Table of Contents:
- Wait, Film Photography Still Exists?
- What is Super 8 Film?
- 5 Reasons to Add Film to Your Vermont Family or Maternity Session
- Hiring Your Vermont Film & Super 8 Family Photographer
You’ve made it to my guide to Super 8 & film family photography. If you’re craving a more intentional, meaningful, and timeless way to capture your Vermont family or maternity photos, then you’re in the right place. I am so happy to have you here.
I see you—doing the invisible, everyday work of raising little humans while trying (some days) to remember your own needs too. And in the middle of it all, there’s this voice in the back of your mind whispering: don’t forget this. Hold onto it. Burn it into memory.
The ones you know you’ll want to look back on in 10, 20, 30 years from now when they’ve grown, changed, evolved; when life no longer looks as messy and chaotic and beautifully imperfect as it does right now. In this moment.
As a fellow mom just trying to keep her kid thriving (and, let’s be real, myself surviving), and as a photographer who’s been documenting other families and soon-to-be parents for years, I want to share something that has completely changed the way I see my own family’s story—and the way I can preserve yours.
Super 8 and film photography as part of your storytelling family & maternity sessions in Vermont.
Wait, Film Photography Still Exists?
Yes—and it’s having its renaissance. Whether you grew up with film as your only accessible form of photography, or you grew up in the age of digital photography and are coming back to film for one reason or another, there’s clearly something that humans love about this old-school method of photography that we just can’t seem to ignore.
It’s the ritual of it: cracking open the package, loading the roll, clicking the shutter without seeing instant results, waiting (impatiently) for weeks, and finally holding the images that lived only in memory until then. That patience, that trust in the process—it somehow makes the final photos feel even more sacred.
Film may not be as popular as it once was, now that we have infinite ways to capture our lives digitally—from expensive, professional-level cameras to phones that sometimes look better than those cameras (yikes)—but it re-emerges time and time again for a reason.
In a world where everything and everyone is expected to be fast-paced, efficient, and optimized, we begin to retreat back into the slower elements of our lives; the parts of ourselves that we’ve long forgotten in the midst of an ever-changing, progressing, evolving world that asks us to keep up, keep up, keep up. This is the beauty of film, and why it’s become such an essential part of my offerings as a Vermont family & maternity photographer.
What is Super 8 Film?
Super 8 is a filmmaking medium that dates back to 1965, originally introduced by Kodak as the newest family-friendly, easily-accessible way of movie-making. IIf you’ve ever watched old reels of your parents or grandparents running through sprinklers, hair wild, voices loud, vacations grainy and glorious—you’ve probably seen Super 8.
You know the ones, where you and your siblings or cousins are running around, topless through the backyard sprinklers, or relaxing during your favorite family vacation. . . the ones you’re embarrassed to have your partner see when they meet your family for the first time, and your mom insists they must show them your silliest childhood memories.
If film freezes a single frame in time, Super 8 breathes life into it. It catches the way your toddler’s curls bounce when they run. The way your partner makes you laugh until you snort. The barefoot stomps in the grass, the fizzy sodas on the dock, the little details that can’t be captured in stills alone.
Super 8 is dreamy, textural, and made for the moments you wish you could touch over and over again.
5 Reasons to Add Film/Super 8 to Your Family or Maternity Session
You’ve got the gist of what film and Super 8 each have to offer, and why they’re so dang special—now let’s talk about why you should add one (or both!) of them to your upcoming session.
1. It’s timeless, not trendy
Need I say more? Trends have always been a thing—fashion, music, art, style, etc.—but it feels like ever since the dawn of social media, they have totally taken over our lives. We’re always itching to hop on (or be ahead of) the next trend, make sure our outfits aren’t out of style, use our “trendiness” as a way to prove our worth, our value, our merit as humans. It gets exhausting, doesn’t it?
I don’t know about you, but when I think about capturing memories of my life and my love, I don’t want trendiness to be at the forefront. I don’t want to take a photo because I’ve seen it everywhere on Pinterest, or choose a certain theme just because it’s “in” right now.
I want my family’s memories to be timeless. When I look back on cherished photos and videos in 50 years, wishing I could go back to what once was, I want to relive those moments just as they were: gritty, messy, and imperfect. No wild filters or crazy editing that was done to be on trend at the time. . . just my people and the beauty they brought to that moment.
2. It helps you encourage & embrace imperfection
You already know that perfection isn’t a word in my playbook—something that I will never expect of you, your family, or myself. Getting in front of the camera isn’t an opportunity to put on a performance, an air of perfection: it’s an opportunity to capture the real stuff as is, chaos and all. And this is exactly what film and Super 8 encourage.
