Full-film engagement session in Old Town Alexandria, VA

As a wedding photographer, there are so many things I love about engagement sessions. Engagement photography gives me a chance to build trust with my couples in front of the camera, and help them get comfortable in front of my lens. Unlike a wedding day, it’s an unhurried time with no constraints. My couples can plan a fun adventure, get cozy together, and spend some time being photographed in a place that reflects something about them!

Alex and David, who live in northern Virginia, chose Old Town Alexandria for their engagement session. While Old Town is a perennial favorite engagement session location, that’s for good reason—the cobblestone streets, brick sidewalks, and ivy-covered alleys are so photogenic. But Alex + David chose it for an even better reason—it’s one of their favorite places! While I love wandering the streets of Old Town and being inspired by our surroundings, they had a few specific locations that had meaning to them that we made sure to include—especially Old Town Books on South Royal Street, and Captain’s Alley.  

Engagement sessions are also a prime opportunity to shoot film, because they’re not rushed, and we have more time than on a wedding day. I was so grateful to Alex + David when I asked if I could bring a few rolls of two 35mm film stocks that I’ve wanted to experiment with, that they said yes!

What kind of film did I shoot?

When I shoot film on a wedding day, I tend to stick with two professional color film stocks—Kodak Portra 400 and Kodak Portra 800. While I adore these two film stocks and know that they will produce beautiful analog film photos for my couples, there is a wide, wide world of different film stocks out there, and it’s so creatively fulfilling to be able to experiment with other film stocks.

For this session, I brought along two consumer-grade films: Lomography 400, and Kodak Gold 200. Lomography is a Brooklyn, NY based company that offers niche and specialty cameras, and a variety of experimental films. In a world where the big industry leaders like Kodak and Fuji continue to shrink the variety of film they offer, Lomography is a huge asset to those of us who shoot film. I brought along two rolls of Lomography Color 400 film, which renders vibrant colors in stunning sharpness. I also brought along two rolls of Kodak Gold 200, a consumer-grade film that creates lovely golden tones, especially at sunrise and sunset.

Both Lomography 400 and Kodak 200 Gold 35mm film are much more wallet-friendly than the Portra 400 and 800 I usually shoot—at $12.50 and $14/ roll respectively, rather than the $15-20 that it typically costs for a roll of Portra.

What did I think of the Lomo 400 and Kodak 200 Gold?

So, what did I think of these two films? I like the tones that both films produced, but noticed that the Kodak Gold rendered with a bit more of green undertones than I usually keep in my digital color profile. Being a 200 ISO film, I also found it a bit less flexible to some lighting situations—if we’d been outside at midday in bright light, or on a beach with a lot of reflected light, I think I would have loved the Kodak Gold 200. But in the golden hour conditions I’m used to for digital photography, it was a bit limiting, and unless my subjects were well-lit from the front, the photo didn’t render particularly well. Both Alex + David are pretty pale; I’d be very hesitant to use Kodak Gold 200 for portraiture with darker skin tones unless we were working in bright sunshine.

The Lomo 400, on the other hand, I had a lot of fun with. It rendered green tones much closer to real life than the Portra film I usually use for client photos—which I really loved! That said, the pinks and reds leaned toward the purple/lavender side of the spectrum. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed, and part of the fun of trying new film stocks!

Thank you Alex + David for letting me get a little experimental; the two of you are so much fun and looked great at your engagement session—on any film stock.