Film Wedding Photography
35mm Film · Medium Format · Hybrid Film & Digital
35mm Film Wedding Photography
I'm Mariela Campbell — a Southern California film wedding photographer specializing in 35mm film, medium format, and hybrid film and digital coverage for elopements and weddings. Film photography has been my first love long before I ever shot a wedding, and it's shaped the way I see and capture every moment I'm trusted to document.
If you're eloping in Joshua Tree, saying yes on the California coast, or celebrating with your closest people in San Diego or beyond — adding film to your wedding day creates images with a depth, warmth, and timelessness that digital alone simply can't achieve.
I offer three ways to work with film: 35mm film, medium format (120mm), and Hybrid coverage — a seamless blend of film and digital that gives you the best of both worlds.
35mm Film Wedding Photography
For couples who want that unmistakable film look — soft, romantic, and rich with texture — 35mm film is a beautiful choice. I shoot 35mm with the Nikon F5 and Nikon F3, two iconic film cameras that produce stunning, timeless images with a tonal range no digital camera can replicate.
The Nikon F5 is widely considered one of the greatest 35mm film cameras ever made, and it's built to keep up with the pace of a wedding day without missing a moment. The F3 brings its own quiet character and a beautifully organic quality to every frame.
Why 35mm film for your wedding?
Film captures light, color, and skin tones in a way that feels inherently true to life. Highlights are handled gracefully — no blown-out skies or harsh bright spots. The grain is real. The colors are real. And the resulting images have a softness and warmth that feels like memory, not like a photograph.
Shooting on film is also an intentional practice. With a set number of frames per roll, every shot is considered and purposeful — and that care is visible in the final images.
Available as a standalone film session or combined with digital coverage.
35mm Film Wedding Photography
35mm Film Wedding Photography
For couples who want that unmistakable film look — soft, romantic, and rich with texture — 35mm film is a beautiful choice. I shoot 35mm with the Nikon F5 and Nikon F3, two iconic film cameras that produce stunning, timeless images with a tonal range no digital camera can replicate.
The Nikon F5 is widely considered one of the greatest 35mm film cameras ever made, and it's built to keep up with the pace of a wedding day without missing a moment. The F3 brings its own quiet character and a beautifully organic quality to every frame.
Why 35mm film for your wedding?
Film captures light, color, and skin tones in a way that feels inherently true to life. Highlights are handled gracefully — no blown-out skies or harsh bright spots. The grain is real. The colors are real. And the resulting images have a softness and warmth that feels like memory, not like a photograph.
Shooting on film is also an intentional practice. With a set number of frames per roll, every shot is considered and purposeful — and that care is visible in the final images.
Available as a standalone film session or paired with your digital or Hybrid coverage.
Medium Format Wedding Photography
120mm Film
Medium Format Wedding Photography
Medium format film photography takes everything you love about 35mm and elevates it. Shooting on 120mm medium format film produces images with extraordinary detail, beautiful tonal depth, and a richness that makes prints look stunning at any size.
If you're planning a film-forward elopement or an intimate wedding where you want a slower, more intentional approach to photography, medium format is made for you. The larger negative captures finer grain, deeper shadows, and more nuance in every frame — resulting in photographs that are genuinely breathtaking.
Medium format is ideal for:
Elopements and intimate ceremonies
Bridal and couple portrait sessions
Any couple who wants film photography that truly stands apart
Available as a standalone medium format session or paired with your digital or Hybrid coverage.
Hybrid Film & Digital Wedding Photography
Hybrid Film + Digital + Cinematic Coverage
Hybrid Film + Digital + Cinematic Coverage
Hybrid wedding photography is the approach I'm best known for — and for good reason. I shoot your wedding simultaneously with film and digital cameras, using high-quality full-frame digital cameras to document every moment as it happens and film to capture portraits and intimate scenes with an artistic, timeless quality.
The result is a cohesive gallery where digital and film images complement each other beautifully. My editing bridges both formats, so everything looks and feels like one unified body of work — not two separate shoots stitched together.
Hybrid coverage is available with 35mm film, medium format film, or a combination of both — tailored to your day, your venue, and your vision.
Why couples choose Hybrid coverage:
Full digital documentation of your ceremony, reception, and details
Film portraits and intimate moments with the depth and romance only analog achieves
One cohesive, artistically edited gallery
Available for elopements, small weddings, and full wedding-day coverage across California and beyond
→ Inquire about Hybrid film and digital wedding photography
Why hire a Film Wedding Photographer?
There's a reason film photography is experiencing such a genuine resurgence in the wedding world — and it's not just aesthetic. Here's what film offers that digital simply can't:
True-to-life color and skin tones. Film renders color and texture the way your eye actually sees it. Skin tones are warm and accurate. Whites are soft, not blown out. Greens are lush, not oversaturated.
Beautiful highlight handling. Film gracefully manages bright light — outdoor ceremonies, golden hour, sunlit windows — in a way digital sensors struggle to match.
Timeless images that don't date. Film photographs age beautifully. They don't feel "of the moment" in a way that dates them. They feel like memory.
Intentional, considered photography. Every frame on a roll of film matters. That intentionality produces images with a quality of attention you can feel.
Authentic grain and character. Real film grain is nothing like a Lightroom preset. It's organic, subtle, and adds to the image rather than distracting from it.
Let’s Talk Film
Whether you're curious about adding a roll of 35mm to your day, going all-in on a medium format elopement, or building a full Hybrid package — I'd love to talk through what makes sense for your wedding.
I serve couples throughout Southern California and beyond — from Joshua Tree and Palm Springs to Big Sur, San Francisco, San Diego, and destination weddings across the US.
Contact me ↓ to discuss your film + digital hybrid coverage