The Retro Revolution: Why is Old-School Photography Trending Right Now?
If you're in the world of photography, especially on social media, you've probably seen the recent explosion of vintage-style edits, 35mm film's comeback, and overall retro aesthetics on your feed. Photographers are making their digital edits grainier, darker, and are encorporating more hues that are reminiscent of classic films like Kodak Gold or Portra. Old-school is cool right now, and that brings with it a whole new set of trends and styles to follow.
Film is back
One of the biggest recent trends in photography is film, espcially 35mm, making a comeback. Canon AE-1 prices have jumped, film prices continue to climb, and Instagram is flooded with grainy, colorful 35mm photos with white borders. Why this sudden change? A big thing pushing young photographers toward film is purely the aesthetics of it. Film plays with overexposure and highlights in a softer and more striking way than digital. Grain is an acquired taste that many, myself inlcuded, have fallen back in love with. The colors from how light hits film are difficult to replicate with digital edits. The biggest thing, however, might just be the experience. For the same reasons my generation might love putting on a record, there is something so captivating about loading a roll of film, shooting in manual, and having to get it developed.
Digital looks like film now
Along with this decade's uptick in film photography, digital phography is also starting to bring in more of the trending film aesthetis. There are two sides of this: the hardware, and the software. With the cameras trending in the market right now, companies like Fujifilm are introducing more silver bodies on their digital cameras that look more like something from the 70s than the 2020s. Along with this, Fuji is including more film-like functionality in their digital cameras. On the software side, edits that try to emulate film are also increasingly popular. Kodak presets like the ones I started with are not uncommon, even in many regular portrait edits.
A trend worth chasing?
Though these retro aesthetics may seem like a short-lived trend, there might be some real value behind this current look. Unlike many other trends, the old-school aesthetic of these new movements in film and film-like digital photography will continue to age well due to the timelessness of film. A great example of this is the 70mm IMAX revival brought about by movies like Nolan's Oppenheimer, which recieved immense success. Film has a distinct look that audiences value, and this applies to photography as well. I hope this glimpse into these new film trends was insightful, and make sure to check out some of my other stories below.
