• Skip to main content

ERIC KIM

BLOG

  • STRT
  • BKS
  • SHP
  • WKSHPS

Take Photos of Your Loved Ones on Film

A thought: try to shoot photos of your loved ones on film.


Why?

eric kim cindy project film 35mm 51
eric kim cindy project film 35mm 2
eric kim cindy project film 35mm 3

Well; to be frank, aesthetically film looks way better than digital. Or if you shoot digital, shoot in RAW, and process your photos with VSCO presets (or free ERIC KIM PRESETS).


Ultimately, photographing your loved ones is essential because it makes you appreciate them more. For the most part, you can only photograph your loved ones while they’re alive. To photograph them while they’re alive, you’re saying:

I’m so grateful that you’re still alive, and we can share this beautiful journey of life together.

On photographing death

Halabujee-2
Halabujee-3
Halabujee-4
Halabujee-5
Halabujee-7
Halabujee-8
Halabujee-9
Halabujee-10
Halabujee-11
Halabujee-12
Halabujee-13
Halabujee-14
Halabujee-15
Halabujee-19
Halabujee-20
Halabujee-21

Also on the other end, it is also important to photograph your loved ones when they pass away — like when I photographed my Grandfather’s funeral.


Time flies.

family photo camping film 86520016
mom and glasses busan
mom accupuncture
mom knitting
me and mom
me and mom san jose
mom cooking san jose
mom and samchon
anna and umma berkeley
eric and mom
mom onion
anna hasselblad

I’m pretty amazed; time flies so fast. I just turned 30 years old this year; I remember it was like the other day when I was 22 years old, when I started my blog in 2010. Also, I’ve been making photos for the last 12 years (from age 18 to 30).

The thing is this — I get a lot of great joy looking at my old photos, especially of my loved ones.

cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 4
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 3
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 6
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 12
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 15
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 17
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 20
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 22
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 23
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 24
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 25
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 27
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 28
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 29
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 30
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 32
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 33
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 36
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 37
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 39
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 40
cindy kodak portra 400 project - 2013 43

But when I look at all of my photos of my loved ones (especially Cindy); I prefer the photos I shot on film. Why? I think aesthetically film looks better than digital. They age better. Even when studying the work of the Magnum Photographers and master photographers — the old-school film photos look WAYYYY better than their new digital work. Of course once again the caveat is if you’re able to post-process your digital RAW files and make them look really good– this is different. This is why I’m such a huge fan of the Kodak Portra 400 VSCO presets, or the “A6” mobile preset on VSCO.


But once again, it doesn’t matter whether you shoot your loved ones on film, your phone, digital, whatever. Just make photos that bring a smile to your face; and try to post-process your photos in a way which evokes the love you felt when you shot it. For example some photos of my digital RICOH GR II which puts a smile on my face:

kiss marcel selfie DSCF2746
R0131120-marcel cookies
berkeley albany digitla ricoh 1
berkeley albany digitla ricoh 2

Recommended films

For color, I highly recommend KODAK PORTRA 400. Best colors and rendition. “Portra” means (Portrait) — so the film is optimized for skin tones, orange, and red colors:


Context

Also a suggestion: when you’re shooting, take a step back. Show a little context of what you’re doing with your loved one, and where you are!

For example, looking at these old photos of Cindy (around 2013-2014), it is so fun for me to see what our old life was like! For example, the old devices we used to own, what our old homes looked like in terms of decoration, or what point we were in our lives. And this is nice, because it gives us context/contrast, where I think to myself:

Wow, I am so grateful of our past life, but also even more grateful of how far we’ve come, changed, evolved, and grown!


File naming + Dropbox

Another practical suggestion: keep your photos well-organized in Dropbox and in files, and name them accordingly to easier find/index/search them.

For example, I keep all my film photos as JPEG scans, synced in Dropbox — I have no idea where the actual film negatives are.

For the files, I will name them like:

Cindy-project-kyoto-2013-kodak-portra-400-35mm-film.jpg

So if I just use the Mac Finder, I can easily find my old files.


Benefits of photographing loved ones on film:

  1. You don’t see the photos until a lot later (processing and scanning takes a long time); thus you are more likely to re-live positive experiences from the past! Whereas when you shoot a photo on your phone, you immediately forget about the experience.
  2. Aesthetically, the look of film will be more timeless. For example photos you shoot today (2018) on film, will probably look really good 10 years from now (2028), whereas photos on your iPhone might not look as good.
  3. Fewer photos to look through: With digital; the problem is that there are TOO MANY photos to look through! Shooting film will allow you to be more selective about the precious moments you desire to document. Thus, less future stress about looking through all these photos.

Conclusion

Pick up a copy of FILM NOTES (in our HAPTIC SHOP or on AMAZON), and start shooting film for yourself.

Also to get started, learn from all my film photography 101 articles.

Ultimately, just photograph whatever puts a smile on your face — and remember, look at your old photos from the past!

Smile,
Eric

cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 2
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 3
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 5
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 10
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 13
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 14
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 15
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 16
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 17
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 20
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 21
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 24
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 29
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 31
korea seoul blue green red cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 38
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 39
seoul hotel cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 41
about to board the plane cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 43
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 49
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 50
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 51
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 55
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 56
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 60
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 61
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 62
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 63
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 64
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 65
Cindy and wine Tokyo
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 78
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 80
kamo river kyoto cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 84
portland coava coffee cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 89
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 93
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 95
berkeley avocado surprise coffee cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 96
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 97
seoul streets ricoh cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 99
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 107
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 121
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 124
berkeley cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 126
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 129
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 131
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 140
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 141
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 145
contax t3 - cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 147
contax t3 - cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 148
london airbnb cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 157
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 158
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 159
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 161
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 165
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 168
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 168
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 171
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 173
cindy project - eric kim - kodak portra 400 176

Film 101

FILM NOTES by ERIC KIM x HAPTICPRESS

Take it back to the old-school: FILM NOTES by HAPTICPRESS x ERIC KIM.


FILM PHOTOGRAPHY by ERIC KIM

Contax T3 x FILM

  • GRIT AND GRAIN by ERIC KIM
  • ERIC KIM TRI-X 1600
  • COLORS by ERIC KIM

If you’re interested in learning how to shoot film, start with this guide:

  1. FILM PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS by ERIC KIM
  2. Film Street Photography Manual
  3. Introduction to Shooting Film in Street Photography
  4. What I Learned Shooting 100 Rolls of Black and White Film
  5. What I Learned Processing 164 Rolls of Film After Waiting a Year
  6. My Experiences Shooting Medium-Format Film in Street Photography
  7. A Guide on How to Shoot Street Photography on a Film Leica (or Rangefinder)
  8. Why Digital Is Dead For Me In Street Photography
  9. Video: Why I’m Switching Back to Black and White Film for Street Photography
  10. The Zen of Shooting Film Photography

Videos: How to Shoot Film

eric-kim-workshop-eric-kim-laughing-lady-nyc-scaled.jpg
CONQUER STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN NYC (June 4th 2021) >

  • June 4th: NYC CONQUER STREET PHOTOGRAPHY (Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 12-5pm Eastern Time)

Be notified when new workshops are live here.


ERIC KIM NEWS

selfie ERIC KIM glasses Mexico City

FREE MOTIVATION >

OPEN-SOURCE