People often use “film photography” as one broad category, and in a sense, it is. But Polaroid, 35mm, and medium format are genuinely different formats, with different equipment, different results, and different reasons someone might choose one over another. Here is an honest breakdown of what actually separates them

Polaroid and instant film

Instant film produces a physical print immediately, right out of the camera, with no separate negative to develop later. There is no waiting, no lab, no scanning. What comes out of the camera is the final object.

That immediacy comes with real trade-offs. Instant film has less resolution than 35mm or medium format, exposure control is limited, and the look is distinctly its own: soft focus, shifting color casts, that recognizable white border. It is the most casual and spontaneous of the three formats, better suited to a single captured moment than to a full session’s worth of images.

35mm

This is the format most people picture when they hear “film photography.” It comes on rolls, typically offering 36 exposures per roll, and unlike instant film, it needs to be developed and scanned before you see anything. That gap between shooting and seeing is part of what makes 35mm feel different to work with. You are not checking a result after each frame. You are trusting your read of the moment and moving on.

35mm offers considerably more resolution and exposure control than instant film, while still being practical enough to shoot quickly and adapt to a moving, unscripted session. It is the format I shoot family sessions on, and the reason a roll holds 36 frames rather than an unlimited number is part of why it changes how I work, not just what the final images look like.

Medium format

Medium format uses a larger piece of film than 35mm, which means significantly more detail and a different quality to how focus falls off in an image. The trade-off is a much lower frame count per roll, often somewhere between 8 and 12 exposures, and cameras that tend to be slower and more deliberate to shoot with. Medium format rewards patience and careful composition more than speed.

It is often the format people reach for when the goal is maximum image quality on a single, carefully considered frame, rather than documenting a fast-moving, unscripted afternoon.

Which one is right for what

None of these formats is objectively better than the others. They are built for different situations. Instant film is right for a single spontaneous keepsake. Medium format is right for a slower, more deliberate kind of image-making. 35mm sits in between, detailed enough to hold up, fast enough to keep pace with real, unscripted family life, which is exactly why it is the format behind every family film co session.

Curious what a 35mm family session actually looks like?

I would be glad to talk through what this could look like for your family. Get in touch