PRESERVING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS
CREATING ANALOG PRINTS
film archival and printing
I believe that the archive from your wedding day belongs to you. Much like the RAW files from digital cameras, the negatives are a record of the original photograph from a film camera. Whether or not you choose to do anything with your negatives is totally up to you. If you do wish to preserve your negatives or make prints from them, I’ve included a few tips and resources below.
some tips & resources
ARCHIVING TIPS
All of the film negatives from your wedding day are enclosed in plastic sleeves. While this storage gets the job done of keeping all of your film in one place, you may want to invest in a different archival solution. I recommend archival sleeves and three-ring binders - this way you can flip through the negatives more easily. This process is fairly straightforward, but a little time-consuming. It is worth it if you want to preserve your film negatives for the long haul though.
You are always welcome to print your photographs directly from your gallery (using the print store), or download and print at your favorite printer (I love Artifact Uprising). These prints are made from digital files. But there are actually ways to create analog prints directly from your negatives. For black and white film the process is called silver gelatin printing. For color film the process is called color darkroom prints (or RA-4). These analog printing processes are so cool and the quality is unmatched compared to digital.
Three ring binder to store the sleeves
If you want to learn more about the process of archiving (cutting, sleeving, labeling) I recommend checking out this video.
PRINTING OPTIONS
Nice Film Club offers b&w silver gelatin & color darkroom prints
Photo Lab NYC offers both b&w and color prints
picture house + the small darkroom offers both b&w and color prints
This process is great for printing your absolute favorite photograph that you will frame and hang on your walls for years. It’s an investment (with prices ~$80+/print depending on size), and the old school approach for photo printing.