The Beginner Photography Podcast

A Photographer's Guide to Raw and Intimate Images with Rachel Larsen Weaver

• Raymond Hatfield

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#453 In todays episode of the podcast, I chat with family film photographer Rachel Larsen Weaver about her photographic journey, the value of perseverance, choosing to shoot on film, and the power of finding your own artistic vision in a raw and authentic style.

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Embrace Your Unique Style: Your photographic journey may start with struggles, but embracing your own style can lead to a raw, authentic aesthetic that sets you apart.
  • Value Perseverance: Through perseverance and continuous self-improvement, you can shift your focus from simply pleasing others to pursuing your own artistic vision.
  • Find a Mentor: Finding a mentor who aligns with your work and provides valuable guidance can significantly boost your confidence and help you grow as a photographer.
  • Capture Authentic Moments: Transitioning to shooting film can allow you to capture imperfect, raw moments with honesty and intimacy, providing a new level of depth to your photography.


Resources:
Follow Rachael Larsen Weaver on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rachel.larsen.weaver/

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I am not just interested in making smiling, laughing, twirling photos of you and your family. I'm trying to find the moments that also can feel kind of heavy or the moments that feel like that feel sort of complicated that there are these more than one emotion there in the place where you are both mother, but still a woman who exists outside of that role.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to the beginner photography podcast brought to you by Cloudspot, the easiest way to deliver and sell your photos online. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield, and each week I interview one of the world's most interesting photographers to learn what it really takes to capture beautiful images and compelling stories so that you can start to do the same. In today's interview we are talking with family photographer Rachel Larson Weaver about the challenges and rewards of photographing families on film. Today is an episode from the BBB Vault where we revisit our treasure trove of interviews to offer both new and long time listeners a chance to uncover the powerful insights and practical tips to enhance your photography skills. So whether you are listening with fresh ears or a new perspective, remember, there's always something new to learn. Shooting film is something that I know many of you are interested in. It is such a great way to slow down and focus on what you want to shoot. But as a parent, I know how difficult it can be to photograph kids, and that's within camera exposure control and autofocus. If you can capture kids on film like Rachel, then, well, you got the patience of a saint, for sure. One thing that I want you to pay attention to, is when Rachel is talking about the length of her sessions. Because I think that it is going to surprise you, but at the same time I couldn't imagine doing it any other way, the way that she's doing it. So, like I said, be sure to pay attention to that and stick around to the end of the episode where I'm going to share with you the three step photography action plan so that you can start implementing what you learn from these amazing photographers. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Rachel Larson Weaver. Rachel, my first question for you is, when did you know that photography was going to play an important role in your life?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

So I kind of came in through a side door. My beginning with photography. I wanted to blog because my background is more in writing. That's what I like started my MFA and that's I studied English literature in college. And so I knew that at the time you needed images for blogs to do well. So that was sort of how I started. And I got the camera and I was using it for that capacity. And so I was taking pictures of my family and my children and my life. And that's like so many people. Once you start showing an interest in photography, then all of a sudden, your friend says like, I'm having a real casual wedding. Will you take the pictures or, you know,

Raymond Hatfield:

A small thing. Yeah.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

or friends who were like, will you take a picture of us for Christmas? And so it kind of started because of that. But as soon as then I realized I liked doing it, but I didn't know how, because all of my scene had been like, I would take out the camera when the moment happened. I wasn't trying to create them. I wasn't, I didn't know how to do that. As soon as people were standing kind of stiffly in front of me and like, let's do this now. and so it was a process of then studying and finding photographers who I was inspired by their family work. But I quickly realized then also that I was getting kind of bored with what that looked like, which led me into deep diving into, I mean, I'm going to call them like photography masters, but people that are more in the museums and published names and so that I could see like, what's the work that actually is going to inspire me for the long run.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, of course. want to know. I want to go back to those blog days because we made a big leap there from I had a blog, bought a camera. Now, you know, here I am. So when you first got that camera. First of all, obviously you bought the camera so that you could take photos, right? When you got the camera, when you bought it from Costco or whatever, did you just put it in auto and hope for the best or? Heck yes. How did that turn out for you?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I mean, poorly, though at first it was so much better than any other camera I'd ever had. I was like, this is beautiful. I bought a pretty good lens with a simple body. And, you know, then I learned about aperture priority and I felt like a genius. And then I, you know what I mean? It was like this gradual incremental movement to actually understanding how to work the piece of equipment. But like, it took me probably three years before I edited a photo.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, same here. Same here. Yeah, absolutely. But I want to know, like, where did that, you know, a lot of people still to this day will buy a camera, they'll buy a flagship camera. And then they'll just always keep that camera in auto. And they'll be happy with those images and that's whatever. But for you, you said that you discovered Aperture Priority. Like, where did that even enter your ecosystem to start looking into it,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I would see an image and kind of want to reverse engineer. How did they create that? It was probably like 2012. And I feel like super bokehed pictures were really in and you're like, Well, how do I make my, focus like that? And so then I would yeah. Google and try to figure it out. So I would just like kind of pull in a trick or two at a time. But while I was just working for myself and just creating images for the blog, I don't think that I had the fire to figure out too much because the pictures were really more of a means to an end. It wasn't until maybe this is like a people pleaser in me that people were asking me and wanting it out of me that I was like, well, I need to be able to come into different circumstances and know how I can make it work.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, okay. I love that. It's self taught, right? That's how you got started your, It's just that zone of awareness just keeps getting bigger and bigger of these things that you should be doing in photography. So when other people did start asking you to take their photos, you said that's when that fire really, started to ignite inside of you. Was that purely in the hopes That you would please them. Or was it the photos that you were getting? You thought to yourself like, Oh my gosh, like I'm kind of surprising myself here.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

