How to Get the Film Out of a Disposable Camera

A Basic Overview

After reading my previous blog post about Disposable Cameras - I’m sure the excitement and motivation completely overwhelmed you and you ran out immediately and bought a fun little disposable camera to take some photos with. You spent time with friends and family, snapped up all 27 exposures before you had even realized it and then that familiar feeling as you try to advance the film - clickity clickity clickity, nothing is catching. You’re out of film.

So what do you do next…

You have some options as far as developing your film goes. You can actually just drop the entire camera off somewhere and get it developed. The bad thing is that most of the location places that will develop your film also won’t return your negatives and we definitely don’t want that. You can always develop it yourself or your can mail the film into a trusted lab that can process the film and return you negatives to you. These are both great options but sadly, both of them require you to get the film out of the disposable camera before you do anything with it.

Here’s a quick step by step guide on how you can get the film out of your disposable camera!

An older Kodak FunSaver 35 Camera - the graphic design just screams 2001!

Getting the Film Out of Your Disposable

Step 1 - Remove the label/wrapper

The disposable camera itself is just a general plastic camera. Each company puts their own branding on the cameras in the form of an adhesive label or a loosely fitting card stock type wrapper. In most cases, you will need to remove the label to get the camera apart. Its normally easy to do and it does not matter if it gets torn or damaged. On some cameras, like the one in the photos, the label doesn’t really wrap around or interfere so it can simple be left on.

Step 2 - Locate and Pry Open the Tabs Holding the Camera Together

Pry Up on the tabs on the side. You may need a tool!

Usually these tabs are located on the sides of the camera. If you are just wanting to get the film out of the camera, all you need to do is pry on the right side (the side with the film advance) of the camera. Almost all cameras are designed to break easily, almost like a built in film door. Of course, only removing the part covering will completely break the camera, so reusing it is out of the question. Most disposable cameras will have tabs on both sides however so that you can pry up and remove the entire back. There are usually other little tabs of various types along the top and bottom that simple help to keep the back in place and light tight, these may require a little pressure/prying to get loose.

If you break the film compartment open, you can easily retrieve your film. If you’ve shot the entire roll, the film will be safely rolled up inside of the catrtidge.

Step 3 - Remove the Film

I don’t need to say much here. It literally just falls out. Really simple. Its self-contained in the little 35mm film cartridge, just like any other 35mm film.

Step 4 - Remove the Battery

Once the camera is opened up, you can get the battery out and reuse it!

Most of these cameras have a flash and are powered by a AA or AAA battery. For the 27 exposures you used, you barely drained any energy from this battery. Take it out and use it somewhere else! You know you never have a battery around when the TV remote dies!

On a side note, if you did not remove the entire back from the camera, you will not be able to access the battery.

Step 5 - What Do I Do with the Camera?

You have a few options. If you can separate the components its possible to recycle some of them. I actually put my disposable cameras back together, leave the battery in them and let my kids have them. They love to pretend they are taking pictures just like their dad! Its a super cheap but fun toy. You can also just throw it away. They are made to be disposable after all.

Don’t Let Your Disposable Camera Film Sit Around!

A lot of people shoot their 27 exposures and then put their cameras down because getting the film developed is a bit of process and they never come back to them. I have people come up to me all the time and ask about what they should do with the box of disposable cameras they have. Image quality does degrade over time, especially if your disposable cameras end up in the attic. Get those photos developed and start enjoying them! We do offer film processing for mail in and drop off film. If you have a bunch of old disposables that need to be developed, give us a call or send us a message and we can negotiate a bulk rate for getting them all developed and scanned! Click the button below to order film processing and lets get those images out of that plastic disposable and onto your phone or Facebook or printed on paper, anywhere that they can be enjoyed!

Want to see a video of how to do this?

Check out this very short how to video that will show you exactly how to get film out of a disposable camera!

Disposable Cameras - Everything You Need to Know!

Disposable Cameras in 2021

That’s me on the far left. I was beyond awkward. And this amazing moment was captured with a disposable camera!

In the late 1990s, disposable cameras were all the rage. As a completely irresponsible teenaged high school student, my parents would have never trusted me their real camera, so every time I went on a trip or out with friends, I always had to stop and pick up a disposable so I could at least record a few of the moments from the event. They were available everywhere and getting them developed and prints made was easy. But then came camera phones, the internet, social media, and the film industry and infrastructure took a huge hit. People stopped using disposable cameras and companies stopped producing as many of them, but they never stopped producing them! You can walk into any Walmart or CVS or Walgreens and still pick up a disposable camera! And, let me tell you, they are still completely amazing! If you’ve never shot with one, you absolutely should! They are a great way to get into film and with the resurgence of film photography in the last few years, the infrastructure is building back up to get your images developed and scanned!

What is a Disposable Camera?

It’s a very simple, very cheap pre-loaded roll of 35mm film loaded into a plastic body with a simple mechanical shutter and film advance and some very basic electronics and a battery. Originally, they were made to simply be dropped off at the local film collection center so you didn’t even have to deal with disposing of the camera and they could be easily recycled. Nothing is adjustable - everything operates in a fixed mode. The lens is fixed and plastic, the aperture is fixed, the shutter speed is also fixed at around 1/100th of a second. The only variable is the film speed. You can usually purchase disposable cameras in ISO 200, 400, and sometimes 800. The flash is usually decently powerful and is normally off. You normally have to press a button to charge the flash before you click the shutter. The recharge button has to be pressed each time so that you can have the flash charged for each shutter click.

These cameras are still made to be taken/sent directly to a film lab for processing, but they can easily be processed at home and if you want to save money on postage when you send your film in, you can open up the camera and send the roll of film in by itself.

Disposable cameras all come loaded with film, there are several different options ranging from basic color to black and white to some crazy film stocks. Disposables come in a lot of different film speeds also, so it gives you a lot of flexibility

Where Can I get a Disposable Camera?

Disposable cameras are available at a lot of places! They are sold in-store at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Target. Mostly these stores either carry a Fujifilm or Kodak disposable in a single pack, a multipack, and a waterproof model.

You can also pick them up online from Amazon and several other retailers. Amazon and other online retailers have a much better selection!

Store	Description	Price
CVS	Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 Camera	$14.99
CVS	Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 Camera, 2 Pack	$25.99
CVS	FujiFilm QuickSnap Waterproof Camera	$23.99
Walgreens	Kodak HD Power Flash Single Use Camera	$19.99
Walmart	Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 Camera	$14.96
Walmart	Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 Camera, 2 Pack	$24.96
Walmart	FujiFilm QuickSnap Waterproof Camera	$11.75
Target	Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 Camera	$12.99
Target	Kodak HD Power Flash Single Use Camera	$12.99
Target	Kodak Water Proof Camera	$18.99

How Do You Use a Disposable Camera?

