35mm Film
Wedding Photography
35mm film wedding photography by Dominique and Liam Shaw. We photograph weddings across the UK and beyond, capturing real, unposed moments on our Leica MP film cameras. Three rolls of analogue film are included in our wedding photography coverage, with options for more extensive film coverage or an entirely analogue wedding.
Real moments.
Real film.
The wedding happens once. The photographs should feel like it.
We photograph weddings the way we see them: spontaneous, funny, moving, layered and entirely unscripted. Our analogue photographs are part of that same story, made on real 35mm film as the day unfolds.
They sit naturally alongside our digital photographs because the way we see hasn't changed. What film adds is its own colour, texture, physicality and beautiful unpredictability.
Whether it's a quiet glance, a chaotic dancefloor or a moment nobody else noticed, what matters to us is always the photograph.
Your wedding.
On real film.
Real 35mm photographs, made by us as the wedding happens. Choose film alongside digital coverage, or an entire wedding photographed on analogue cameras.
Film is included.
Three rolls of 35mm film are included in our wedding photography coverage. Add more if you'd like a larger analogue collection.
Every moment on film.
Choose complete wedding photography coverage on 35mm film, from preparations through to the end of the party.
Photographed by Dominique & Liam Shaw · Available across the UK and worldwide
Enquire about your wedding →Why real film?
We could make a digital photograph grainier, shift the colours or soften the highlights to resemble a particular film stock. But somehow it never quite feels the same.
Real film has its own unpredictability. Light reacts with an actual physical material. Grain isn't an effect applied afterwards, it's part of the photograph itself. Colours shift. Highlights behave differently. Occasionally something unexpected happens.
And we love that unpredictability.
Our entire approach to wedding photography is built around spontaneity. The unscripted moments, the unexpected connections, the things nobody could have planned or predicted. Film brings another layer of that same spontaneity into the photograph itself.
And perhaps just as importantly, the photograph was made differently. There was no screen, no preview and no second attempt at exactly the same instant.
That's part of what we love about getting the scans back. We remember taking the photograph, but we're seeing the finished image for the first time too.
Unpredictable moments.
Precisely seen.
We don't direct the wedding to make a photograph. We watch, anticipate and find the light, the composition and the split second that brings everything together.
We've always believed in getting it right in camera. We rarely crop, keep editing restrained and don't rely on retouching people to make them look beautiful. The photograph should be made when we take it, not rebuilt afterwards.
Film asks us to commit to the frame. That's familiar territory. We learned to work that way long before we picked up our digital cameras, and it's never left us.
Real life isn't staged. Beautiful documentary photographs don't have to be either.
One frame.
Make it count.
There's something wonderful about the physical experience of film: the feel of the Leica in your hands, the mechanical click of the shutter, winding on to the next frame.
There's no checking the back of the camera, and no burst of almost-identical images to choose from later. You watch. You anticipate. You commit.
That doesn't make our film work more thoughtful than our digital photography. The same instincts, composition and timing guide both. But the single-exposure process gives film a character of its own.
Our digital photography still has analogue roots. We work with familiar ISO settings inspired by traditional film speeds, embrace grain rather than trying to remove it, and aim to make the photograph in camera. The two mediums aren't imitating each other. They simply share a way of seeing.
The best of
both worlds.
Three rolls of real 35mm film are included in our wedding photography coverage.
Dominique and Liam photograph weddings together, both watching for the moments that make the day yours. Film is part of the coverage, not a separate performance or a reason to interrupt anything.
Our Leica MP cameras sit alongside our digital cameras. We choose the medium instinctively, responding to the moment in front of us rather than asking the wedding to stop for a photograph.
Three rolls are included as standard, and you can choose additional film coverage if you'd like a larger analogue collection. You'll receive high-resolution scans of your film photographs alongside your digital gallery.
And if you'd prefer the entire wedding on film, we offer a dedicated analogue-only option too.
An entire wedding.
Entirely on film.
For couples who want to embrace analogue from preparations to the party, we also offer complete film-only wedding photography. The same documentary approach, the same commitment to beautiful real moments, with every photograph made on film.
Street photography
is in our DNA.
Before York Place, it was the pages of street photography books, filled with extraordinary photographs made on film, that first made us fall in love with photography. Unscripted moments, ordinary life, perfectly timed.
That way of seeing became the foundation of our documentary wedding photography. Digital cameras opened up wonderful possibilities, but they never replaced those original instincts.
We've also taken film into the streets ourselves, including a street photography series made on Fujifilm Superia in Sri Lanka. It's the same curiosity that draws us to the unplanned moments of a wedding.
The medium has changed over the years. What we look for hasn't.
The people behind
the film.
The photograph begins in camera.
We know from our own darkroom experience that developing and printing film is an art in its own right. The work doesn't stop when the shutter closes.
Directly to people we trust.
Liam lives close to AG Photolab, so we hand-deliver our exposed film rather than entrusting the rolls to the post.
Craft matters at every stage.
Our film is professionally developed and scanned by AG Photolab, part of the Digitalab family. We trust their expertise and their understanding of our work.
Dominique was taking her film to Digitalab while studying photography at Sunderland University between 2003 and 2006, as well as developing and printing some of her own work. Years later, Dominique and Liam became Digitalab brand ambassadors.
It's a long-standing relationship built on respect for the craft of photography, from the moment we expose the negative to the finished scan.
Find out more about AG Photolab and Digitalab.
Small cameras.
Serious glass.
Our analogue wedding photography is made using two Leica MP rangefinders and a small collection of Leica M lenses. Unobtrusive cameras that let us stay close to real life.
We love the equipment. But the important thing is what happens in front of it.
Selected frames.
35mm film wedding
photography FAQs.
Is 35mm film included in our wedding photography?
Yes. Three rolls of 35mm film are included as standard in our wedding photography coverage. You can also choose more extensive film coverage, or book an entirely analogue wedding.
Can we have both film and digital wedding photographs?
Absolutely. Our film photographs are made naturally alongside our digital coverage. They share the same documentary approach and are delivered as high-resolution scans alongside your digital photographs.
Will shooting film interrupt the wedding?
No. We never stop or recreate moments just to make a film photograph. The cameras are simply another way for us to photograph the day as it happens.
Can you photograph the entire wedding on film?
Yes. We offer a separate analogue-only wedding photography option for couples who want the complete day photographed on 35mm film.
Who develops and scans your film?
We hand-deliver our exposed film to AG Photolab, part of the Digitalab family. We have a long-standing professional relationship with the lab and trust their craft and care.
Do you use flash with 35mm film?
Yes, when the light and the moment call for it. Film can be wonderful for flash-lit evening photographs as well as natural-light moments.
How will we receive the photographs?
You receive high-resolution scans of your film photographs in your online gallery alongside your digital photographs. Ask us about print and album options if you would also like something physical.
Can we book wedding photography and videography together?
Absolutely. Our 35mm film photography can be combined with documentary wedding videography by our sister company, York Place Films. We work closely together, sharing the same unobtrusive approach to capturing real moments, whether through still photographs or moving images.
Your wedding.
On real film.
Three rolls included, more film if you want it, and an analogue-only option if you want to go all in.
Enquire about your date →