No, I was not surprising myself. I was not pleased with them. It was wanting to, it was wanting to create something that I was shooting so often for myself that I could just pluck out things that I liked.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

But when there was felt like some sort of pressure, and at first it was just for friends, there was no money, but I still felt like I want to do right by them in this moment. I want to be able to share this skill this beyond this because I like doing it. And as soon as it started to grow, that's when I went to find a mentor to get somebody signed up for a workshop because I wanted to know how to actually to be able to create what I wanted to in a variety of circumstances to be able to expand the very small window that I felt comfortable in.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course, of course. So what were those things then that you would say that you were struggling with most? Cause obviously you start to learn Aperture Priority that feels like, Whoa, like what's going on here? And then you're still going, you're, you know, you're doing these shoots for friends and whatnot. And you said, Nope, wasn't surprised. You know, there was still the photos that I was taking. What were those struggles that you were facing when you were like from a technical side that you were facing when you were learning photography?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

It's funny because I recently looked back on like the questionnaire that I had sent in ahead of this mentorship and things that I thought I cared about at the time. But I think that that was because of what I was looking at and I was thinking, well, this is what I'm supposed to be creating for people. So I remember one of the questions being like, how do I pose them in a flattering way? And when my mentor came back. And was looking at my work and what was strongest, she said, that's not what you're supposed to be doing. Like flattering them isn't your goal. I can't imagine like that wasn't so it was helpful to have her eye on my work to say, this is where it's actually strongest lean into that. Versus at the time I was thinking, How do I make golden light portraits? How do I make these flattering? Because I was so convinced that what people wanted was the thing that I saw when I googled lifestyle photography.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course, of course. And that still happens today. I mean, people look on Pinterest or whatever for Wedding photos. And they're like, well, this is what wedding photos look like. This is what I have to learn how to create. So I, I totally understand that. When did that switch for you from, I'm going to photograph the things that I think people want to, I'm going to photograph the things. Then I want and hope that people also enjoy it.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I mean, it was about six years ago. It was pretty early on in my running a business part of it that. Because it was pretty obvious that the people who were hiring me or even the friends who were asking me to take pictures originally, they were looking at the pictures of my, on my blog and those were not Pinterest y lifestyle family photos. There was like a grittiness, there was a rawness. You might say that those things came because that was all I could do because I just didn't know what I was doing behind the camera. So then trying to figure out how I could a little bit recreate that on demand. To still have that grittiness, that thing that feels like authentic and maybe a little magical and not overly posed, not perfected, but to be able to do that intentionally.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's a difficult thing. That was a really difficult thing when you first could say, because that, that's so interesting because, you know, originally you wanted to get into photography because of the people pleaser in you. And then you said, right there, relatively early on in your journey, you're like, no, no, no, I really don't care what other people think. I'm gonna focus on what I want, and if it's raw, and it's gritty, and it's not light and airy, that's my thing. So, was it, were you feeling any sort of imposter syndrome, or did you have the confidence where you just didn't care what others

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I do think finding a mentor who was well aligned with the work that I want, that gave me a lot of confidence. And I think that especially for those of us who come into photography from a more self taught perspective, like don't underestimate that. The importance of finding someone to work with and to study with who you feel a connection to their work. Because I've had that situation go really well and I've had it go really poorly too. But I do think that there's a lot of value in finding teachers that see you for your potential and aren't trying to necessarily force you in. To creating just like they create, because I think there's a whole lot of education out there that does that.

