a post of favorites - film favorites Part 1 of ?

I shared on my Insta how I had over 300 favorite of film photos, and like, who even would want to look at that many images PLUS most of them are my family (I’m biased, but those are my best work!) PLUS why would I make them into a reel. I’m nobody to just do something because the social media world says I have to! SO here’s part 1 of ??? to share my favorite, but not oversized heavy on images favorites of the year.

each roll (ish) I try to take a nice portrait of most kids, because they’ll still let me!

so that batch was within the January - August…what happened in august. Well. We have had the same photographer shoot our family photos since 2016 - because I’m a big enough believer in practicing what I preach: we go the extra mile + do whatever it takes to get Yan Palmer to our house when she travels. If you don’t know Yan, you should. She is a force. She’s part photographer part family therapist part magic! Once that session happened, I had a new found, re-woken NEED to shoot all the beauty and find all the light. Part 2 will come soon with the photos living on the coattails of Yan’s inspiration!

a return to myself

You know how, in life, you never know what you’re missing until you find it? Being a mom felt like that, for me. Finding a film camera (obviously not to the same extent) felt like that to me. When I picked up a film camera and shot ALL THE THINGS in 2016, it felt like I had finally started living a true version of who I was supposed to be. As I type it, it’s weird to feel such a sense of self entangled in this job that I do…but here we are.

I feel most like myself when I can tell a story. My mode isn’t paper and pencil or computer..it’s my camera. Not my phone, man I hated when the pandemic hit, and I stopped shooting film. It’s the dark ages of our family’s history. And there’s nothing wrong with digitally recording life, it just isn’t my mode of doing it. As I’ve been feeling something shift in the past few months, it’s felt like home. Picking up a camera and working to get the light reading in my head, getting the shutter stop and aperture set before I look through the viewfinder..that is a meditation sort of exercise that keeps me present in moments, in ways I didn’t even begin to understand!

from a “work” point of view, what I love about film is that it lets me feel like I’m capturing the feel of my clients. It doesn’t have to always be clean and bright…because sometimes life, and love, are blurry and fuzzy and remind you of the way the warmth was in that moment…plus, now that I’m developing at Midwest Photo Exchange (vs. sending to a lab across the country, holla for supporting local!), I have my film scans back the next day. THE NEXT DAY! WILD!!

So while I know digital is still queen, I’m so glad to once again WANT to see your world through a film camera + hope you see the light in that, and bring me along!!

a contest!

Guys! I never nevvvvver enter contests. Well I can't say never, I guess, because I have, and that's why I'm here. I entered this photo

if you go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/thedarkroomlab/photos/pcb.1408473192536985/1408468759204095/?type=3&theater (it's a facebook page) and likeit - you'll make my day! or if you're on Instagram, you can find the photo on @TheDarkroomLab 's page! Like it there too! most combined likes will win a film camera.

the best coast!

Big news for us! We're traveling (on an airplane) for the first time as a family of FIVE. Our kids are used to traveling and being out of their comfort zone, BUT doing anything involving an airplane, with three children all in big old car seats felt really overwhelming. Till now!

So as we're planning our trip, I am opening up some time to get to schedule in some sessions (family! couples! engagement!) while we're there. Here are the details:

Early February, LA area, all film sessions. Do you think you're interested? Know someone who just got engaged and would love to shoot with me? Want to get a late Christmas present for a family member who'd love a family session!? Email me! I'll go through all the details with you!

jessicalovephoto@gmail.com

more film, more my kids!

it's my blog, so while, technically I can do whatever I want, I kiiinda feel like I should be sharing weddings. I'm about booked up for 2017, though, so I am just going to do what feels awesome and share some personal work I've been shooting.

I don't know what crazy thing made me fall head over heels into film. Oh wait. I do. I have fallen for film because, as a wedding photographer, it's incredibly easy to come away from a wedding with 2000 photos shot, only to cull those down to anywhere from 800-1200 for a final gallery for a couple (which is still an insane amount of images!). It felt inauthentic. I needed a way to get back to really being present. To understanding that each moment I get to capture should be worth pushing that shutter.

That being said, I'm blowing through film like crazy each week trying to get better and better. BUT! it's still slowed me in a way I'm deeply grateful for. Sawyer on the floor playing with Coco? How many options do I really need? One, the answer is one.

I'm so so excited to get to offering clients film sessions. To be present in each moment with my wonderful couples and families (I'll start with families and engagement sessions!). Stay tuned for some of those coming soon!

For now, check out how we'd spent some of the last weeks of summer!