and how careful you are not to get dust/scratches everywhere :)

Lastly, a major difference this time was that i was shooting in black and white - so to see the colour version... you're going to have to wait a few days until Ritienne's look-book is released :) Hair & Make-up for the shoot was done by Krista Paris. (http://www.kristaparis.com/)

To conclude, I think that digital gives photographers (especially working photographers) tools that reach levels film could never aspire to in terms of flexibility and ultimate "perfectness". But, there is something about film, that is not quantifiable or measurable that makes it special.

Film has soul.

Film vs Digital. What's Missing?