Raymond Hatfield:

So for you, this was obviously very important. This was an integral part in your photography journey was finding a mentor. So this is interesting. You started shooting on digital, right? When you said that you bought simple body lenses. Today, you don't. Or maybe you do, but like your main thing is Almost,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

yeah. Exclusively film. Except for self portraits, it's all film.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. Was this, did this come out of this, these talks with your mentor and the discovery of what it is that you wanted to do?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

In part, and they are a film photographer. So I think that that was part of it. So I would say that my work looks almost nothing like theirs. It wasn't, it was two things, realizing that I wanted to be present in the moment and not fiddling around, but so much and looking at the back of the screen. And kind of pulling myself from it because I didn't think that's when my strongest work was created. And second, when I realized that most of the work that I liked so much, and that I think was the work that was why people wanted to hire me, was pretty imperfect and raw in its own way. I realized that film was a way to get in there that I wouldn't, fall into that overly perfecting, overly editing. So it kind of saved me from some of my tendencies, I think.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow, so film almost forced you to shoot in the way that you wanted to shoot because you knew that if left to your own devices, with digital, you'd want to edit everything, like, all the way to the max and really produce more of a polished film? Well,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I call, and call it too much, too, to say, like, I'll keep shooting this a hundred times until there's the one. But sometimes it's, it's when you just take to and that you have to choose between them that I think for me that works better. I think that it like preserve some of the magic to it.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I'm excited to talk about that. But the idea of obviously having a limited number of photos, but I want to know transition more into getting to where you are today, which is shooting long form film of families, right? So, can you tell me, like, for those who are, like, what does that even mean? Like, what does that mean for you?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Long form sessions as I see them, I come into somebody's home, usually for about 24 hours. It's not quite like those day in the life, 24 hour documentary style photos that some people perfect and do really beautifully. Because it isn't, I'm not a pure anything, much less a pure documentary photographer. I'm not afraid to put a person in a spot. We can have ideas that we come into it and creative collaboration and we'll go out and create imagery and also because I am shooting film light is such an important factor in that and I can't just shoot in any spot in your house under any circumstance. So there is still like tweaking and playing with the environment and with the subjects, but it's a chance for us to kind of sink into a rhythm with each other to be able to really get into presence with one another so that I feel like that there can be an honesty that's a lot harder to happen in a one hour time period. Not impossible, but also when you're shooting with kids, sometimes you need more time. If in that period of time, there's a temper tantrum or something. It's wonderful if they don't have to see me as a photographer in that moment. I can just kind of play and interact. And then we wait for the moment to come back around has been a chance for me to create the images that I really want to without everyone feeling so much pressure on this little window of time.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. So then when it comes to these family sessions, like where did this idea come from? And what was your first one? Like, was it, were you nervous? Did it come out well? In

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

part it came from failure as most good ideas do. My oldest child was just about to start college and I needed to like have money for tuition. And so I was like, I'm going to offer motherhood mini sessions just like every photographer does. I know lots of friends who are entirely successful at it and I put it out there and it was crickets. And generally speaking, most of the things that I have done when I've put out an offer have done pretty well. I have a specific type of person that tends to be interested in my work, but I can usually find them, right? And I had to examine, like, why does no one want this thing that other people seem to do so well with, but I realized that part of what my strongest photography was. And also I think what people wanted from me was to come in and to feel really witnessed and invalidated and to be able to see the beauty and their life and in their relationships and in how they parent and a 25 minute. In front of a backdrop was not going to give anybody that moment, and I feel like they saw it, even if I didn't. And it's interesting because when I then, like, a month later, launched long form sessions, I booked more long form sessions which are a much higher price point, you fly me out to where you are, than I had in the motherhood mini sessions.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, by this point you had already had enough of a style, or enough of a following of people who liked your images enough to know that that's exactly, what, to know exactly what they would be getting. And that the mini sessions weren't going to deliver what they wanted, so when it comes to those long form sessions, Again, sorry, I'm going to go back to that first question, like, tell me how that first one went for you. Was it, how much nerves were you feeling? And at the end of the day, like, when you delivered that gallery, how did you feel? Also, sorry, real quick, I'm going to add one more piece onto this question. By this time, were you still shooting digital or had you made the transition? Oh,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

this was all the way film, um, by this point. I'm trying to remember which one was my actual first one. Because kind of a few of them happened in a short period of time.

