Why We Choose to Shoot on Super 8 & 16mm Film
A Guide for Couples Who Care About Feeling Over Perfection
By Michael & Deanna Photography
There are countless ways to capture a wedding day.
But there are very few ways to preserve how it feels.
At Michael & Deanna Photography, we blend modern digital filmmaking with true motion picture film — Super 8 and 16mm — because some moments deserve more than pixels. They deserve to be remembered with soul, texture, and intention.
If you’re considering adding film to your wedding coverage, here’s everything you should know.
What Makes Film So Different?
Digital video is incredible. It’s sharp, clean, and reliable.
But film does something else entirely.
Film carries emotion in its texture.
In the way light falls off the frame.
In the movement.
In the imperfections that make it feel alive.
Film doesn’t just show you the day —
it reminds you what it felt like to live inside it.
Super 8 — The Romance of Real Life
Super 8 is a classic home-movie format from the 1960s.
It has a softness to it — a dreamlike quality that instantly feels personal and nostalgic. It brings an intimacy and warmth that simply can’t be recreated digitally.
We love using Super 8 for:
- Getting ready moments
- Quiet in-between interactions
- Portraits in beautiful light
- The dance floor when the night opens up
A Few Honest Trade-Offs of Super 8
There is no instant playback — everything is revealed after development
Each cartridge only captures about 2.5 minutes of footage
It is less “perfect” than digital — and that’s exactly the point
16mm — Timeless, Cinematic, Endlessly Beautiful
16mm is professional motion picture film — the format used for decades in documentaries and cinema.
This is the film we use when we want your wedding to feel like it belongs on the big screen.
16mm offers:
- Rich, dimensional color
- Stunning highlight roll-off
- Depth and texture no digital camera can truly replicate
- A timeless look that will never age
When couples watch their 16mm footage for the first time, the reaction is almost always emotional. It doesn’t feel like a wedding video.
It feels like a piece of their story preserved forever.
A Few Honest Trade-Offs of 16mm
- It is a premium option due t the cost of film stock, processing, and scanning
- It requires careful planning and intentional shooting
- There is no instant playback - every frame is captured with purpose
Michael's Bolex H16 Rex 3
The Bolex H16 REX 3 is a classic Swiss-made 16mm motion picture camera from the iconic Bolex H16 series, known for its rugged mechanical design, reliability, and versatility. It features a spring-driven motor (no batteries needed), a three-lens turret for rapid lens changes, and a REX 3 reflex viewfinder, which allows you to see exactly what the taking lens sees — a big advantage for precise framing and focus. Built for both documentary and artistic filmmaking, the Rex 3 is beloved by filmmakers for its tactile controls, durable build, and organic filmic aesthetic, making it a popular choice for weddings, narrative projects, and experimental work alike.
Our Bolex was completely overhauled and converted to Super 16 in 2025
Deanna's Canon 310 XL
The Canon 310XL is a well-regarded Super 8 film camera from Canon’s classic lineup, known for its solid build, intuitive controls, and reliable performance — making it a favorite among both beginners and seasoned film shooters. It features an automatic exposure system with a responsive light meter, a sharp zoom lens, and smooth zoom/focus rings that make it easy to frame and expose in changing conditions. Its ergonomic design and dependable mechanics help filmmakers concentrate on storytelling rather than technical hassles, which is why cameras like the 310XL are still beloved for weddings, personal projects, and artistic filmmaking nearly fifty years after they were first introduced.
Deanna's Canon 310XL Scheduled for overhaul winter 2026
Caring for the Tools That Tell Your Story
Working with motion picture film means working with precision instruments.
That’s why our film cameras are routinely serviced, tested, and calibrated to ensure they perform exactly as they should on a wedding day.
We invest heavily in proper maintenance, trusted technicians, and ongoing testing — because your wedding is not the place for uncertainty or shortcuts.
We never experiment on a wedding! When we arrive, we arrive prepared.
What Is Super 16?
Super 16 is a professional motion picture film format that evolved from traditional 16mm film.
It uses the same film stock, but the camera exposes a larger image area on the film, resulting in a wider, more cinematic frame and noticeably higher image quality.
In simple terms:
Super 16 gives you more picture from the same piece of film.
Super 16mm
What Is Super 8?
Super 8 is a classic motion picture film format introduced in the 1960s, originally created for home movies. Over time, it became beloved for its unmistakable character — soft, warm, emotional, and deeply nostalgic.
Super 8 doesn’t try to be perfect.
It feels like memory.
What Super 8 Looks Like
Super 8 is known for:
- Warm tones
- Gentle grain
- Soft highlights
- Slight organic movement
- A dreamlike, intimate quality
It captures moments the way we remember them — not clinically sharp, but beautifully alive.
Super 8mm
A Gentle Note on “Film” in the Wedding Industry
In recent years, film has become popular again — which we love.
But not all film offerings are the same.
Some companies use digital overlays or filters to imitate the look of film. While those can be beautiful in their own way, they are not the same as capturing light on actual motion picture film.
When we say film, we mean real Super 8 and real 16mm —
shot in-camera, developed in a professional lab, and scanned frame by frame.
There is something truly special about knowing your wedding was captured on the same medium that preserved so many of the world’s most meaningful stories.
Super 16mm
Super 16mm
Film & Digital — Why We Use Both
Digital Film
Crisp, modern, reliable Emotional, organic, timeless
Unlimited recording Limited footage, intentional shooting
Immediate playback Anticipation & surprise
Technically perfect Beautifully imperfect
We don’t believe in choosing one over the other. By blending film and digital, your wedding film becomes something rare —
a balance of clarity and feeling, precision and poetry.
Abbye and Stephen's Highlight film shot on both film and digital at Sycamore Bend Estate
Why pick one, when you can have both.
Blending film and digital gives you the best of both worlds: the reliability and full coverage of modern digital filmmaking, paired with the emotional depth and timeless beauty of real motion picture film. Digital ensures every moment is captured with clarity and precision, while Super 8 and 16mm preserve the feeling of your day — the texture of the light, the movement, the quiet in-between moments that live in memory. Together, they create a wedding film that doesn’t just document what happened, but allows you to truly relive it, year after year.
Super 8mm
Why We Offer Film for Our Couples
Your wedding day will pass in a heartbeat. Film encourages us to slow down, observe, and capture the moments that matter most — not just how they looked, but how they lived in the room. Years from now, when you revisit your film, the digital footage will show the day. The film will bring you back inside it.
Is Film Right for Your Wedding?
Film is for couples who:
- Care deeply about story and emotion
- Love art, cinema, and authenticity
- Value timeless beauty over perfection
- Want their wedding to feel like a memory, not a production
- If that resonates with you, we would be honored to create something truly lasting together.