Disposable cameras are great because they are so very easy to use. The only thing you need to worry about is buying the right camera/film speed. Because the settings are all locked, there’s no flexibility in exposing the film. While you could maybe use a 200 ISO film in a darker room, an 800 ISO film might not be the best for a bright sunny day. Fortunately, the cameras are all labeled with what lighting environments they are best suited for. All you need to do is make sure you select the right one.

After that, you literally just point and shoot. The focal range is pretty big on these cameras. The biggest thing you need to remember is that the minimal focal distance is going to be your biggest concern. You can’t put the camera right in your face and expect the image to be in focus. Generally, I’ve found that about an arm’s length away is the minimal focal distance for these cameras. If you’re in the shade or a shady area, you should definitely always use the flash. In fact, even if you are out in the sun, use the flash any way as it helps to fill in the harsh shadows on the face. In most situations, you can never have enough light!

It is important to note that when you are taking a photo, looking through the viewfinder only gives you an approximation of the image you are taking. There is no optical view finder or ranger finder, its simply a hole in the top of the camera for you to look through. You need to take parallax into consideration when taking photos of objects close to you as it might change the final composition of the actual image.

Where Can I Get My Disposable Camera Developed?

There are still quite a few places out there that process film. Unfortunately, most of them are not local for the majority of us. I created a blog post talking about your options for getting your disposable cameras developed. Check out that blog post HERE! There’s a lot of great information there that will also help you with disposable cameras. Walmart, Walgreen, and CVS still process film, but you won’t receive your negatives back. Even if you’re new to film, one thing you need to know is that YOU ALWAYS WANT YOUR NEGATIVES BACK! If a service doesn’t return your negatives, don’t use them. If you have your negatives, you can reproduce the image as many times as you want. The digital scans are no replacement or substitute for the film negatives.

We also offer disposable camera processing! Unlike some of our competitors, we handle your images ourselves and we always return your negatives. Click HERE to get your order started! You can also send it off to a number of really great labs out there. Richard Photo Lab is great as well as The Darkroom. Almost all labs will give you scanning options as well as prints and other options. If you’re mailing your film in, you. might want to remove it from the camera so save on postage. If the lab you are sending your film to offers a pre-paid label, I would just send the whole thing in. Most labs have places to recycle the cameras and batteries and it beats throwing all of that away yourself.

How to Get Disposable Camera Pictures on Your Phone

Almost every lab the processes your negatives will offer scanning services. With The Darkroom, you can have your images scanned and they go to a gallery where you can download them onto any device, including your phone. I usually opt for higher resolution scans so that when I download them to my phone or tablet, I’m getting an image that’s decent enough quality that it could be printed. You can also purchase a film scanner yourself and scan your negatives. It is a little more work but it gives you a little more control over the scans and the final product.

Simple Use Vs. Single Use Cameras

There are two other types of cameras out there on the market which fall into the disposable camera family, in my opinion. Recently, Lomography.com released a new line of cameras call Simple Use Cameras which shared the design and simplicity of a disposable camera, but were made to be reloadable. Disposable cameras have to be essentially broken to get the film out and while you can reload and tape up the camera and use it again, it’s pretty much trashed. Lomography’s Simple Use Cameras come pre-loaded with film and are easily reloaded and reusable. The price for these cameras is significantly higher than traditional disposables, but you have to take the reusability into consideration when looking at the price.

Single-use cameras are merely a rebranding of disposable cameras. With sustainability and conservation being very popular some companies decided to move away from the disposable moniker because of negative connotations associated with the word disposable. Single-use cameras are no different than normal disposable cameras.

Disposable Cameras are So Much Fun!

I have a large number of cameras, both film and digital I can shoot from at any given moment, and I still love using these disposable cameras! They’re just fun and almost stress-free! And I love the look of the images they produce! These are great to give to the kids to take on trips but they're also great to grab and have some fun with friends. As a camera, they are way less intimidating than a mirrorless or an SLR, or even a cell phone. Anyone can pick one up and start shooting and that’s the magic of these cameras and why they have never gone away in spite of the roller coaster that film has gone through.

Jump on Amazon and check out what’s available or run down to your local Walmart and pick one up and have some fun! You won’t regret it, I promise!

The Best Ring Light Kit of 2021

Adding a Ring Light makes a HUGE difference!

As the effects of locking down for the pandemic began to really blossom, I was spending much of my day on Zoom calls in meetings, on Facetime trying to figure things out with clients, and creating videos where I used to just meet with people in person. But as I zoomed, facetimed and recorded, I noticed one consistent thing - I looked so terrible and old and it was all because of the terrible lighting! Tired of looking like a distant cousin of the Adam’s Family on camera, I started setting up my video lights. I have a lot of lights, all very professional and very expensive and they did an amazing job, but the problem is that they were not very movable and often times, I needed to set up and do videos in different locations. It would have been impossible to pack up all of that gear and move it, set it back up and and shoot for 15 minutes only to take it back down and move it back. I decided it was time to give and do what ever 12-25 year old girl on Instagram has done: Get a Ring Light…

What is the Best Ring Light Kit of 2021?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the market is absolutely flooded with ring light kits. While I know a lot about lighting, I know nothing about ring lights. So I began my search for ring light on Amazon. There were literally more options than I could count. It was immediately overwhelming. I was looking for a quality ring light, but I didn’t want to spend $700 for one. I left my ring light Amazon search and instead headed over to YouTube where I watched a ton of reviews for different lights. Here’s what I discovered…

Ring Light Features

The features the ring light comes with really do make or break a lot of products out there. Even if the price is low, if the ring light doesn’t have some key features then it becomes almost useless really quickly. Here are some of the key features you should consider when shopping for a ring light.

Color Temperature

Some of the cheap ring lights out there only offer one color and its usually a daylight kind of blue color. If you’re going to only be filming in one location and that color works with the ambient lighting you’re using then you’re good. But if you’re going to be moving your light around, shooting in different areas or want to have any control over white balance, you are going to want a ring light with a color temperature range so that you can adjust from daylight blue to tungsten orange as needed. I even use this creatively by turning the light to the tungsten range and adjusting my cameras white balance, which gives me a blue-colored background. Some of the cheaper lights out there offer clip on plastic panels which act as filters to change the light color. This isn’t a bad option if it keeps you in your budget, but those panels are just one more thing to keep up with. Its just so much easier to turn a knob and get a different color out of your light.

Ring Light Power Options

Many of the cheaper options out there only offer one option. You either are going to have to leave your ring light plugged in all the time or you’re going to be relying solely on battery power. If either of these options fits your needs then it opens up a broader range of options for you. But again, if you’re needing some flexibility with your ring light power options, then you definitely want to opt for a light that will let you use both battery and plug-in as needed. There have been moments when I have needed to shoot for longer periods of time and so leaving the ring light plugged in gives me the stability and duration I need. But there have also been moments when I needed to be in a place that didn’t have power and being able to plug in a battery and still get the same power and options has been a life saver. Of course, any time you are on battery you have a limited amount of time and I have pushed mine too far on occasion and have my ring light shut-off in the middle of filming, but live and learn I guess lol.