Raymond Hatfield:

I guess what was that feeling like around that time?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Nerves, because there were like three in a pretty short succession. But two of the people I felt pretty connected to online through other ways. They were other photographers. I knew them kind of through other spaces. So I wasn't as nervous about going in to their homes to document them the first time that it was like a person who was sort of a stranger to me that was more nerve wracking where you're like, well, is this going to feel really long? I think I want to know, like, okay. I've had enough of you, but I and so there has been things that I've learned in doing it to make sure that before I come in, like, if you guys are ready for a break at any point, and you just want like a breather, give me the word. There's no pressure. I'll go take a walk. I bring a book. I'll go sit in the yard and read. But I being able to lay those things out beforehand has been really helpful so that people feel like they can learn. not feel so on for 24 hours. But I am also an extremely extroverted person and I love meeting people and my sessions felt like I would shoot for an hour or two and then we'd be sitting around and they'd be like, can I make you a drink? Let's go grab a coffee that they sort of were naturally evolving into these kind of long things that was part hanging out and part discussing art and part talking about motherhood and creativity. And so I wanted to make the offer include that.

Raymond Hatfield:

I want to know, what does that mean for your sessions? As far as like the photos that you deliver, like knowing that you're going to have these conversations with these families, and that, you might take a break, you know, in between for an hour and go get some coffee or a drink or whatever. What are you trying to deliver with these photos?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Oh, that's an interesting question. Well, one of the things that happens beforehand is that I send them out or I send them kind of a welcome packet. And so it is asking them which moments of their day have they kind of crafted with love and would like to be documented. And I give them an opportunity to start a Pinterest board. And then I try to find other images that kind of fit in that. Nature and because part of it is also because I know lots of photographers get kind of poopoo a Pinterest inspiration, but it's wanting to see what the common threads are in the images that they're creating or that they're drawn to so that I can come in and help them find that moment or gear our session. Towards those aims because I, I like it from a creative point of view to think like, how can this be collaborative? So those things help, I think both of us have an understanding of what we're gonna be trying to create together. I also try to just be really deliberate in what I share on my Instagram, what I share on my website, what I share in newsletters. So people I think are pretty familiar with my work by the time they book me, especially because they're inviting me in for a long time and it's not an insignificant amount of money. So I feel like they've kind of done their research before. They want it to happen. So I, in that way, I feel like we start out on pretty even footing.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right. When you suggest to clients to put together a Pinterest board so that you could see those common themes, what are the most common, common themes? Like what is it? Do you feel that they're looking for from you?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

It can sort of change because there are people who I will see a lot more black and white sort of documentary style images, maybe more like using a 24 or 35 millimeter focal length, but all of them are going to be pretty natural in their tendency. They tend to be pretty kind of a film aesthetic, almost anything in any of the boards. But that can be one side that, that I'll see people's images leaning kind of heavy to, whereas other people I'll see a lot more like kind of soft focus, heavy on the touch, more skin, a sort of intimacy that can happen. I feel like those are kind of the two camps that are drawn to my work, and so usually I'll have a sense of which one they're more excited about

Raymond Hatfield:

For you as the photographer. Do you find that you are tailoring yourself to fit what they're looking for? Or is it or is your style of photography pretty much right in that same neighborhood? You just kind of favor a certain photo over another. Did that question make sense?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Yeah. The one thing it maybe does the most is helps me decide what lenses I want to use at which place, uh, type of, or what film stack I might use in a given situation. So in those ways it will change if I'm going to shoot it more on black and white, if I'm going to use a wider angle versus more of a zoom. So it does, it influences it, but it doesn't change, like, kind of what the heart of it is.

Raymond Hatfield:

Sure, sure. Now, I want to ask you a question about your website, because, in doing some research and getting ready for this episode, I was looking over your website, and your images are, they're a lot of what you explained, right? There's lots of connection. there's this, organic feel to all of these photos, right? And on your About Me page, all it says pretty much is, Rachel makes photos that document truths both deeply joyful and wildly complicated. And I think most people listening and myself, they understand the, the deeply joyful, right? Can you explain to me what makes an image wildly complicated? I think

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

this comes in large part from my views around motherhood in particular, that it is this joyful experience, but it doesn't mean it's not without so much nuance. So just because you love and feel connected to these children, I am not just interested in making smiling, laughing, twirling photos of you and your family. I'm trying to find the moments that also can feel kind of heavy, or the moments that feel like, that feel sort of complicated, that there are these more than one emotion there in the place, where you are both mother, but still a woman who exists outside of that role. And so those are the things that I get excited about trying to to tune my sight to.

