Imagine this, it’s summer. You and your friends are headed to the beach, you brought your little point and shoot camera because you wanted to take photos of your day. You loaded a fresh new film, and spent the entire day taking photos. Satisfied. Content. You head out to your favorite photo lab to develop your film, only to find out that some of your images came out dark OR WORSE none of the photos came out. How disappointing!

If that has ever happened to you, then you were one of the victims of having a blank roll. Relax, it happens even to the best of us. 

There are many reasons why you may have a blank roll:

• Loading the film wrong.
• Images came out either way too underexposed or overexposed.
• Camera malfunction.
• Not using flash while indoors.

But, mostly because you are not using flash.

Here are some practical tips to make sure you don’t ever get disappointed again:

1. Properly load the film in your camera. Once the film is inside, keep the back door firmly closed, and locate the rewind lever to advance your film. You’ll know if your film is advancing by seeing the number go up the frame counter, every time you press the shutter. 
2. Pick the right film or set the correct exposure every time you shoot. Depending on the time of the day or location, it’s important to know the right film for any occasion or location. We recommend any 400 speed film for its versatility. 
3. Nowadays, most of the film cameras we own and purchase are outdated. Some film camera companies don’t even exist anymore (I’m talking about you Contax, ahem). Overtime, these film cameras become worn-out and if it’s not managed and taken care of, it becomes easily susceptible to damages, that may become a big problem overtime. Personally, I recommend cleaning and repairing your cameras once a year. 
4. To all my disposable camera lovers, make sure to turn on the flash whenever you’re in a dimly-lit environment (whether you are taking photos at a party or going out at night to capture some street photography). Images are produced when there is a source of light; so if you don’t use the flash, the film will capture nothing.

Hopefully, these tips can reduce your chances of getting a blank roll. However, if you do develop your rolls with us and get a blank roll notification in your email, we’ve got you covered. We offer store credit for up to two blank rolls.