Swapping my phone for an analogue camera, I took inspiration from my family albums and started photographing the things that mattered most

There’s something magical about holding a physical print of a moment you’ve captured. I first experienced this feeling as a teenager, when my aunt gave me a film camera for my 16th birthday. At the time, it felt like an antique. I left it in a drawer, overlooked, while I relied on my phone for photos – quick snaps that were shared but rarely revisited.

Like most teenagers growing up in the digital age, I was obsessed with curating the perfect Instagram feed. My profile was a polished collection of photos intended to impress my peers, designed to fit an idealised version of reality. Each image was meticulously selected, cropped and edited. But something began to shift.