Raymond Hatfield:

Can you think of an image that perfectly fits wildly complicated and can you describe it to me?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

It's funny, I would say most of my images, even if I feel like that there is a complicated emotional aspect to it, the images tend to be sort of on the simple side. I'm thinking about one picture where it's a nursing mother. To me, what could just seem joyfully joyful is her looking at the baby and smiling or kind of amused by it. But that she's looking off and you, she's cropped. You only see kind of the bottom of her chin, but you know, she's looking away from that moment. And to me, that speaks in a subtle way to the complicated aspect that you were doing this act of mothering that you feel deeply connected, but it's hard to be in it all the

Raymond Hatfield:

time. I love these conversations because again, I think, like I told you earlier, it's like a lot of these. I don't know, I don't know if I just, like when I go to a wedding, a wedding is just kind of naturally a day that is going to be full of joy and it's, people are happy and they have smiles. You know, when I look at my images, I feel like I've almost kind of become numb, number to this emotion of joy, right? Because it's like I see it in all of my images, and when I see an image that has any sort of complicated or heavy feeling, It feels really, really strong to me. Do you feel anything like similar to that? Like how do you stay in that zone of like, I really want to capture what it's like to be this family, what she, this mom is going through right now without, feeling like you are creating something.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I think that that is in large part why I need a long time because I'm like kind of a go getter and a doer and lots of my personality in life, but I have talked about the fact that in art. I'm kind of a let her like I like to let the situation happen. I might make them do it by a window, but then I want to let the time sort of fall on us and see where it goes. And I'm talking to the mother and the mother's nursing the baby and it's finding that moment that seems to encapsulate that complexity. That takes time often. I will say though, one thing you said about when you're kind of trying to present this thing that's honest and complicated and maybe not just straight up joyful. It's not all Christmas card material. I think that it can be sometimes hard for clients when they first get these images, because while those joyful images are in there, I think sometimes seeing the wholeness of your experience made into art feels like, whoa, that was there. And it's not necessarily the way you have always wanted to present yourself, even if it was real, but it wasn't, it's not the thing you would put on your own Instagram necessarily. It's not the thing that you quickly frame and put on a wall,

Raymond Hatfield:

right? Wow. Yeah, that's heavy. I mean, I can definitely think as a parent, there's times where, I make mistakes. I wish, I didn't do things that I did or, the other way around or whatever. And I would imagine that having those captured in photos would be, a powerful thing.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I'll say two things. People are on their best behavior though. Still, I would never, um, like make an image of like, I mean, I'm not trying to make a picture of you, like yelling at your child. Um, that it is more in the nuance of that. I think that sometimes people see that their expression there, they tend to be sort of, I think, subtle awarenesses that happen.

Raymond Hatfield:

Style shooting on film. This is a very analog. This is a very close in a personal experience I'm assuming that you're not just like getting the photos developed scanning them and being like here's your gallery. Have a nice life What is that? What does that delivery process look like for you?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

So I tend to when I come back from their place that there's usually been some text messaging back and forth about you know thanking them for being host to me or do you know what I mean? It feels like a friendship at that point. So usually as I'm waiting for the film scans to get back and before I've edited, we've had some communication and conversation. I also, because I like, analog sort of things, I almost always try to send like a handwritten note afterwards because that feels important to me. Sometimes I'm a big book nerd. Sometimes I send a book to them that maybe we've talked about. So when the gallery comes it, you know, I am delivering it to them, usually with an email note. And then usually then the conversation kind of bubbles back up and there's some back and forth. But I don't, there's not like a big gallery reveal, or I don't do in-person sales or anything like that.

Raymond Hatfield:

there any albums that you're delivering? Are you building anything tangible for the clients?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

No, I'm very lazy about that. They get their gallery and then they can print from it. But I, because it doesn't work for my brain so much. I don't offer other products. It's the simplicity of sending a full gallery. And you have it and

Raymond Hatfield:

yes, so then I guess what I want to know is that like, when it comes to the client side, having these, these photos that are full of emotion, let's take, for example, the ones that aren't particularly joyous, what do you find if they've told you, or what do you think that they're doing with these images? Are they just letting them stay on the computer? Or do you think that those photos are also getting printed and hung? Um,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I think maybe not hung as much as maybe printed and put in photo albums. I'm also such like a photo book person. That's a something I talk about a lot. Like, that's how I like to engage with the work and kind of having that moment of like, I'm looking at these pictures. It's interesting because I work because lots of the people who hire me are photographers and other creative people like I see them show up in their newsletters and that they are used in a, you know, that they're on their websites, that they are useful in those ways. I think it kind of runs the gamut of how they get used and appreciated. Sometimes, I don't know if it's my favorite pictures would be the one that they would hang on their wall.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course. But

