What is Film Soup?
Whoa, that photo is so cool! How’d you get that effect? Did you photoshop that?
Those are just a few reactions and questions I often get when showing my work. I’ll set the record straight: it’s not photoshopped.
Those crazy, colorful effects are the result of an experimental film technique called souping. AKA film soup.
What is film soup, you might ask?
Film soup is the process in which a roll of film is altered by “souping” it in various substances. Basically, I destroy my film by soaking it in water with ingredients that range from lemon juice to dish soap to salt—an act that feels so wrong but it couldn’t be more right!
I was drawn to souping for its unpredictability, its uniqueness and just for the fun of it. You never know what you’re going to get—and when you think you do because you’ve done it many, many times—the technique will surprise you with some funky and hopefully cool results. The film stock, the ingredients, even the colors in the photo react differently each and every time.
Souping my film has helped me learn to let go of perfection because there is no perfect with film soup. Just art. And sometimes, you’re going to fail. The roll will be over-souped or maybe the subject just didn’t work well…that’s all part of the process. But there’s nothing like the excitement of coming across that one image that really is film soup magic. Where the colors, the textures, the ingredients align and produce a totally one-of-a-kind photograph.
That’s why I love film soup.
And that’s why I’ll keep experimenting with this technique for as long as it keeps bringing me joy.