Disposable cameras at a wedding or party: the pros, the cons and the alternative

Disposable cameras have made a comeback at weddings, 21sts and milestone birthdays. The grain, the flash, the surprise of seeing the photos weeks later: it is easy to see the appeal. It is also worth knowing how it tends to play out.

What disposable cameras do well

• The look. Film photos have a warmth phones cannot fake.
• The fun. Guests who would never post a photo will happily click away on a camera in front of them.
• No technology. Nothing to scan, charge or connect.

Where they fall down

• Cost twice. You pay for each camera, then again to develop and scan every roll.
• A small number of shots. A typical single-use camera holds about 27 exposures, and a fair share come back as thumbs, ceilings and dark rooms, because the flash only reaches a few metres.
• Cameras go missing. Some get taken home, some are left half-used, some end up under a table.
• Weeks of waiting. Nothing to show on the night, and nothing to look at the next morning.
• No video. The speeches and the first dance are not on film.

The phone in every guest's pocket

Your guests are already carrying far better cameras than any disposable, with night modes and video. The problem has never been taking the photos; it is getting them off a hundred different phones. That is what QR code photo sharing solves: a code on each table, guests scan it with their phone camera, and their photos and videos go straight into one album, with no app to install.

Because the photos arrive during the event, they can play on a screen for the room, which gets more people sharing. And the next morning you have every photo, not a box of rolls waiting for the lab.

Or do both

Plenty of couples and hosts keep a handful of disposables as a keepsake, at the bar or the photo spot, and use phone sharing for the coverage. That gets you the film look without relying on it.

If you go phone-only, three tips

• Put the QR code on every table, at the bar and somewhere unexpected. See what to print and where.
• Ask the MC to mention it early and again after the speeches.
• Show the photos on a screen. Nothing gets people sharing faster than seeing someone else's photo go up. See getting guests to actually share.

GuestCam is QR code photo and video sharing for weddings, parties and events: no app for guests, a live photo wall in any web browser, approval before anything goes on screen if you want it, and one album with a ZIP download afterwards. See GuestCam for weddings or for parties and events.