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I don't think that any, yeah, you know.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I've, I've had that so many, and it, it's always funny. I hate it when, um, it's like if I have a second shooter go to a wedding, the couple uses one of their photos, like, for, you know, their profile. And I know that's all ego. It's so stupid. It's so stupid.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Oh, ego is such a

Raymond Hatfield:

It's a mother, I'll tell you what. Now, I want to get back to the film, though, because film is something that I love that I don't shoot enough of. But when it comes to film, we are, by nature, we have to be more selective with our photos that we take. Because there's just less photos. So when you do press that shutter button, right, let's take that example that you gave earlier of having a, a mom and a child coming over to the window and just, take some time there. When you do press that shutter button, how do you know that that's the right moment?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

You don't. And so you live with this knotted up stomach until you get your scans back. And like every time I'm convinced like, what if I just forgot how to take pictures this time? What if it all went to hell? Um, some of the things though that I am really Intentional about is always making sure that I'm using two different cameras because I'm always worried like what if one of the malfunctions and I don't know that something's happening that I want to have some level of backup, especially for the most important moments that I try to make sure I've got them on two different cameras on two different rolls of film so that if something happens,

Raymond Hatfield:

Tell me more about that. So you you will be there in a kitchen and family is making breakfast or whatever. You will take a photo with one camera, put it down, pick up the other camera and take the same photo, a slightly different photo.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

It's probably slightly different, but if it's in that moment. So I tend to have a medium format camera and a 35 millimeter and I'm wearing them on a harness. So they're pretty easy to just kind of pop one up or the other,

Raymond Hatfield:

um,

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

but

Raymond Hatfield:

that's just so interesting that I love that. I love that idea of like, well, I don't have, two rolls of film in each, uh, camera or I don't have, you know, two cards as a, would be the digital equivalent. So I'm going to shoot on two different cameras. Essentially the, the same, actions just to ensure that if one goes wrong, I'm going to get it. Cause I feel

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

like there's more like, you know, what if something weird happens to that roll of film? Or, I mean, also I should be better about splitting up the, the packages of film to mail off. Cause I always have that feeling, fear of like, what if this just gets lost in the mail? I do that with weddings, but I don't necessarily do it with family. Anyhow, but all of, because I don't have the ability to look at the back of my camera and know that I captured it. So even though the disc could, you know, the card could be corrupted, and there could be a problem later on. I have like, no reassurance, so I mean, I tend to favor in the moment one versus the other because I like the focal length or I like the film speed that I have in there, and I am heavier on 35 millimeter than I am on medium format, especially when I'm shooting indoors because I can only go down to a 2. 8 on my Pentax, so.

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm hmm. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about the film then, right? So you said two camera bodies. What are they? One's a Pentax. The, I'm guessing

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

645i. Yep. Got it. Yeah. And then, uh, a Nikon

Raymond Hatfield:

F100. Nikon F100, okay. So in both of these cameras, I know that, back in the, uh 80s or whatever you'd see photographers with like the multiple cameras and I was always taught that that was so that you could have different film speeds, right? So that if you go indoors and there's bad light you got the 800 you go back outside There's 200 but based on that last question that I got are you loading the same film into each camera body?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Not necessarily. Often one is black and white and one is color. though I do go heavier on color. Also, in part because they don't make that much, that many film stocks anymore. So, like, I almost exclusively shoot, Portra 400 as my color film. I will change, to have, like, TMAX 3200 black and white. For some indoor things, or that I will know that I'm going to push a 400 film speed black and white, push the whole roll. So often one is a black and white and one is a color, but it frequently has more to do with, for me focal length in that, like, do I want that more intimate feeling or do I want something that's further away because I shoot entirely with prime lenses.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yes. Okay. We'll talk about that too. For those who are listening, obviously with a show like the Beginner Photography Podcast, maybe a lot of people haven't shot film before. So when it comes to pushing, can you let people know exactly what that means and how that affects your shoot for that role of film?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

