Disposables? Eh…
I’ve never been too keen on those weddingish disposable cameras some brides and grooms leave for guests to muck around with. Last I checked, the pictures those things take turn out universally awful. Some people, not realizing why there are white and silver Kodaks littered around, snag them when they grab the centerpieces and linens and leftover chocolate strawberries as they make their exits.
But I do know a handful of people for whom disposable cameras saved the day (i.e. their wedding day) when photographers bailed, cameras broke, and conditions were simply not photographically favorable.
Kodak sells its flowery wedding disposables in 10-pack increments for $79.50, which doesn’t seem like a lot until you factor in the developing costs for 300 photos of Aunt Margo’s cleavage (as taken by your perverted third cousin), the reception hall floor, and half faces snapped by the children in attendance. How can you tell it was the kids? Each photo was shot at an extreme upward angle.
Kodak claims to have a digital option, but don’t be fooled. The Kodak Plus Digital One-Time-Use Camera is a regular disposable camera filled with film. What makes it “digital” is that they automatically give you a CD of your prints when you get your prints. If you opt to have your prints developed by Kodak rather than by the drug store, that is. Um, right.
If you want to stock your reception tables with real digital cameras for guests to play with, try YouShoot. They’ll send you a case full of cameras and a stack of instruction sheets that let guests know how to use the cameras plus how they can view the pics online after the wedding. Then you send them back, and YouShoot puts them up on a personal web site for you. Order prints directly from the company or download them for free. Guests can also upload their own photos to your YouShoot site so everyone’s snapshots see the light of day.
I think it’s a sharp idea. The cost is comparable to disposables plus developing, the site is registration free, and the resultant pics are less likely to be crap. Too bad YouShoot can’t guarantee that they’ll erase Aunt Margo’s cleavage before putting your photographs online.
I think that disposable cameras are worth it, especially if you shop around for cheap bulk prices, and get the cheapest possible developing you can (you know, where it takes a week to get the photos back) and at a place that lets you “return” and not pay for unwanted photos.
If I could do it again, instead of leaving the cameras laying around, I would have specifically handed a camera to one person at each table, and said something like “I’d love it if you’d make sure to get photos of the family.”
I did end up with some priceless rolls of my friends acting like their silly selves. On the other hand, I had a couple rolls of blurry self-portraits of my five-year old cousin. Now, when I see those disposable cameras at other people’s weddings, I make sure to grab them and take lots of group photos, and plenty of shots of people dancing and having fun.
I’ve yet to attend a wedding where the disposable cameras were used appropriately. However, I’ve also managed to attend a disproportionate amount of weddings for my friends whose extended families are from other countries, so the wedding guests are flummoxed by the idea of free cameras just lying about and just end up pocketing them. Although I suppose this could happen with regular American weddings, too, depending upon who you invite…
Thanks for mentioning YouShoot!
I just wanted to correct one fact: “Too bad YouShoot can’t guarantee that they’ll erase Aunt Margo’s cleavage before putting your photographs online.”
Actually, we can!
Our customers are given a password to their website that gives them administrator ability to control many settings, including whether the pictures are available to view by their guests. Using this, a concerned bride can delete any unwanted pictures before opening them up to the general public. Most people don’t use this feature, but it, and other security and privacy features, are available to use.
Also, profane shots are less common than you might expect because of the instant digital review — and ability for the offending guests to delete them right away!
All of that said, we let you be the editor of your site. One bride’s offensive cleavage shot is another one’s priceless memory so we give each customer their own full control.
Ryan from YouShoot
Thanks for weighing in, Ryan!
I recently wrote about this too after a particularly laborious photo session at a friends wedding. After an hour and a half of being shunted from room to room, watching set up after set up of predictable Hello! style shots, it’s obvious why they come out so soulless. Sometimes, throw away cameras produce the most relaxed, realistic shots of the day and capture some of the best real moments. Yes, there’s lots of rubbish in there but there’s usually enough good ones to tell the real story about what is going on below the perfect surface of the day. A couple of my friends have whole fantastic colourful albums of their wedding taken almost completely by the guests
I suppose the ideal, as Twistie says is a mixture of unobtrusive professionals, personal digital and throw away fun.
We were considering providing a small photographic survival kit per table, which would hold memory sticks and different sized batteries. We thought it might be a more technologically up to date take on the disposable. Financially it’s probably not viable, as we would realistically need to have at least 1 of every different kind of storage media, and we have alot of tables.
The other idea we had was pre labelling some blank cds and dvds and leaving one with each favour, with a self addressed envelope to us, asking them to copy and send us any digital snaps they take. That’s a really inexpensive idea, especially if you can raid the stationery cupboard at the office
when my best friend got married, she and her husband told their friends to bring their cameras. they set up a laptop with a card reader on a table near the door and had everyone dump their cards as they left. it worked really well and they got a ton of great shots – of course, it helped that they and many of their friends are photographers by trade.
but still, this is a similar idea to disposables on tables, but so many people have their own digital cameras (and bring them to events like this). it’s a great way to get those photos from other people’s cameras that they promise to send you and then usually never do.