Ring Light Stands

I’ve got stands. A lot of stands. But I’ve learned something, one more stand couldn’t hurt! If you don’t have any stands you definitely want to get a ring light with a sturdy and durable stand that is also compact. The effective range of these lights isn’t a very big space so you’re not going to need a 20’ stand and sandbags, but you want something that will at least work for what you need it to and not get in the way. As I shopped for ring lights, I realized that many of them out there were ok ring lights, but the stands they came with were absolutely awful. If you get a great ring light and an awful stand and the stand falls over and your ring light gets smashed now just have an awful stand and no ring light. Make sure the stand you’re getting with your ring light is decent quality.

Ring Light Adjustability

I guess you could just move the light further away or closer to you. But what I noticed when using an iPhone or Android phone with a ring light is that ambient light can really mess up your camera’s automatic exposure while taking photos or video. There were times when I was shooting in a darker area that I was just completely blown out by the ring light and I couldn’t get my camera to adjust correctly. And let’s face it, if you’re using a conferencing app like Zoom or Google Meet, they did not spend a lot of time on the camera controls for the apps. Having the ability to adjust your power settings gives you greater control of the light and of the look you’re going for. You definitely want a ring light with an adjustable power setting.

Which Size Ring Light Should I Buy?

This is another great question. The larger the light, the better, but if you’re on a budget, a smaller ring light is infinitely better than no ring light at all. And if it comes down to price, I would skimp on the size before I skimped on the features. Get the biggest, feature rich, ring light you can afford!

Should I Buy a Ring Light Kit?

Unless you are in a very small group of individuals who already have a lot of equipment, you definitely should just shop for a kit. Almost all of the right light kits on Amazon, Adorama, and B&H have everything you need to get started. You really just have to consider the price, the features, and the quality. And don’t just stop at looking at the reviews on the website. I found that YouTube was full of really great reviews of every single one of the top selling ring light kits.

The Ring Light I Bought

Of course, is this ring light the best ring light of 2021? Well for me it is, but your needs could vary wildly. As I started shopping, I knew I would be using this light for Zoom calls, Facetime, and recording videos and I knew that I would a great deal of flexibility and a lot of features. After watching a ton of reviews and checking out some of the ring lights my friends were using, I decided on going with the Westcott 18” Ring Light Kit. This kit came with two batteries, a battery charger, a plug-in power supply, a stand, an iPhone holder with flexible arm, and a case. For the money, it was definitely what I felt would work best.

I’ve used this ring light from Westcott almost daily for the past year. Zoom calls for work, zoom calls with doctors for check-ups, job interviews, recording digital content for classes (instruction), YouTube videos, church, you name it, I’ve used this light for it! It provides a ton of light and the color temp is adjustable. The power level is adjustable too! It can be battery powered or plugged in and it comes with a stand that can get pretty tall but also folds up to fit really nicely in the well-built cases that was included.

The light itself is great but the materials for everything aren’t the highest quality. The plastic housing around the light is very flimsy. The stand also has some issues with the legs staying in place. Often times, these legs will slowly settle to the floor. Especially if you have a camera attached. I’ve had to really tighten that nut down to keep it from moving while I’m shooting.

You can easily attach an iPhone or a small mirrorless camera to this ring light.

The price is higher also, which could be a deal breaker for you. But after looking at a lot of lights and considering the price, I would get one of the cheaper lights. You’re not really asking for much when you purchase a light for under $200. But this light beats out almost all of its competitors for quality in this price range. I could have gotten a light for much cheaper, but feel like I would not have gotten the life and usability out of it. If you’re looking for a ring light for zoom calls or a ring light for streaming you could possibly go with something a little more affordable. But if you’re going to be trying to create quality content for YouTube or classroom instruction, this light is the one you want to pick-up.

There are a few other quality lights out there. I strongly considered the 18” 55w Ring Light Kit from Neewer. It was a much more affordable option and if you’re working inside of a tight budget, this light would be a great budget buy!

Getting a Ring Light will Improve Your Video and Photo Quality Dramatically!

Teachers, a ring light is going to help your videos look so much better! YouTubers, stop sitting in front of that window and enjoy the flexibility that a ring light can give!. Instagram influencers, you know you need this! Do some research and take the plunge!

Family Portraits

Spring is in full swing and that means its time to start thinking about getting those family portraits updated! Whether its out in the Texas Bluebonnets or in the front yard of your house getting everyone together, wearing matching or at least coordinated clothes and trying to get everyone to smile at the exact same time, family photos are everyone’s favorite experience!

Well, not really…

For most participants, the family portrait is a grueling experience. Usually only mom wants to be there. The kids are all hot and tired of being told to stand still and smile and dad often goes from complacent to a silent pipe-bomb of rage just waiting to explode. Add to that unpredictable weather, heat and or humidity, bugs, uncooperative animals, you’ve got a recipe for a photographic disaster!

But - there are a few ways you and your family avoid things becoming such a mess. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your family portrait experience something that is actually enjoyable!

Tips for Great Family Portraits

Choose a Photographer with Lots of Family Photo Experience

I’m a photographer and if someone contacts me and wants family photos, I’m going to take them! But I’m going to be honest - I’m not good at them. Sure, I can get you a great look photo in the end, but it takes a special and experienced photographer to be able to reign everyone in the family in and get them focused and smiling. I’ve worked with photographers in the past that are only family photographers and they almost seem to be able to hypnotize disruptive children, unhappy husbands, and critical mother-in-laws into an almost blissful catatonic trance where they smile and take amazing photos. When shopping for a family photographer, don’t only look at the end results, but take a look at their portfolio and their reviews. A photographer with lots of family photos under their belt and a lot of positive reviews definitely knows that they are doing! And if you’ve got someone that’s good at what they do in charge, it will make the entire process flow much more smoothly and more importantly, much faster!

Choose a Time that Works with Your Kids

This is the most important when your kids are under the age of 6 but it can also be a factor with kids of any age. For younger kids, bringing them when they are freshly rested can make all of the difference. Infants to preschool kids can become particularly difficult and cranky. Even older kids and teenaged children can be difficult and grumpy if they didn’t get much sleep the night before. Well rested kids make the best photographs!

So this means that you are going to have to schedule a time that works best for your kids rather than one that works best for your photographer or yourself. Make sure your younger kids are within an hour of waking up. Make sure you older kids haven’t been up all night at a friends house or playing video games. For everyone’s sake, pick a weekend that isn’t already packed full of things to do.

Choose a Place to Shoot that Makes it Easy

Almost no one is shooting family portraits in the studio any more. I have no idea why? When you opt to shoot outside, you are surrendering practically all control over the quality of your photos. It could be raining, it could be cold, or hot, cloudy or ridiculously sunny. Shooting outside can be extremely difficult. However it does give you the ability to get some more interesting backgrounds and work with larger props or even cars or buildings.