So if I am shooting with, and I tend to do it with black and white film versus color film. But if I'm shooting with a film speed of 400, which is like your ISO on your camera being at 400. That's what if you send it in to your lab that they'll develop it as a 400 speed film. If I want to have it pushed, they'll keep it in the chemicals longer and treat it. So it'll show up more like an 800 speed film or a 1600 speed film. But I have to tell them, push it once, push it twice. I don't think I've ever pushed anything three times. The thing is, doesn't change it to a true 800 or 1600. It's going to be a lot more contrasty when that happens. but it does give you a little bit more latitude, given the fact that they make a lot of 400, ISO film, but it's getting harder and harder to find things outside of that. I mean, it's film is just getting more expensive and they are shutting down all sorts of lines all over the place. So

Raymond Hatfield:

what do you think that's coming for you? I

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

mean, one thing is it means I have to stay really on top of making sure I have my film ordered in advance because since supply chain issues have been happening in this past year, like getting portrait 400 film is very difficult. So I have like alerts from multiple places when it go like when they have it. Mhm. Available so that I can order it.

Raymond Hatfield:

I totally understand that. And, I think it's interesting that, you know those Fuji Instax cameras? Like the, I have one. It's like one of those point and shoot, The instant film comes out the top or whatever. I had one of those. And, actually, I still have it. I'm looking at it. And, for probably two or three years, I was taking photos with it. Just like family photos, right? Just photos of the family. I know that I would be waiting. I'd be looking at the kids. I'd be like, yeah, ask a question. And then I'd get that response. And then I'd, I'd take the photo and like, yeah, I got it. Awesome. Well, Fuji just came out with a new version, but it's actually digital, but it shoots, you can print film onto it. Right. And I thought this is going to be awesome because. for several reasons, but anyway, so I got the camera and now I find that I'll look at the kids and wait for it, and then I'll take the photo, and then I'll look and be like, nope, doing this again, and then I'll take four or five photos, or six photos, or ten photos, and then when I go to print it, it just doesn't have the same weight behind it of like, I got it, I got that moment, I got it. So when you get those scans back, I want to know what is your like, self imposed hit rate, I guess. Like how often do you see the moment in front of you, you take the photo and then you get the photo back and it was what you were expecting.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I think I'm at about 50%. Uh, yeah, I feel like it's pretty close to 50. I usually, so I promise that there's going to be a hundred images from a long form session. Even though my rate is probably about 50, I try to shoot well over 300 because I want to make sure that I've hit my, you know, I don't want to be like worried about it. So usually it's about 10 rolls of 35 millimeter and then maybe five or six rolls of medium format.

Raymond Hatfield:

And this is for a eight, I'm sorry? For a 24 hour session? Yeah.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Yep.

Raymond Hatfield:

So you said 10 rolls of 36, and then you said five rolls of, is it 11 photos that you get with it? 6, 5, 16, 16. Oh, so close. Okay. So in a day, I mean, you're shooting like 400, 400 photos. Yes. Like in this entire time, do you feel like film is giving you something that you just couldn't ever get with digital

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

For me, but that could just be me being obnoxious like I bought a super 8 camera to start taking video footage of my children because I feel like if I don't limit it then I do too much of it or I don't do it at all I don't know. So i'm like spending 90 to get three minutes of videos like it's silly but I there's something about my personality and the way that I work when I will be like, you know what, I'm going to take off the digital camera. I'm going to try to do this and force myself to recreate it in a way that is cheaper and more environmentally sustainable. And, I just can't make it happen and I don't know what it is because the heartbreaking thing about film scans is you will get them back and some moments are so much better than you could have ever imagined, but they're, I mean, it's that way in digital too, but they're just those shots you missed that didn't work and you're like mourning them. Um, but I feel like it gives you that like, well, next time. I don't know, I find it motivating, actually.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, yeah, that's why I asked that question, that's what I wanted to know, because, obviously there's a million ways to do things, and I really think it just comes down to, like, having the right tool for the job that you want, like, to achieve what it is that you want, you know? And I just know that there's going to be a lot of new photographers who think to themselves like, whoa, I got to spend, how many hundreds of dollars to take 400 photos like that doesn't seem worth it. And your answer there tells me it is worth it for you and what you're trying to accomplish. And, if that's not it, then digital would work just fine. But for what you're trying to capture, film is the avenue for you.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Yeah, I mean, in any given thing, like, I put a big value on, like, trying to buy local foods, and so I spend more for that, and other people might not notice it, but I, it's that perceived value, and I think lots of people who hire me, lots of them are film photographers, or they're photographers. Or they're the same people who are buying vinyl rather than listening to mp3 and they are reading books rather than having it on their Kindle, like I think that there are folks that are just sort of drawn to that slower way of creating. And it can be kind of silly and come from places of like, pretension, but I, I won't pretend that I'm not sometimes pretentious. Let's just call a spade a spade here.

