The wellness paradox: how AI will save film photography and videography
My prediction: The AI revolution is making film more valuable than ever.
The "wellness industry blueprint"
Let me start with an unexpected comparison: the wellness industry.
Since the arrival of Chinese e-commerce giants like TEMU and AliExpress, luxury has been democratized to death. Those $5,000 handbags? You can get convincing knockoffs for $50. Designer clothing? Fast fashion copied it yesterday. The traditional markers of wealth like expensive bags, jewelry and fine clothing have become mundane and accessible.
So where did the wealthy pivot? Well, the answer is very simple: to what money can't easily buy1, precisely, time, health, and disciplined bodies.
The wellness industry is now worth $6.3 trillion globally2, growing faster than traditional luxury goods, which actually declined 2% last year3. Influential people and billionaires aren't flexing with Hermès bags anymore, they're posting their 5 AM workout routines, their meditation retreats, their perfectly sculpted physiques.
Look at Apple's recently released iPhone Air, which is marketed primarily for being the thinnest iPhone ever at just 5.6mm. Not the most powerful, not the most feature-rich. The thinnest.
Because in 2025, being lean is the ultimate flex, whether you're talking about technology or triceps. Wellness has become what fine clothing and expensive leather goods once were: exclusive. Most importantly, it represents doing things that most people can't. The average person doesn't have two hours for the gym every morning. Blue-collar workers don't have the stamina for fitness classes after an 8-hour shift.
Time and energy have become the new currency of status.
What's the relation with AI?
Now let's connect this to what's happening in creative industries.
Artificial intelligence has completely democratized what used to be expensive and exclusive. A 3D rendering that required a team of specialists five years ago? One prompt. A professional logo that cost thousands? Seconds with Midjourney. Original music composition? AI's got you covered.
According to Adobe's research, 87% of creative professionals now use AI tools4. The local bakery owner can create marketing materials that once required an agency. Your neighbor's startup has branding that looks like it came from Pentagram (whatever this is, lol).
And here's what happened: tacky and souless AI-generated content is everywhere. TV commercials, billboards, social media campaigns: all pumped out by algorithms. Coca-Cola's AI campaign got 800 million views5. Nike used AI for Serena Williams commercials. It's become so ubiquitous that it's invisible.
But is this good?
Marketing agencies and serious creators are asking the same question the luxury industry asked when knockoffs flooded the market: What's our "wellness industry"? What can we offer that screams exclusivity and craftsmanship? What would separate real artists from amateur prompt engineers?
Film is the answer, because…
Film checks all the boxes
Film is rude, inconvenient, and tough. It's not for everyone. I even wrote about it in a previous post, here in this very same newsletter.
That's precisely the point. While anyone can generate a thousand perfect images with AI in minutes, some of the things film requires are (to say the least!): analog skill and technical knowledge, time for development and processing, acceptance of imperfection and unpredictability, real monetary investment (film costs $10-20 per roll), and the mostly important: patience, becaeuse you can't see your shots instantly
It is not a coincidence guys. This is why 2024 was declared "film's best year in decades" by PetaPixel6. Film camera sales are projected to grow 5.2% annually through 20307, Kodak just made its largest manufacturing investment since the 1990s8, and wew film cameras are launching for the first time in 19 years9.
Here's where it gets interesting
Tendencies and narrative, this is where the money really is…
Trends usually happen where influence and culture get made.
It is not a coincidence that Christopher Nolan shot Oppenheimer on 70mm IMAX film. Those prints weighed 600 pounds each. Martin Scorsese chose 35mm for Killers of the Flower Moon. This year's Palme d'Or winner Anora was shot on film. These directors have unlimited budgets and could use any technology. Even thogh, they choose film. Why?
Have you ever asked why?
Quentin Tarantino compared shooting digital to "eating a veggie burger" when you could have steak10. Do you think it’s indeed because of the quality? If you do all the associations with the wellness industry beforementioned, you will realize it is not.