However, shooting in the studio is an amazing option and really really does simplify the process. The photographer can control the lighting, the environment (thank you AC and heat), and can even include customer backdrops and props. when you’re shooting outside, your photographer is battling the elements to get a decent shot while inside they can be in complete control and can produce more exact and beautiful images much faster than they ever could outside. It’s much faster to shoot in the studio also, meaning that you might be able to get everyone out of there before they expire and start screaming or grumping.

You’ve got to balance a lot of factors when it comes to selecting a place to shoot, but I would definitely recommend checking with your photographer to see what in-studio family portrait options they might have available.

Make it More than Just a Photo Shoot

Plan something fun to do afterwards! Ice cream, go to the movies, go out shopping, anything that will give your kids and your husband something to look forward to. This kind of reward motivation can really help people stay focused and gives everyone a reason to work hard to get the photos done and get out of there!

What to Wear to your Family Photo Shoot

A lot of families do themes or wear matching tops. You would be surprised how much drama this can cause. I’ve seen mom’s buy wrong sized shirts for their adult children, which is a disaster. I’ve seen some matching family shirts that are so embarrassingly lame that it almost physical hurt me to snap the shutter. I know many of you are going to approach family photos with this doctrine of ‘everyone much match’ or at least be coordinated, but I would suggest at least considering how resistant some of your family might be to this and how much drama it might cause. Because if its going to be a problem, its going to ruin the photos.

I once had an adult child lose it over being forced to wear a matching shirt for a photo shoot. In the Office part of my studio, this 20-something guy began screaming and dropping ‘f’ bombs at full volume. It made for some very awkward photos a few minutes later. It can be helpful to get input from your family members so that they might be more apt to wear the outfits without complaining. Or you could always just not worry about anyone matching and just let them be yourselves. Whatever you choose, just make sure that its appropriate for the weather. I’ve seen people taking family photos in tropical attire in 30 degree weather and people dressed up like eskimos in the middle of 80 degree weather. Everyone was miserable and its hard to smile when your teeth are chattering or you can’t get the sweat out of your eyes.

Remember to Have Fun

Families are being pulled in so many different directions these days and with so many distractions its hard to actually have any memorable or meaningful moments together as a family. Instead of making family photos a stressful event, why not try to turn it into something fun? The biggest problem with taking family photos is that someone, if not everyone is miserable and it just shouldn’t be that way. Talk with your photographer about ways you can make the shoot fun. Think about some out of the box photo ideas, check out Pinterest and see what neat concepts you can come up with. But don’t let your family photo be a miserable experience!

Texas Bluebonnet Photos 2021

For many of us here in Texas, spring is just about one thing - waiting for the perfect time to go get those family bluebonnet photos! There are so many factors to consider - location, time of day, what to dress the kids in, etc. For us, we don’t actually take a lot of family styled photos of our kids, but bluebonnet photos are the one annual thing we do. And to be honest, I stress about it every year.

Getting the Perfect Bluebonnet Pictures

If you haven’t already, go check out my previous blog post, that gives a lot of tips and trick on how to get great bluebonnet pictures. Click Here to check out that post! There are a lot of great tips there that will help you get really fantastic photos. Here’s what I did this year to try to up my bluebonnet photo game!

My Camera

This year, for the first time in a few years I decided to go back to film for our family bluebonnet photos. Last year during the middle of Covid season, I just snapped them with my digital. The previous year, our kids were really little and so I knew there was no way I was going to get them all to sit still and behave so there would need to be a lot of editing and photoshopping. But this year, I thought I had a chance to get a decent shot of my three younger kids. I loaded up my Hasselblad 501cm with the 80mm lens attached and headed out! The 501cm is an amazing camera, its fully manual but its fast for a fully manual camera. Plus, I just really wanted to use this camera. I mainly keep it in the studio, but I felt a trip to the bluebonnet fields would a fitting exercise for my latest camera acquisition.

My Film

I’ve known for like 4 months what film I was going to use for this shoot. I’m not kidding when I say that we take these photos very seriously each year. I’ve literally been planing these photos since winter started. For this shoot, I decided to go with Kodak Portra 400. I’m using a medium format camera so I used the 120 version of the film but you can also get it in 35mm. Portra is great for skin tones and that’s what I really wanted to focus on this time around. I loaded up two rolls (24 exposures) and hoped I could at least get one decent photo out of 24…. But there was no way to be sure that would even happen.

One trick that I have learned from shooting with Kodak Portra 400 is to shoot it at ISO 200 instead of 400. This means, you are essentially overexposing the image, but the over exposure actually brings out some of the best qualities of Portra and it can be easily corrected in the scan/print process.

Lighting Bluebonnet Photos

We were traveling back from College Station after visiting our oldest at Texas A&M and we were adding this photoshoot on to the end of a very busy weekend. There are several amazing locations in Ennis, TX for bluebonnet photos, which was on our way back to that’s where we planned to stop. If you’re looking for a great location for bluebonnet pictures - Ennis is it for North/Northeast Texas! Unfortunately, the time we were going to be in Ennis was not going to give us the best lighting, so I had to improvise.

I positioned my family in a little patch with their right sides facing the mid-afternoon sun. The shadows were harsh. I metered for the bright sunlit side of their faces and then I pulled out my strobes to fill in the dark shadows on their faces. I metered the shadows first and discovered that they were 4 stops below the light side. Which is harsh for sure. If you are looking for a meter, I use the Sekonic L-478D-U. Its an incident meter but it works great and has been a very handy tool to have in my camera bag for years. I set up my lights to try to compensate for the shadows. I had brought with me my Profoto B2’s (these aren’t made any more sadly - the Profoto A1X is a good replacement) and a Profoto 2’ Octabox to help control the harshness of the flash. The octabox from Profoto has two diffusers inside so it really really softens the shadows a lot and fills very nicely. I positioned the flash about 5 feet from my subjects at a 45 degree angle to fill light from the left side.

Posing for Bluebonnet Pictures

While I had several great picture poses in my head, we had to just go with whatever my kids would do that day. As you can see form the photos below, it was kinda a mess. Make sure you get low and get lots of bluebonnets in the shot and in the background. We were positioned on a hill so being lower also meant I could cut out all of the people that were on the other side of the hill taking photos also.

Processing the Film

While I normally process my own film, I’ve been swamped lately with weddings and events so I sent my photos off to done at Richard Photo Lab. These guys are absolutely amazing! Their prices are reasonable and their customer service and attention to detail is unmatched! I went ahead an ordered prints as well and have been so very pleased with the results!

The hard part about film, especially when you send it off is waiting. Richard Photo Lab is very prompt and it doesn’t take very long to get your images back, but when you’re really excited to see if they turned out, it might was well take forever lol.

With out further delay, here are our Bluebonnet Photos for 2021!