Raymond Hatfield:

But you love it. That's awesome. Rachel, I know that we are just about at the end of our time here. I got one last question for you. And that is, I know that you have kids. if, say, your oldest as they get older, one of them comes to you and says, like, I want to be a photographer. What advice would you give them to ensure that they would be successful?

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

I feel like, because my mind is instantly going to, oh, you want to be a photographer and, like, have your own business, which isn't necessarily, that's not the only path that a photographer can take. Um, but I feel like in any creative path, though, or any entrepreneurial path, there is, like, this decision that you're going to keep going and there are going to be so many barriers and you kind of have to steal yourself up for those things and know I'm just like pushing through them and often if like, I don't know, I'm feeling jealous of somebody else's creative output or what's happening in their career. Always try to be like, well, what can I do today to move myself in that direction? And so I feel like any advice that I would give to my oldest, Sina, who is more in, she is interested in the creative path, but she's a musician. But, and lots of, it's sort of the same advice. Like, well, what are you going to do? What agents are you going to email? What are you going to create? Are you going to find yourself open mic nights? Like what parts are you capable of and can do? And so I try to do that for myself.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's a very reasonable answer. Yeah. I love it. Rachel, again, this has been a wonderful conversation. I love talking about all of these things and more of the, the why in photography and why these things work for you. But Rachel, I know that a lot of people who are listening are going to wonder, more about you, want to see some of your work. So where's going to be the best place for them to, to find all of that stuff.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

You can find me on my website, which is rachellarsonweaver. com. It's Larson with an E by the way, that can throw people off or at rachel. larson. weaver on Instagram. I especially. I do a weekly newsletter that you can sign up in either of those places. And maybe because, as I said, I have a writing past, I sort of like that place where imagery and words come together. So that's a fun place to find me.

Raymond Hatfield:

Once again, huge thank you to Rachel for coming on the podcast. So for our photography action plan, this is your way to start implementing what it is that you learn on the podcast. So step one is to pursue your artistic voice. Rachel emphasized this transformation in her work when she started prioritizing her own artistic voice above external expectation, like, like likes, it's crucial for you as a new photographer to develop a personal style that resonates deeply with you rather than mimicking, some popular trend or just trying to please everybody. Making art that feels true to yourself will always be more fulfilling and often can connect more genuinely with your viewers. So, your exercise is to begin by creating a vision board of images that speak to you. Like for real, like print out, get foam core board and start printing out some images that connect to you and pick images that connect with you, not because they're popular or technically excellent, but because there's something in them that. I don't know, stirs you emotionally. So whether it's the subject matter or the lighting or the mood or the composition, try to identify what that is that draws you to it. And then use those elements as a guide post for your own voice. Step number two is to value the process over your gear, Rachel's switch to film photography and focusing on those raw moments that she captures shows that achieving impactful photography isn't about having the newest camera, having the most advanced digital sensor and equipment possible and global shutters and all this stuff as a new photographer, if you can realize that gear is simply a tool to execute your vision, then you will be set, you'll be miles ahead of everybody else. So your exercise here is to challenge yourself by limiting the gear that you use. I encourage you to spend a week or even just a day with one camera, one lens, that's it. This limitation should push you to think creatively about composition and how you interact with your subject. And then once you're done, reflect on how this limitation may actually work. Be able to enhance your connection with the process. Photography Action Plan Step Number Three is collaboration with subjects. Rachel's approach to these long form family sessions involves spending time to capture honest and intimate moments. Building a rapport with your subjects will help create more meaningful images that convey a sense of story and emotion. I've traveled with my couples. I've spent You know, two, three days with them. I've went out to eat with them, all in an attempt to learn more about who they are and what makes them tick, with each other. And all of that allows for more personal images. So your exercise is to plan a photo session where you spend an extended period of time with a subject, whether it is a person, whether it's a pet or even a place. I'm serious. Engage with your subject, observe, and then shoot without rushing. To allow those unguarded moments to unfold naturally, try to notice how this approach might change the result of your photos, compared to a quicker, more conventional style shoot. That is it. That is what I want you to do. That is how you're going to implement what it is that you learned today to become a better photographer. Now, I want to invite you to share your biggest takeaway with me and everybody else in the free and private beginner photography podcast community, where you can connect with others along with share your ideas and ask questions too. So come join us over at beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group. That's beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group. Until next week. Remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.

Rachel Larsen Weaver:

Thank you for listening to the Beginner Photography podcast. Keep shooting and we'll see you next week.