Experimenting with expired film!!

weddingfilm

Feb 14

Written By Melanie Tata

I LOVE EXPIRED FILM!!

It’s one of a kind, always full of personality and is a surprise EVERY TIME I get my scans back.

Expired Seagull 100 35mm from China. Notice the film was so old the camera sprockets literally ripped off the emulsion at the top!

What is expired film?

A film is expired if its past its (you guessed it) expiration date!!! Expired film can vary from being only 5 years old to 50 years old.

Like other perishable products, film has a limited lifespan due to its chemical composition and sensitivity to environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. As film ages, its properties can change, leading to alterations in color rendition, contrast, and overall image quality.

Get my complete guide to shooting expired film in the store!

I’d love to show some examples of my film experiments! (SPOILER ALERT- it doesn’t always come out great)

BROOKS PHARMACY 35mm ISO 200 (Expiration date unknown)

These images are underexposed, because this was the first roll of expired film I’d shot in a while. I shot at box speed (mistake). When did Brooks Pharmacy go out of business? This film is that old. However the underexposure give some REALLY fun vibes.

Notice the purple in the highlights and lack of punchy color. It’s very soft and pretty.

I shot another roll of the Brooks and properly exposed it!!!! I love the soft tones it produced when esposed properly. The colors are so pretty!!!

The film got caught when I tried to do a double exposure. Not even mad LOOK AT THE COLOR!!!!!!! second shooting with Michelle K. Martin Photography

second shooting with Michelle K. Martin Photography

AGFA ISO200 35mm (expiration date unknown)

A 200 speed film that comes in a roll of 35 exposures. I shot at ISO 100. Some rolls had a GREAT punch of color, while others were more washed out. This can be attributed to how they were stored. I love both looks!

second shooting for Micaela Grace Photography

took this while associate shooting for Kate Elaine Photo

second shooting with MaggieBee Photography

Fujifilm Velvia 50 Medium Format

I got one roll of this 120 film off e-bay and brough it to Thanksgiving in 2022. Slide film is SO GORGEOUS and I’m obsessed with the crazy saturation this stock offered. I had to shoot at a very slow shutter speed because the ISO is 50. Really happy with these results. THE ORANGES! THE PUPLE IN THE SHADOWS!! Also, on a personal note, the small child is my cousins’s daughter, the first human to be born in our family since me! I call her my neiceling and these photos of my mother and her bird watching melt my heart every time.

Konica 35mm ISO 100 expired in 1998

I got a ten pack of this expired film off Etsy. It only comes with 12 frames per roll and EVERY time I use it the color shifts are different. It’s really exciting considering they were all stored in the same place (being still in the ten pack when shipped to me). I LOVE getting details on this, however I’ve notices it does not retain detail as well as the other stocks, but it’s got such an ephemeral nature about it. I have about 6 rolls left of this and can’t wait to shoot more at weddings this year.

love that this was the first frame so we get the light leak and the feathery bits from the felt at the end of the roll

super blurry, very low light, but I do love this frame!!! This and the three above were all from the same roll, showing the CRAZY difference in colors one roll can have! THE BLUE! THE MAGENTA! THE WARMNESS!!

the underexposure here shows the super warm shadows.

This roll I shot when I went to Concord to get my name changed was really fun to play with

Seagull 35mm ISO 100 expired in 1990

THIS IS MY FAVORITE! ITS AMAZING! SO UNIQUE! I got 4 ten packs of this from e-bay, and it’s crazy that the ones that came from different sellers have different reasults. Obviously they were stored differently because one pack lends itself to the turquoise/blue tint and the batch leds itself to the red/orange tint. I shot all of these at ISO 50 or 25. The older the film, the more light it needs. Obviously this is OLD film (my age) but when it hits right it really SINGS.

No real detail gets retained so I like to go for more storytelling and emotional shots to make this film stock work. I love the consistency of the speckles on every frame.

this group was taken at my sister-in-laws wedding.

second shooting for Haley O’Callahan Photography

NOW LETS TALK ABOUT EPIC FAILS!!!

So, I noticd that point & shoot cameras do NOT do well with expired film, most likely because you can’t set the ISO lower and the flash power isn’t intense enough. I highly reccomend never using a point and shoot with expired film UNLESS it has a lower ISO and a good flash.

Here are my epic fails, because you gotta fail to learn am I right?

tried to shoot inside again with little light, the shutter speed was so slow its just a BLUR of BRIDE

literally no idea what is happening here.

way too underexposed. it’s a look but not the BEST look.

again, not enough light in this image sad face

this was an attempt at putting expired film in the half-frame point and shoot. not enough light. ALAS.

again so underexposed on the point and shoot

underexposedddd using a point and shoot camera

SO, THAT’S EXPIRED FILM!!!

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment!! Huge thanks to all the photographers credited here for letting me experiment at your weddings!!!

I loved putting this together and hope it inspires someone to expirement with films more!

CHEERS and HAPPY VALENTINE’s DAY!!

Mel

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Melanie Tata