Bluebonnet Pictures

Book Us for Your Bluebonnet Photos!

If you would like photos of yourself or your family in the beautiful Texas bluebonnets, we would be happy to shoot them for you! Our sessions are always flexible, affordable and fun! Click the button below to book your bluebonnet photo session today!

Polaroid Go

The rumors have been flying for weeks now, but its finally here! Polaroid has release the Polaroid Go for pre-order on their website - Polaroid.com. Let’s take a quick look at this new camera and see what the hype is all about!

What is the Polaroid Go?

The Polaroid Go is an instant camera, made to be much more portable than other Polaroid instant cameras. Copy on their page calls the camera “portable, wearable, and take-anywhere-able” which definitely gives us an idea of Polaroid is going for here. This much smaller camera is 5.9” x 3.3” x 2.4” and weighs-in at a little over a half pound (.53lbs). Here’s a quick glance at the technical specifications:

Polaroid Go Tech Specs

Camera:
Pocket-sized Analog Instant Camera
Dimensions: 5.9 x 3.3 x 2.4 in (105 mm x 83.9 mm x 61.5 mm)
Weight: 0.53 lbs (242 grams) (without film pack)
Color: White

Battery: High performance lithium-ion battery, 750mAh, 3.7V nominal Voltage, 2.7Wh, rechargeable via USB.
15-pack battery life

Outer shell: Polycarbonate + ABS plastics

Lenses: Polycarbonate resin
Shutter speed: 1/125-30sec
Aperture: f/12 and f/52
Focal length: 34 mm (35 mm equivalent)

Field of view: Diagonal 65.1°, Horizontal 48.1°, Vertical 49.1 degrees

Automatic flash (with override)
Flash system: Vacuum discharge tube storage

This camera is plastic with a plastic lens so its definitely designed more for the consumer and younger crowd. The pre-order price, which includes film is only $114 so the lower price point will definitely be attractive for many.

What Kind of Film does the Polaroid Go Use?

It obviously uses a much smaller film, designed to compete with the Fuji Instax line with its smaller camera and smaller film. Polaroid Go film is 2.632” x 2.122”, including the frame. The image size is 1.851” x 1.811”, producing an almost square image. The sensitivity of the film is ASA 640 and takes 10 to 15 minutes to develop, just like its much larger, older sibling Polaroid film. Also like the larger Polaroid instant film, it comes in an 8-pack.

Can the Polaroid Go compete with the Fuji Instax?

That’s a good question and I guess only time will tell. Instax is already very well established brand and format and is beloved by many. The film develops much faster and comes with 10 photos per pack. While the new Polard Go is competitively priced, it is going up against an almost immovable force with the instax brand.

If you’re interested in learning more about instant photographer, go check out some of my previous posts, like this one on Where to Buy Polaroid Film, or this post exploring Polaroid Instant Photography all together.

Kodak Film

Kodak is a company that forever changed the world with its vision of making photography accessible to everyone. While the company has had its ups and downs in the past, they are currently producing some really great products for professionals, hobbyists, and general consumers alike. In today’s post, we are going to take a brief look at all of Kodak’s current film offerings for photography. This short Kodak Film guide will hopefully be helpful to anyone that is new to film and curious about what Kodak has to offer.

Now, just to be clear, Kodak Alaris is currently the company that holds the license to produce and sell Kodak film. Kodak photographic papers and films are still produced by Eastman Kodak, which is a completely different company but sold by Kodak Alaris. All of this came about after Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and gets very confusing. If it weren’t for the creation of the Kodak Alaris company, we wouldn’t have the Kodak films we have today, especially Kodak Ektachrome which was killed off and then only recently brought back.

Kodak Film

A range of films are produced and sold by Kodak. Kodak produces roll film in 35mm and 120 and sheet film in 4x5 and 8x10 inch sizes. You can even customer order sheet film if you need something sized a little differently. Kodak’s films come in color negative, slide (color positive), and black and white. There are a wide range of speeds of film (ISO’s) available from 100 to 3200. To be successful when shooting with film, you need to know the look you’re going for as well as the lighting you’ll be working with so that you can get the best result. Besides the obvious differences in color and black and white film, each type of film has its own grain structure, contrast, and saturation characteristics that need to be considered.

If you’re a hobbyist or a casual photographer, other factors such as lighting or even pricing might play more of a role in helping you decide which Kodak film stock is right for you.

Kodak Slide Film

A slide film is a film stock that produces a positive image rather than a negative. These used to be loaded into those old carousels and displayed at family parties on projector screens. While we don’t use the carousel projectors any longer (well I mean technically there are a lot of them still around and you can still do that if you choose), slide film still brings some amazing characteristics and colors to play with!

Kodak Professional Ektachrome Film

Color slide film is such a small market, Kodak only produces one film stock. Commonly just referred to as Ektachrome or E100, Kodak’s slide film produces vibrant and punchy greens and lots of contrasts. Rated at ISO 100, it loves daylight. In my experience, the more light, the better for this film stock.

Remember the Alamo! I didn’t roll my 120 Ektachrome up tight enough and so I got a light leak across this shot. Ironically, you can see the Kodak branding from the paper in the light leak!

Processing your Ektachrome film requires a different chemistry than color negative film. Kodak Ektachrome has to be processed in E-6 chemistry. While most photographers have no problems tackling home development of their CN-41 film, most film photographers are a little more hesitant to tackle E-6. There are a lot of great labs out there that will handle your Kodak Ektachrome film developing for you however!

A rare self portrait of me. The focus is really soft on this photo, but its because I was using a really cheap range finder that was not terribly accurate.

Beautiful and rich blues and higher contrast shadows are the basic characteristics of Ektachrome E100 film.

Kodak Color Negative Film

Kodak has a much broader selection of color negative films for you to choose from. From some inexpensive consumer films, which I talk specifically about HERE, to some really great professional quality films with different contrast and saturation levels. Before you choose a color negative film from Kodak, you really need to have an idea of the look you are going for as well as how the film behaves. Below you will find all of the Kodak Professional Film available to purchase.

Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Film

Ektar is an amazing daylight color negative film. It has good contrast and more vibrant colors. The grain is fine and great for scanning and darkroom printing. Rated at 100 ISO and balanced for daylight, Ektar produces rich looking images with colorful highlights and still holds lots of information in the shadows. I’ve used Ektar in both daylight and with strobes in the studio and gotten some really great results! Very early on, Ektar was my absolute favorite film type and I used it for everything. I learned very quickly that it does have its limitations. It is not as versatile as Portra and in low light, it does not perform or push as well as some of Kodak’s other films do.

Ektar has been around for a while and there are a lot of great tips and tricks out there for Ektar users. If you’d like to take a look at the technical specs for Kodak Ektar, click HERE to check out or to download the pdf. Everything you need to know about the film is contained in that .pdf.

