Old technology rediscovered: students share passion for film photography
Landscape Photo: Sami Crafts
November 11, 2021
Sami Crafts 23’ stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking in the surrounding Greek and Roman statues. She removes her Minolta film camera from her bag, loaded with a roll of unexposed film. Using the viewfinder, she snaps black and white photos of the timeless stone sculptures. Crafts is a part of a growing number of BHS students and teens across the country who are rediscovering the magic of film photography.
“I love how film always captures so much detail, and it’s so recognizable,” Crafts said. “I feel like the film is so much more authentic than digital.”
Crafts explained why film photography appeals to her.
“You don’t see it in the moment- you have to wait, which I think makes it a lot more authentic compared to being able to see digital photographs immediately,” Crafts said.
The introduction of film photography often comes from older family members who grew up using film.
“My grandma has always been into film,” Crafts said. “We’ve always talked about it a lot, and she’s given me some of her old books on film photography.”
Similarly, Soni Laughlin 23’ has been exploring film photography for over a year. She said she was inspired by looking through her dad’s old photos.
“I immediately thought they were really cool,” Laughlin said. “I loved the grain. It’s a special type of grain that you can’t get with digital photos.”
Laughlin did a set of film portraits in which she aimed to capture people’s real smiles.
“I had people tell jokes to the person I was photographing, and I think that got genuine smiles out of them,” she said.
Laughlin explained her inspiration for the portraits.
“I think we all have fake smiles in a lot of photos,” Laughlin said. “…But with these photos, I was able to get genuine smiles out of them. They all turn out amazing when people are genuinely smiling.”
Laughlin provided an explanation for her generation’s interest in film, something that some may consider to be outdated.
“I think that our generation is really obsessed with the past, lots of different aspects of it,” Laughlin said. “And I think it’s really good that film is a part of that.”
More of Craft and Laughlin’s work can be viewed on their Instagrams:
