Disposable cameras at reception

Disposable cameras each contain 27 pictures. Unless you want to try to use up all of the unused film for several months after the wedding, it is better to place them on every second or third table. Also, ask certain people to take photos. Otherwise, you risk having the cameras end up in the hands of children and you will get plenty of pictures of cheesy faces, their feet, and anything else they want to photograph.

One thing to remember is that the film and the flash assembly are disposable, so they do expire, particularly the flash. Don't purchase the cameras too many months before the wedding, then store them in a cool, dark place. The only way that I know of to develop them at a reasonable price is to take them to a place like Costco or Sam's Club.

In the age of digital cameras, I cannot imagine using a camera anymore where I cannot see the photo before paying to have it developed. You'll end up with many pics that you do not want. I would think that a good portion of your guests will have a digital camera. If so, could you have them e-mail you the shots? Then you can decide which ones are worth developing and delete the others. It is so easy and cheap to use these cameras once you have them.

A friend of mine's DD was married this past summer and they put a camera on every table... She was shocked when only one or two pictures were taken at each table... She still has some that have not been developed... I think as dcgirl said utilize all those who are attending with digital cameras tell them to e-mail you a copy of the picture I took over 80 pictures at this wedding and just burnt her a disk and she was thrilled... I took a lot of candid pictures of the guests. I am sure she didn't print all the pictures but she surely found some that were special...
grace

Gee, I don't make it a habit to bring my digital camera (or any camera, for that matter) every time I go to a wedding. So, you'd have to ask your guests, in advance, to bring their digital cameras. Then, you have to hope they remember to bring them.

I'd rather supply one disposable camera for every three or four tables, and make sure there was a nice note attached to it that would tell people that we'd appreciate it if they would take candid shots and pass the camera around to other tables.

Our guests loved the disposable cameras. We only had 1 or 2 leftover and we took them on our honeymoon to use up the film.

Every wedding I go to I end up taking a lot of pictures with SLR camera and mail the couple an extra set. Hopefully someone can do that for you. :o)

One hint on disposable cameras at the wedding: I have actually had people take lots of pictures and then take the cameras home, never to be seen again by the bridal couple. Make sticker notes (use address labels) with reminders to leave the cameras behind. Do not take home. Stick these right on the cameras. Ask the DJ or MC to remind people all night to take pictures and leave the cameras behind. These are not wedding souvenirs. Believe it or not, some people have to be told.

As for developing, I've used York (through the mail) several times and they are very dependable.

They were a waste at my wedding 8+ years ago because all the kids got their hands on them. Soooo, that being said, my DD still would like 3 or 4 at her wedding. We have selected 4 people who are willing to just carry the camera around and when they see a good pic, they'll take it and return the camera to us at the end of the night. Good compromise for us.

We put one on every table at ours--Make sure to get the ones where you can turn on the flash and leave it on. That was one thing I forgot to do that day and everything taken before the flash was turned on (we said something mid-reception) didn't turn out. Even so, it was totally worth it. They all got completely used up and we had some really fun shots.

We had a smaller wedding (about 60 people) and put one on each table. They were all used up at the end of the night and we had a lot of really nice pictures. We also got alot of pictures with friends going crazy and having fun! When we developed them we had doubles made and if there were pictures available I sent a pic in my thank you cards so the couple could have a picture of themselves at my wedding having fun. Everyone loved it.
We bought them at BJ's wholesale. They were cheaper there!
-renee

I would have you M&M give to them to a few close reliable friends and family that you choose. Otherwise you will get lots of pictures you don't want. Developing is not cheap. My niece learned this from experience. She had a camera on each table and about 8 of them were pictures she threw away. Seemed like a waste to me. Not everyone has good taste when it comes to taking pictures.
Judy

we got a set of these at walmart for like $20 for 4 camera's,for my son's wedding last aug.we had them developed at walmart also,not the 1 hour,so cheaper,less than $5 each camera,for doubles,i think.most of the pix were great,it was fun to see what all the other's saw.we didn't do this for daughter's wedding 4 years ago aug.,wish we had.but we will for other daughter's this coming aug.hope this helps...beth in ga

My suggestions: Buy good quality cameras with automatic flash if being used indoors (people forget to turn on the flash and you get wasted shots) and have them developed onto a cd so you can see what is good and what isn't before you print them! I can't stress the 'good quality (kodak, or other brand name) part of this enough. Our cameras were 'pretty wedding' cameras but the film quality was horrible so most of the pics are grainy.

Also have your dj or someone announce that the cameras are for the bride and groom so guests should put them back on the table (or a central location if you prefer) when done shooting pictures. We had ours remind people to turn the flash on too.

It really is nice to have the pictures that guests take. I wish more of ours had come out!

Instead of using disposable cameras -- in today's digital age, there will likely be MANY people in attendance with their own digital cameras in-hand. These cameras will produce much better quality than the disposables, and they won't likely be in the hands of children. In fact, many people with digital cameras are pretty good photographers.

Setup your event on an online "Event Photo Depot" (they can be easily found thru a web search) and then encourage your attendees to share their images. This will likely produce a much greater quality and quantity of photos -- and since they're digital -- there's no cost.

Instead of having them developed and PRINTED, have them developed and put on CD. People assume you have to have prints made when you drop film off, that's not true. You can have the film processed and put onto a cd without getting anything printed. This runs about $5.15 at Walgreens. Then you're free to pop the cd into a kiosk and print only what you want. you won't end up with prints of table legs and kid shots.

Kodak now has a wedding camera, w/ 800-speed film (a teeny bit grainier, but better exposure).