Film	ISO	Format
Kodak Professional Ektar 100	100	35mm
Kodak Professional Ektar 100	100	120
Kodak Professional Ektar 100	100	4x5

Kodak Professional Portra Film

Kodak Portra 400 Self-Portrait

Portra is Kodak’s most popular color negative film and a favorite for most photographers. This film comes in three different speed ratings and is a much more flexible film that can be pushed and pulled beyond the box speed. Portra is also less saturated and offers less contrast than Ektar, but is no slouch when it comes to image quality. You can get an amazing light and airy look by shooting Portra film one stop under box speed (shoot 400 at 200 and overexpose). From using Portra Film for years I can tell you that it can produce a wide range of results and is more flexible in scanning and printing than Ektar. The grain is fine and this film scans beautifully!

While I originally thought that Kodak Ektar film was the greatest thing ever made, I have since shifted pretty dramatically to team Portra. Primarily, the skin tones are what caused me to switch but since I’ve been shooting a lot more Portra film of all sorts, I’ve really come to love it for a lot of other reasons. One of the secondary reasons I’ve grown to love it more is that its a lot more forgiving that Ektar if you over or under expose. To date, I used this film in every kind of situation imaginable and I’ve been consistently pleased with its results. There is still a pretty decent learning curve with this film, especially if you’re looking for some very specific results, but if you’re picking up a Kodak Professional Film to start with, I’d begin with Portra, specifically Portra 400 in the format of your choice. I’ve gotten some really amazing images out of this film! If you’d like to take a look at the technical specs for this film - click HERE to see or download the pdf!

I could have honestly divided Portra film up into its three different speeds and have done a comparison of each, because each of them do have different characteristics. But I was hoping to avoid getting too very technical in this post. I will be saving that for a future post!

Film	ISO	Format
Kodak Professional Portra	160	35mm
Kodak Professional Portra	160	120
Kodak Professional Portra	160	4x5
Kodak Professional Portra	160	8x10
Kodak Professional Portra	400	35mm
Kodak Professional Portra	400	120
Kodak Professional Portra	400	4x5
Kodak Professional Portra	400	8x10
Kodak Professional Portra	800	35mm
Kodak Professional Portra	800	120
Kodak Professional Portra		Custom

Kodak Black and White Film

While Ilford black and white film seems to be a lot of people’s go to black and white film, I prefer Kodak’s selection of black and white films over Ilford, any day of the week! Kodak actually offers a nice selection of black and white films, which cover every possible range of your needs. Just like with the color films, you will need to know what sort of look and lighting you are going for to select the right film.

Kodak Professional TrI-X Film

This is my absolute favorite Kodak film. I’ve shot hundreds of rolls of this stuff. To me, it seems to be a little grainier and grungier that the T-Max films. This film can be pushed and pulled like crazy and is really really easy to develop and print at home. Its great in bright light as well as dark rooms and even when you have bright/hot spots from using a flash indoors, it doesn’t totally lose the information from the darker corners in the image. I’ve pushed this stuff to 1600 and gotten really great results in really dark rooms. Tri-X has a more editorial/documentary kind of look to it, it doesn’t have as artsy of a look to it.

If you’re looking to use Tri-X, you basically get one speed, but the film can be pushed and pulled so easily that you don’t really need any other speeds. If you’re using 35mm or 120, you get the film in 400 but if you’re using 4x5 or 8x10 sheet film, the speed is 320 (not a real difference). You can also purchase Kodak Tri-X 400 in 35mm in 100 foot rolls, just in case you want to roll your own!

Film	ISO	Format
Kodak Professional Tri-X	400	35mm
Kodak Professional Tri-X	400	120
Kodak Professional Tri-X	320	4x5
Kodak Professional Tri-X	320	5x7
Kodak Professional Tri-X	320	8x10

Kodak Professional T-Max Film

The final Kodak Photographic film we are going to talk about in this post is Kodak T-Max film. The T-Max film family boasts a really fine and very scannable grain. The images have slightly less contrast and are not as punchy as Tri-X films. You get beautiful prints and scans out of T-Max with a lot of range. T-Max comes in a wide range of sensitivities also. Ranging from 100 to 3200, you can do a lot with T-Max. I’ve only used it occasionally but the results have always been pleasing. I’ve shot about 3 rolls of 3200 and the results from those rolls have been spectacular considering the super low light conditions I was shooting in. With the P3200, you are actually pushing the film, so there’s a few things to take into consideration when using that particular speed, but its not hard to use at all.

Film	ISO	Format
Kodak Professional T-Max	100	35mm
Kodak Professional T-Max	100	120
Kodak Professional T-Max	100	4x5
Kodak Professional T-Max	400	35mm
Kodak Professional T-Max	400	120
Kodak Professional T-Max	400	4x5
Kodak Professional T-Max	P3200	35mm

Where can I buy Kodak Film?

If you’re looking for Kodak’s cheaper consumer films, then I’ve got a blog post for you! You can pick up most of this affordable consumer film at Walmart.com, Target, as well as at Amazon. If you’re looking for the good stuff, Kodak Professional film, when then you’re going to have to more than likely ordering it online. B&H Photo, Adorama, several other online retailers carry it. Amazon carries it too. Unless I find a retailer that’s having a sale, I normally just buy all of mine from the same place as the pricing does not vary much from one retailer to the next.

Where Can I Buy Kodak Film Locally?

You should definitely check around to see if there are any camera/film stores near you. Some major cities have retailers that keep stock on Kodak professional film. If you’re in the Dallas/Fort Worth or East Texas area and want to pick up some Kodak Film to try out - contact me and see if I have any extra in stock - I do sometimes keep stock on a lot of different professional Kodak films that I do not advertise on my online store.

Remember friends, life is short - shoot film!

Why are Wedding Photographers So Expensive?

You’ve just spent $8,000 on the venue, $2000 on the cake, $2800 on the wedding dress, the flower cost is going up every minute, you’re thinking about serving chicken nuggets and kool-aid at the wedding reception to save money and then you start getting pricing information back from the photographers you reached out to…

Why are wedding photographers so expensive?

Just like the cake and the dress and the catering and the flowers, the wedding photos require skill, specialized equipment, time, and expertise to create. While most couples only see the photographer working the day of the wedding, the photographer actually spends significant time prepping their equipment, loading and unloading, photographing, paying assistants and second shooters, before the ceremony even starts. After the happy couple has departed, the photographer has to sort and cull images, edit and touch-up the keepers, create galleries, upload images, communicate constantly and keep the process moving. Outside of the wedding day, a photographer might spend 40 to 120 additional hours working on photos for each wedding.

Here are a few things to consider when asking yourself “why do wedding photographers charge so much?”