We all know digital is technically superior and more flexible, and you can simulate film pretty much well. So, why important and influentialpeople still shoot film?
It's about the statement: "I choose the difficult path because I can."
Fashion photographers who charge $50,000 per day are returning to film. Wedding photographers using film charge 30-40% premiums11. Celebrities are launching film camera companies, for example, Jeff Bridges started one this year, and Dua Lipa released a $40 film camera12.
Why? Because in a world where anyone can create "professional" images with AI, film has become the ultimate differentiator. It says: "This was made by human hands, with human intention, accepting human imperfection."
My prediction and insights
Here's what I see coming:
As AI tools become more sophisticated and ubiquitous (and they will, that’s what they do), film photography will complete its transformation from nostalgic hobby to luxury statement.
Just as wellness replaced handbags as status symbols, analog processes will replace digital efficiency as creative currency.
The big money luxury brands, high-end agencies, and premium products will increasingly turn to film. Not because it's better or worse, more or less resilient, but because it's exclusive. It checks all the requirement boxes what AI can never provide: physical presence, chemical knowledge, patience, and the willingness to fail. That’s the reality.
Film is becoming the gym membership of the creative world.
The format offers something genuinely irreplaceable in our accelerating digital world: proof of human effort. Every frame costs money. Every shot requires intention. Every roll requires patience. You can't iterate infinitely. You can't undo. You must commit. And most people aren’t up to that challenge.
AI is creating the perfect conditions for film’s renaissance. The more accessible digital creation becomes, the more valuable analog craftsmanship will be. The easier AI makes everything, the more we'll value difficulty. The more difficulty is valued, the more film gets relevance.
So my prediction stands: The AI era will strengthen film photography, not weaken it. The technology that was supposed to make everything digital will, ironically, make analog more valuable than ever.
Film checks all the boxes of modern luxury: It's inconvenient, expensive, time-consuming, skill-dependent, and absolutely unnecessary in practical terms. In other words, it's perfect for the future.
Note: This isn't about nostalgia or Luddism. It's about market positioning and human psychology. When everyone can do something easily, the hard way becomes the premium way.
What do you think? Is film the new wellness, or am I reading too much into the tea leaves?
A very interesting article. I have also pondered, as most working photographers have, where all of this will take us. I have worked with film for far longer than digital, and in its early days film clearly had the edge in quality. Over time, digital moved at such a pace that we are now watching apps step in where cameras once were.
Whether we like it or not, this is the direction things are moving, and for commercial photographers that is a real problem. I am not thinking about the big brand campaigns with famous photographers’ names attached. Those will probably always exist. I am thinking about the point you made, the local bakery, the small shop, the everyday business that can now put together its own “good enough” images without calling someone like us.
For many working photographers, those simple bread and butter jobs, the menu photos, the quick portraits, the small product shoots, are what quietly pay the rent. Take those away, or shrink them down to a handful of assignments, and it is the people trying to get established in the industry who feel it the most.
And this is where your analogy really hits me. At the top end, film is becoming a kind of luxury statement, a way to say “I chose the difficult path.” And rightly so, as film does possess a unique quality. However, the reality is that the analogue process often stops at the taking stage. Just like the images that accompany your article, the negatives are not turned into traditional photographic prints. They are scanned, colour graded, tonally corrected, and retouched in Photoshop, which now leans heavily on AI driven tools. The final file is then exported in a digital format and distributed online.
So although I am nostalgic and still use film, albeit sparingly, it does make me wonder where we will all find our place as this continues to shift.
Well, we have to look at what is the output of different areas of art. If their output is an image, a video, a text, a music (captured in digital format), then AI impacts it more than other art forms. Take sculpture, for instance, or any form of art that requires the manipulation of objects and tools. A few days ago I was talking to my niece and she told me about the increased interest in porcelain among young people. Cooking is another area that is gaining a boost from the menaces of AI. You can't fake a nice meal with help from AI, or can you?