The Relevance of Film to Commercial Work

lawrence

lawrence

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I'm curious to know whether there any pros or semi-pros who still shoot commercial work on film. If so, it would be interesting to know the details, such as kind of subject, film formats used, scanned or darkroom prints and also what percentage of your work is on film whether film shooting has been requested by your clients.

Thanks

Lawrence
 
I was reading an article in the NYT a few weeks ago that fashion photographers use quite a bit of film now, and sometimes their clients specifically request film shoots. That's MF, of course, often with Mamiya RZ67 or Hasselblads.
 
A couple of years ago I read that Star Wars returned to using film. I think it was George Lucas's decision. I think that counts as commercial!
 
A lot of famous directors use film for movies. Sophia Coppola comes to mind so it is not only the older generation.

Yes, I also saw the Eslava article today. From what I gather he mainly photographs social media celebrities. In other words, people whose names none of us here are likely to even recognize :D

There is a lot of film photography in higher end fashion/art/culture magazines like Vogue, Aeshetica, Aperture, Paper. I assume those photographers get paid for it.
 
Very popular here in London, especially among fashion photographers. I've even assisted on a few campaigns for major companies that were mostly shot on film (35mm and 6x7). 16mm is also in demand for motion campaigns too.
 
Sorry I should have said 'still photography', I'm aware of continuing use of film in cinema (watched 'Jackie' at the cinema a few years ago, stunning use of film). Glad to hear that the Blow Up era is returning to the fashion world :).

In case anyone's interested in my fashion pics from the 1970s (all shot on film!): https://www.lawrenceimpey.com/Signs-of-the-Seventies
 
I'm not personally involved with the professional industry, but there's certainly a number of fashion/wedding photographers I know of that are using MF film for *some* of their work (not all).
 
lawrence said:
Sorry I should have said 'still photography', I'm aware of continuing use of film in cinema (watched 'Jackie' at the cinema a few years ago, stunning use of film). Glad to hear that the Blow Up era is returning to the fashion world :).

In case anyone's interested in my fashion pics from the 1970s (all shot on film!): https://www.lawrenceimpey.com/Signs-of-the-Seventies
Click to expand...

Love your B&W photos Lawrence, I can really feel those times...
Nikki Livingston and Steward Copeland are among my preferences but all the photos are good and interesting. Thanks for the link.
 
I’m sure there are a number of photographers who shoot film for commercial work (but ultimately it likely has to be scanned for most commercial applications and become seemingly 'digitized'?), but for my personal commercial work, I haven’t shot film for clients in 20 years. This might possibly be due to the particular type of work I do. They all want it quick quick nowadays (sometimes either instantly, same day or next day), and I need to be able to turn it around on a dime. Plus they often want to look at the photos in real time on a laptop so assessments and adjustments can be made - particularly for architectural interiors and food photography. And if I’m shooting something that involves multiple lighting setups, I don’t want to discover that one of my lights wasn’t firing only after I got the film back from the lab. So for me personally, no, film isn’t presently part of the equation.

As an aside, digital has been a bit of a mixed blessing for me -- the ability to get the instant feedback and for your clients to see it (a little better than the peel-apart Polaroids of the olden days) is definitely helpful, but the demands of having to turn it around quicker and possibly having to do all the retouching work yourself (and that has definitely resulted in physical repercussions). And oftentimes, it's not just stills that are needed -- it's also video, drone, Matterport, virtual tours, instantly posting to social media....well, you get the idea.
 
I disagree with websites title best is very subjective but it is a small list of pro photographers who still use film
https://expertphotography.com/best-film-photographers/
I believe a large number of commercial photographers shoot both film and digital.
Film is stil a thing for wedding photographer some of them also offer super8 or 16mm wedding "videos".
I know a few skating photographers who use film but also digital.
I thing commercial photographer have it better than ever they can choose their tool for one project digital is better and for others analogue.
 
lawrence said:
Sorry I should have said 'still photography', I'm aware of continuing use of film in cinema (watched 'Jackie' at the cinema a few years ago, stunning use of film). Glad to hear that the Blow Up era is returning to the fashion world :).

In case anyone's interested in my fashion pics from the 1970s (all shot on film!): https://www.lawrenceimpey.com/Signs-of-the-Seventies
Click to expand...

Really great work Lawrence! For how long did you do professional work?
 
As for OP initial question Paolo Roversi for fashion is known for his work with with large format cameras and Polaroid.

Interesting interview "the misteries of light" where he explain his way to work, how the light is important.

Not sure if he still use film today but it seems me he does...
 
There are a few (few) Magnum shooters only using film..
I am retired and actually love the "idea" of digital..
In this insane high speed word, where images are needed yesterday,
i am loath to be part of that rabble!
Even using digital, i shoot slowly, few and take time evaluating.
A friend of mine now in deep cover, only uses film.
 
Tons of people still use film. Even in the world of fast reportage. For the NYT you've got Daniel Arnold and Andre Wagner. If you have been watching the impeachment proceedings there are multiple reporters shooting film there. David Burnett was there shooting 4x5 (https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2019...ett-shot-4x5-film-at-impeachment-hearing.html). Film is everywhere in the fashion world. At this point it's like digital/film have really just diverged into two entirely different mediums. The goal is still recording/reproduction of an image, but they have their different workflow and process just how charcoal drawings and oil paints are both producing an image, but require their own workflow.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Really great work Lawrence! For how long did you do professional work?
Click to expand...

Thanks, Vince. After spending three years at art college studying photography I actually ended up working in IT from 1980 until I retired a couple of years ago.

However, I have done a number of professional assignments, such as album covers and photographing artworks (a regular gig), and my photos have been used editorially, particularly in music mags like Mojo & Q and in several books. So I'll class myself 'semi-pro' (not a term I like but I guess I'll have to live with it!). Currently I'm about to crowdfund a book on the band Squeeze, which I will now shamelessly promote:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lawrenceimpey/recorded-here-the-early-days-of-squeeze

So, some more of my activities in the 1970s are finally to see the light of day :)
 
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