• A professional camera is usually around $4000

• Lenses run around $2000 to $3000 each

• Data cards to hold pictures often cost $100 to $150 each

• Flashes and transmitters can cost as much as $1000-$2000 each

• Batteries for all of this equipment isn’t cheap either - usually costing around $100 per battery

• Photographers need higher end computers to edit, as well as lots of storage space for photos

• There are several software services that photographers have to use to manage projects and communicate with clients. These often run anywhere from $20 to $100 per month

• The software the photographer uses costs between $20 to $50 per month

• 8 hours to shoot the wedding, 2 hours minimum prep, at least 40 hours to edit and sort. Photographers spend anywhere from 50 to 120 hours per wedding in labor.

• Assistants and second shooters cost hundreds of dollars per day to hire and are completely necessary for medium to large weddings.

This is not an exhaustive list of expenses, but it does give you an idea of the investment in equipment and time that each photographer makes when booking a wedding.

Let’s Approach Wedding Photography Sticker Shock Differently

As a photographer myself, I knew what to expect when it came to pricing for my wedding a few years ago. But I still found myself begrudging the photographer because we had already spent so much money on everything else. One more expense in the thousands of dollars range was the last thing I needed. But once I began to think of things a little differently.

Besides the Rings, the Wedding Photos are the Only Things That are Going to Last

The cake will be eaten, the flowers will die, you’ll never wear that wedding dress again, and once your scheduled time is up at the venue, you’ll never be allowed to have the run of the place again. But those photos are going to last forever! You’ll see them for the rest of your life and its worth investing more and being happy about knowing that the photography is going to bless you for years and years to come. Think about it, when you die, people will be looking at these wedding photos are your funeral! In 2173, your descendants will be posting on whatever social media exists at the time “look at my great great great grandparents on their wedding day!”. You shouldn’t question the necessity to spend some money on these photos!

Don’t Be Wowed by the Portfolio, Determine what Value Your Photographer is Bringing for Their Fees

I had a friend who booked a very popular wedding photographer and paid $10,000 for their services. The pictures were beautiful, but they only got a few prints and a small photo book for their investment. The very popular photographer then upsold them for another $3000 to get more prints and a few digital images. Most of what they paid went to the photographer rather than giving the newlyweds photo products they could actually enjoy.

Part of the value resides in the skill and craft of the photographer, but they should also provide a product. You as the client/customer have to evaluate if you are getting value that equals the photographer’s fees. We paid $3000 to our wedding photographer and we were given prints, a photobook, all of the digitals on a cute custom flash drive, and the images were beautiful. The value we received was definitely worth the price we paid.

How Much Should I Spend on My Wedding Photos?

It is really going to come down to a balancing act. There are a few factors that are going to have a direct effect on the price you are going to end up paying.

1. The Reputation of/Demand for the Photographer

2. The Time/Date of Your Wedding

3. The Size of Your Wedding

4. The Products You want to Receive (Prints, digitals, photo books, etc)

All photographers are taking these items into account when they determine pricing. Photographers cannot charge more than the market will bear, so often they decrease products if they are more in demand. Less popular/in demand photographers will often offer more products for a similar price. If you’re absolutely in love with a certain photographer, understand that you may not receive as many prints or copies of the digitals. Or that you might have to buy those after the fact. If you’re more interested in the quantity or products you receive, don’t try to compare a prestigious photographer’s pricing and products with someone who is trying to be in a similar price range by providing more value in their products they offer.

Wedding season gets crazy and the date and time of your wedding might come at a premium if you don’t book in advance. An intimate 10 person wedding is also not going to be as much work as a wedding with 250 guests. There is significantly more work involved in larger weddings, so don’t be surprised if you are having a large wedding and ask for a discount and don’t receive one.

It also helps to know what products you’re wanting once the photographer is done with their work. Most couples just take what the photographer is offering but it can be very helpful to have an idea of what kinds of prints you want, how many copies of the photo book you want. You can often negotiate those extras upfront and possibly get them cheaper than purchasing them after the fact. If you know what you want, communicate that to your photographer and negotiate the price at the beginning. It might save you quite a bit of money!

Photos are Forever

Don’t be a grump about the price you have to pay for your wedding photos! Take charge and know what style of photos you want, the products you want, and the coverage you’ll need and shop around just like you did for the cake and the dress and the catering and everything else. And once you decide, just remember that those images are going to be around for a long time. Probably longer than you will be so rather than begrudging the amount you have to pay for pictures, celebrate the fact you have secured a professional to document your beautiful day and that you will be left with beautiful images to last for generations to come!

Shameless Plug Time

If you’re in the Northeast Texas area and looking for a wedding photographer, check out our Wedding Photography Price List and contact us to see if we can help you with your big day!

Film Photography as a Hobby

There are millions of people who enjoy photography. From casual photos of friends and family to more serious and stylistic photos taken just to try to communicate something deep and meaningful and every photo in between, photography is a beloved hobby with several easy and affordable entry points from simple point-and-shoot digitals to Instax to Polaroid. But while digital photography is an easy and convenient hobby to pick-up, is film photography something a hobbyist could into without much cost or a steep learning curve?

Can I Shoot Film as a Hobby?

Absolutely! You do not need to be a professional to be a film photographer. 35mm film is still available in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens. Rolls of 35mm film come in color negative, black and white negative, and color positive or slide film. Film rolls also come in 24, 27, and 36 exposures (the count of photos you can take on a roll) as well as a variety of ISO’s for taking photos in different lighting. Prices range from $4.19 per roll to $23.95 for high end professional and specialty films. You can check prices on 35mm film at Amazon by going here!

Most individuals avoid film photography because they are inexperienced with the equipment, unfamiliar with how to process their film, and unsure of what film to buy. But a little bit of advice can help you get started and can having you shooting your first roll of film in no time!

What Kind of Film Camera Should I Buy?

This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many factors to consider. Availability, affordability, availability, automation, and ecosystem all need to be considered when it comes to purchasing a film camera. As you consider these factors, weigh them to see which factor is going to be the most limiting for you and you can start from there.

Availability,

There are very few film cameras in production today. Lomography.com still produces a few plastic ‘toy’ cameras. There are several ‘Simple’ use cameras out there as well. All of these are at the lowest end of the quality scale, but because they are new, might come with a higher price tag than some used models.

There are a lot of used cameras on the market out there. 35mm film cameras mostly just were put in the back of the closet and have been sitting. Locally, you can find them for sale on Facebook market place. In my experience, the selection is always limited, but its a great place to start! Ebay is also a great place to look. Ebay usually has a broader selection but you lose out on the ability to inspect the camera yourself before you buy.

Affordability

Let’s be honest, if you have money, you can spend it all on a camera. Setting a budget and sticking to that budget is important, after all, you don’t what spend all of your money on your camera and have nothing left over to buy and process your film! You can expect to spend anywhere from $20 to $200 for a good used 35mm film camera. If you’re just getting into film, get something cheaper. If you’re looking to make this something you do for a while, you may want to shoot for a middle of the road camera. Mainly, inspect the camera for functionality and features and consider what your budget is when buying.

