I agree with your points. I catch myself reacting differently to images if they have film borders. Film borders add that sense of authenticity. They're like an implied caption from the author that says: "Look, I shot this photograph on film. There's no AI or any sort of composites in it. This is the original negative. I didn't even crop it. Here's the evidence." It's hard to argue with that statement, when we're flooded by fake imagery.
From the aesthetic point of view, I prefer clean compositions and the borders are a distraction.
Ah, yes... the authenticity perspective. I get it. I like when you just see the edge of the sprockets in a print. A row of half moons. I am less worried about the scans, because they are digital anyway. One of my favourite HCB images is from Ireland. I have seen two prints of this particular image, and there is always tiny half moons along the edge. I don't know why he wanted this on that particular image, because most of his work just has the hard black square outline..... but, I like it!
It's definitely cool to see film borders, especially medium format, every now and then however I feel like if it becomes trendy to do so then it'll become the next shooting gas stations at night on cinestill. My viewpoint is that it'll always come down to what your intent is with the photos. If you're shooting knowing that the entire frame and borders will be exposed then that's great but at the same time if it's my photo then I will choose to crop or not crop however I please to get the best results.
That was a nice morning coffee read, Raf. Thank you!
My very personal take. I don’t like film boarders. They can be a distraction from the original image. But that’s only me who doesn’t care if a an image is straightened, cropped or dodged and burned as long as the creator of the photo has produced a visual pleasing image. Actually I don’t even care if something is analog or digital. I think it’s a bit of a misconception that film photos aren’t “allowed” to be altered in any ways ( not talking about AI of course).
However I can totally understand why people fall in love with film boarders for nostalgia reasons especially the younger generations that weren’t here yet when the film era was on. On some portraits or medium format it might add to the vibe.
Thanks! I think nostalgia plays a big role too! I also think that if I had the option to keep them, I would not keep them for every shot. Currently, I coded a python solution that gets the predominant color of an image and read information from EXIF/IPTC to create these borders I’m using, with the camera/film info, it’s also a nice way to develop a digital signature :)
I think they are as interesting as film borders, and having both would kinda conflict (not to mention it would impact on the predominant color algorithm).
I agree with your points. I catch myself reacting differently to images if they have film borders. Film borders add that sense of authenticity. They're like an implied caption from the author that says: "Look, I shot this photograph on film. There's no AI or any sort of composites in it. This is the original negative. I didn't even crop it. Here's the evidence." It's hard to argue with that statement, when we're flooded by fake imagery.
From the aesthetic point of view, I prefer clean compositions and the borders are a distraction.
Thanks for such a nice comment, Mike! :)
Ah, yes... the authenticity perspective. I get it. I like when you just see the edge of the sprockets in a print. A row of half moons. I am less worried about the scans, because they are digital anyway. One of my favourite HCB images is from Ireland. I have seen two prints of this particular image, and there is always tiny half moons along the edge. I don't know why he wanted this on that particular image, because most of his work just has the hard black square outline..... but, I like it!
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
It's definitely cool to see film borders, especially medium format, every now and then however I feel like if it becomes trendy to do so then it'll become the next shooting gas stations at night on cinestill. My viewpoint is that it'll always come down to what your intent is with the photos. If you're shooting knowing that the entire frame and borders will be exposed then that's great but at the same time if it's my photo then I will choose to crop or not crop however I please to get the best results.
Agree! I end up trimming them out because my scanner forces it. But I feel that if I had the option, I wouldn’t keep them 100% of the times though.
That was a nice morning coffee read, Raf. Thank you!
My very personal take. I don’t like film boarders. They can be a distraction from the original image. But that’s only me who doesn’t care if a an image is straightened, cropped or dodged and burned as long as the creator of the photo has produced a visual pleasing image. Actually I don’t even care if something is analog or digital. I think it’s a bit of a misconception that film photos aren’t “allowed” to be altered in any ways ( not talking about AI of course).
However I can totally understand why people fall in love with film boarders for nostalgia reasons especially the younger generations that weren’t here yet when the film era was on. On some portraits or medium format it might add to the vibe.
Live and let live I guess.
Have a good one!
Thanks! I think nostalgia plays a big role too! I also think that if I had the option to keep them, I would not keep them for every shot. Currently, I coded a python solution that gets the predominant color of an image and read information from EXIF/IPTC to create these borders I’m using, with the camera/film info, it’s also a nice way to develop a digital signature :)
I think they are as interesting as film borders, and having both would kinda conflict (not to mention it would impact on the predominant color algorithm).