As peak wedding season approaches, and we prepare for an influx of disposables capturing your special day (seriously, we get A LOT!), we thought we would share our top tips for getting the most out of your wedding disposables.
Disposable cameras are an incredibly popular option at weddings as they offer the chance for friends and family to easily capture candid moments and share different perspectives of the day. However, there are a few things to remember to make sure you get great shots and don’t end up with a roll of duds.
Choose the right one
Not all disposable cameras have the same type of film inside. It is important when choosing your disposable camera to look at the type of film that is preloaded and choose one appropriate for your situation. An important factor to consider is the ISO of the film. Although generally disposables tend to have film inside with an ISO of 400 - 800, this is not always the case. Some daylight disposables have an ISO of 100, perfect for bright sunny destination weddings. Whereas, a disposable with an ISO of 800 would be better suited for lower levels of lighting. You can find more information about ISO in our beginners guide to buying film.
Another factor that will influence which disposable you buy, is whether you would like colour or black and white images. Most disposable cameras tend to have colour film inside however, there are a few black and white disposable cameras on the market such as the Ilford HP5 or XP2 disposables.
Put them somewhere obvious
We often receive batches of disposables from weddings that haven’t been completely used. It can be disappointing and incredibly wasteful to only get half a roll back, so make sure your guests are aware of the cameras and take as many shots as possible. Don’t stash them out of the way, put them somewhere that people can easily grab them.
Tell your guests to use the flash!
One of the most common issues we see when scanning wedding disposables is that the flash hasn’t been used. You will struggle to get photos from a disposable camera in low light conditions or inside a venue without using a flash. Putting sticky labels on each camera reminding people to turn the flash on will help you avoid a photo album full of silhouettes and missed moments.
Get them developed
We often receive wedding disposables that have been laying around for years waiting to get to the top of the ‘To Do’ list. Although it’s always worth getting them developed to see any forgotten gems, we would advise getting them developed sooner rather than later. The longer you leave your disposable, the more likely it is that the quality will deteriorate. If you can’t get them developed straight away, try to keep them in a stable environment to keep the film inside at its best.
Make sure your lab recycles disposable cameras
Where possible, we advise against using disposable cameras. If you’re planning to use them often, they can be expensive, wasteful, and poor quality compared to point and shoot. However, we understand that disposables do sometimes have a place at events and provide a great way of capturing spontaneous and candid moments at a wedding. As well as following the tips, to make sure you get the most from each camera, it’s important to check that your lab recycles disposable cameras, to help minimise their environmental impact. We send all the disposables we receive to be reused and recycled.