Automation

Unlike modern cameras, a large number of film cameras a completely manual or only offer a few automatic features. You might find a shutter or aperture priority mode, but that may well be it. There are more automated 35mm cameras out there, but usually, their prices are higher because of the extra features. But, it doesn’t hurt to get a manual or almost completely manual camera. its a great way to experiment and learn. Combining the film with a manual camera will force you to think about every shot you take, which is a great discipline to develop while you are starting out. I have found that when I shoot with the more feature rich cameras I tend to think less about things like composition and letting and I get lower quality shots.

Ecosystem

Most cameras fall into an ecosystem of lenses and accessories. If you’re already a Canon shooter, then you should stick a canon SLR. If you’re already using Nikon, definitely stick to Nikon. If you don’t have anything, well then pick one and do a little research as to what other lenses are out there for the camera, does this camera have any cross compatibility with any other accessories or lenses, how durable are these cameras and how repairable are these cameras? Even as a hobbyist, when you buy a camera, you’re buying into an ecosystem.

What Kind of Film Should I Buy?

Kodak UltraMax 400 is a great beginner film!

To be honest with you, I’d go cheap at first. When I was first using film, sometimes I would forget how to do things and would accidentally expose an entire roll of film by opening the camera or forgetting to rewind. Once I forgot to release the film sprockets and I tried rewinding an entire roll with the sprocket lock still engaged. I shredded an entire roll of film. I really love the Kodak UltraMax 400 film for beginners. Its a great film, really inexpensive and produces good color results for a decent price. Its a great daylight film and works well in some shadows too. Inside photos with a flash also produce good results but expect a lot of light fall-off and darkness if objects or people are outside of the flashes power.

We’ve also got a great guide to the 3 Best Kodak Film for Beginners here - it has a lot of great information that could help you make a more informed decision!

Where can I get my Film Processed?

Processing is the hardest part, in my opinion. Locally, you can get your film processed at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, but they will not give you your negatives back. You definitely WANT your negatives back! They will give you prints and scans (usually lower resolution ones) but the negatives get trashed. If you’re local to us (East Dallas/East Texas), we can process your film for you! We offer drop-off and mail-in. Just click here to get the process started!

If you have the patience, you can mail your film into a place. There are several labs out there and most of them are amazing. Richard Photo Lab is a great place and has some amazing prices! The Dark Room is another great lab I’ve used and love their results. There are lots of other options out there, just jump on Google and find a lab that works for you!

Of course, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can always develop your own film at home. This requires quite a bit of equipment and some patience, but it is an option if this is a hobby you plan on keeping up with for a while.

Almost all labs will get you scans and/or prints and many offer online galleries which are great because you can view your photos as soon as they are processed, download them and share them all over the place!

Film Photography is a Great Hobby to Start!

Unlike digital photography, there’s more of a deliberate action with each press of the shutter button when you’re taking film. I don’t know if its the limited exposures, the cost, the time, or what but it forces you to think more about what you are shooting and in my opinion, always produces much better results! With the availability of so many great film cameras at really low prices and the convenience of companies like Amazon and B&H Photography, you can get any film you want delivered in just a few days if not sooner! If you’ve been hesitant to get in to film photography, now’s a great time to start AND we would be happy to help you or answer any questions you might have! We love film photography and in the 35mm film format, we’ve had some of the most fun you can have with a camera! Contact Us if you have any questions and lets get you shooting film asap!

Is Polaroid Bringing Back Peel-Apart Film?

Ever since Fuji announced that they were going to stop production on the beloved FP-100C instant film, a large segment of photographers’ hearts were broken. Mine included! Peel apart film was amazing and so much to work with and shoot with. Most of us still have our cameras, I know I still have mine, sitting around wrapped and put away in the hopes that someone would one day resurrect the format. But as time has passed, I feel like almost all of us have given up on the return of Peel-Apart Instant Film.

And then today, this popped up on my Facebook feed.

Polaroid seems to be emphasizing the word “peeled” in the last line.

But they have teased us before with new products and then only delivered a special frame or duotone color. Its been disappointing.

But I can’t help but hope that this time will be different!!!!

Maybe, just maybe peel-apart-film will be back!!

Or maybe this is just a clever way to word things to get everyone hyped up.

Is Polaroid bringing Peel-Apart Film Back?

Unfortunately, they are not. Polaroid has posted here in their support pages that the format is unsupported. Several times in the past they have stated that they have no interested in producing peel-apart film. This leaves photographers searching for alternatives to their beloved format.

What is the appeal of Pull-apart film?

For starters, there are a lot of really great cameras still out there that work and are a lot of fun to shoot with. The minute Fuji killed the FP-100c film, we all had to put those cameras away. Beyond the cameras, the film is just a lot of fun. There’s a groove to using peel-part, the timing and the excitement create a really unique experience and you still get an instant photo! While the integral films are fun, they are somewhat prepackaged and neat. Peel-apart film is a very hands-on film and there’s a little bit of mess to it. It just feels more like I’m a part of the process when using peel-apart film.

Also, there’s the image quality. Back with the old Polaroid and later with the Fuji FP-100C, the image quality was really really good for an instant film. You could create a lot of beautiful and fantastic images with peel-apart film that you just couldn’t get with the integral film. The colors seem sharper and more vibrant. The image was crisper. In my opinion, it was just a better product. Sadly, the appeal of the easy to use integral films combined with the rise if digital drove demand for the film down and combined with the decreasing supplies to create the film, it ultimately was discontinued.

What about One Instant from Supersense?

The one-instant film popped up a few years ago and was an indie kind of start-up to revive peel-apart. I actually just ordered my first batch of film and its in preproduction now! From the examples I’ve seen, the images look great! The One-Instant film isn’t mass-produced so it takes time to get and only comes in small quantities for higher costs. As soon as my order arrives, sometime later in 2021, I’ll do a full review and post an update as well as update this post!

Can I Still Buy Peel-Apart Film?

Yes, you can. There are still packs of expiring Fuji FP-100C and FP-3000B out there, but they are expensive. Originally costing around $20 per pack, the packs now cost in excess of $100. There are lots of stock available on Ebay of the FP-100C and the FP-3000B. There was only one listing for the Fuji FP-100C on Amazon and its for a 5-Pack costing $773 but it finally sold and there is no longer ANY FP-100C listed on Amazon. You can purchase FP-100C and FP-100C Silk from Supersense for 88 and 68 Euros respectively.

Keep your eyes peeled…

Ultimately, this was just a really bad choice in copy that sparked excitement in myself and a lot of other photographers. For this campaign, Polaroid ended up only announcing the return of round-framed film. While their round film is fun, it isn’t what we were all hoping for. In the mean time, there’s always one-instant and I think it is time that I gave their film a try! I’m heading over to their sight now to order some!

If you’re interested in reading about some of my other posts about instant film, CLICK HERE!

Check out this article too - which was posted as pack film began to disappear from the shelves.