Because you don’t get the chance to look at film photos as soon as they’re taken, and you can’t see exactly how they’ll turn out on the screen, you are literally forced to be okay with imperfect photos! You have no other option. Same thing with Super 8: these vintage cameras don’t usually have many settings I can adjust, so my goal will never be to get the perfect lighting, or the perfect shot: it will only ever be to bring out the perfectly-imperfect you. Yes,
Yes, it’s tempting to want your hair to look flawless, to ask your littles to please smile more for the camera, or to feel self-conscious about the way your clothes might appear on camera, but when you allow that desire for perfection to take over, it completely takes away from the moment you’re in. Digital cameras can often make you feel like your smile, your pose, your style has to match the perfect quality of the photos. . . but with film, you feel a little more freedom to just let go.
This is why I love bringing film and Super 8 into your sessions: you have no other choice than to live in the moment and experience it to its fullest, because there are no guarantees that it’ll be captured perfectly.
And honestly? The imperfect photos are often the ones we end up loving the most.
The ones with a little bit of blur that end up capturing the wild, chaotic atmosphere of playtime. The ones that accidentally focused on your kid’s little tiny toes instead of their grin. The ones in between the prompts and poses when the shutter is accidentally clicked, capturing a completely candid moment as it was.
Memories aren’t just for looking at later: they’re for living in now, and it’s impossible to do that when performative perfection is what you’re looking to achieve.
3. It forces you to slow down & trust the process
Film doesn’t rush. It remembers. And that’s kinda the point.
I think we can learn a lot from film. It forces us to get rid of our instinct to rush, to create and find and seek perfection, to believe that we have a million chances to “get it right” and never stop to appreciate each and every one.
Film and Super 8 encourage the kind of slow that lets the magic return. It reminds you that the stuff you want to remember shows up when you slow down: the light in the room, the shadows on the ground, the in-between stuff.
It teaches you to move through life differently. To care less about how the photo looks and more how the moment feels. To trust the process and sit with the patience that is required to get your results; to toss instant gratification to the side in service of something more meaningful in the long term.
I think that sometimes, the best family adventures are the ones where everyone gets a little lost in the flowers and a little found in each other.
And this is what photos should feel like too.
Not something we rush through. Not a box we check. But a pocket of time where we notice the things that are usually too quiet, too soft, too fleeting to catch when we’re moving fast.
A dimple. A dirty foot.
A giggle that curls up and hides the second someone says “say cheese.”
(Filed under: things you’ll never hear me say).
These are the moments we don’t appreciate enough until they’re gone, but that the mediums of film and Super 8 allow us to freeze in the most imperfect, nostalgic, and present way possible.
4. It has limitations
You know that saying, “Restrictions breed creativity?” I’ve seen this apply to many areas of life and business, and it’s so relevant to working with film during your family or maternity session.
Because film cameras don’t give us the full scope of possibilities that digital ones do, we’re kinda forced to play around, experiment, and get creative.
We can’t always get the perfect lighting, the perfect focus, or the perfect angle with every shot we take—because we’re limited by our rolls of film. So instead of focusing on perfection each and every time, how can we make every shot more creative, fun, and intentional? How can we allow the restrictions of film cameras to foster freedom, exploration, and more purposeful images?
It’s so easy in today’s world to just snap a million photos on your iPhone that you’ll probably never look at again, so the intentionality of film and the restrictions it brings can actually be really freeing, opening up a world of opportunities that you wouldn’t have considered if you weren’t forced to be a little more careful with each and every film photo, each and every Super 8 clip.
5. It creates variety in your gallery
Finally, who doesn’t love a little more variety in the photos they’re paying for? The nostalgia and grit of film is simply something that can’t be replicated with digital mediums, no matter how great of a film filter you slap on there. It’s SO fun to have a gallery filled with crisp, clear, and clean digital shots to use for things like Christmas cards, but to also have a section of photos that are just a little less perfect, a little less flawless, and a little more you.
Hiring Your Vermont Film & Super 8 Family Photographer
Film just hits different.
The perfect imperfection. The way it draws you in. The way it adds extra depth and feeling to your story.
It is something I’ve wanted to offer since 2021 when I started this whole thing… and after tons and tons (and tons) of practice, I’m officially offering film and Super 8 as an add-on to storytelling family + maternity sessions!
Whether you feel drawn to one medium over the other, or you’d like to mix + match both, it would be my joy and honor to capture this special season of your life in such a timeless, heartfelt way. Reach out to me via email if you’re already booked and would like to add film to your upcoming session, or inquire here if we’re new to each other + you’re ready to get to planning!
Craving more tips for your unforgettable family and maternity session? I’ve curated a few of my favorites for you below.
+ Show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment