With influencers and teens endorsing film photography, is it here to stay?

[dropcap size=small]L[/dropcap]ong before the digital camera that we all know and use, film cameras were the only option for photography. Since then, trends of the past decades have come back, including film. One of the most popular forms of film photography for high schoolers seems to be using disposable cameras. The disposables are used more by high schoolers than a conventional film camera because of the cheap price and the ease of the simple point and click method they offer.

 For the more dedicated photographers, actual film cameras are used and can often be more practical than buying a new disposable and getting it developed. Thanks to influencers and photographers on Instagram, people caught on the film camera trend and some prefer it to digital cameras. “I like the disposable film cameras because you can get the photos printed out and also get them digitally rendered,” said sophomore Lyla Ingram. You can also print out digital photos but some people prefer the filter and tint of the film camera photos. “I think film cameras are cool for special events because film pictures always take priority over iPhone pictures from my experience, they hold memories like a charm,” said junior Haley Sabo. For a lot of people, film cameras are a way of preserving memories that can’t be saved digitally. Teens think the photos taken with film cameras will last longer and be more sentimental than ones stored on ICloud

Some apps try to mimic the feel of a film camera and the filters that come with it, like Huji and VSCO. But even though they can be very accurate and look like they were almost taken on a film camera, most people can tell the difference between a photo taken by an iPhone and a photo taken by a film camera.

But, film does have some pitfalls. It’s pretty expensive to develop and buy film, depending on the brand of film rolls you buy a single roll can run you from three to eight dollars. To develop film at Dexter’s Camera store, it costs five dollars to print the photos then another to have the photos digitally rendered, but that’s if you have an actual film camera. A disposable film camera can run you ten dollars for just one camera, then the cost to develop and print the photos can round the price for just 27 pictures to be 20 dollars.

Even though film cameras have been around for decades now, most people will always swing towards digital photography. Film cameras are just a trend, most people will either forget or stop using film when the trend dies.