Having the guests grab a camera and take photos at your wedding is as popular today as it was 50 years ago.
The first portable photographic apparatus was patented in 1886 by Alexander Pop Whittel but it wasn’t until the late 1940’s that disposable cameras became popular. They started to be sold in drugstores, hotels and amusement parks, for the fun of the customers.
If you want to go for a stroll down memory lane, watch this awesome commercial from Kodak in 1980!
It was in the late 80’s that the main players Fuji and Kodak began a fierce competition releasing increasingly innovative camera models. This scuffle resulted on the golden era of disposable cameras. In 2014, the sales of digital photo cameras left film cameras outdated and demoted to a niche in the market.
If you want to know more about the history of the disposable camera check this out!
Today we have so many options to choose from that it can be difficult to decide what type of camera hand out to our guests. Let’s have a look at some options!
Disposable camera
Disposable film cameras have been a must on weddings since the late 80’s. Even though we are in the digital era of photography, film cameras remain a safe way of seeing another side of the wedding. It is a fun activity for the guests and a way to see the wedding through the eyes of their loved ones for the couple.
These pictures are not intended to be perfect since they provide the bride and groom a different value: they’re less aesthetic and more authentic. All in all, a more personal storytelling of the big day.
You can easily buy disposable cameras online in stores like Amazon or in specialised shops close to you.
Price: ~5€ per camera (0,20€ per photo) plus developing
Instant camera
Another oldie but goldie is to use instant cameras to capture key moments from the wedding. The trendy Polaroid pictures are taken and automatically printed, which is very convenient if you want to include them as part of an active entertainment at the party, like a photo booth or a guest photo book. The guests can then leave the pictures on the tables, take them home as a souvenir or put them inside of a box intended for that purpose.
If using Polaroid cameras, the bride and groom should make very clear what the purpose of the pictures is, if they want to be able to keep (most of) the pictures to themselves.
Although very cool and distinctive, this option is not precisely budget-friendly.
Price: ~50€ per camera + Film (~0,70€ DKK per photo)
Innovation vs. disposable and instant camera
Nevertheless, the charm that printed pictures treasure is often beaten by the convenience of the digital photos. Mobile phone cameras keep being improved and deliver almost, if not, the same quality of a professional camera. Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram brought the photo taking on to a completely new level, along with the new smartphones.
Nowadays the number of photos you can take with a phone is almost unlimited and the cost barely nonexistent. It can be a difficult task for the wedding couple to get all those pictures from the many guests at the wedding. Once more, technology is here to help. The days of Instagram hashtags and shared Google Drive or DropBox folders are long gone. Let an app do the job!
Dive into innovative apps that are specifically designed for wedding-photo sharing, like Wedbox. This app is a perfect alternative for disposable and instant cameras, and allows a much better use of mobile phones at a wedding. But how?
Below, you can examine a table comparing the pros and cons of using a wedding photo app like Wedbox versus an instant or disposable solution at a wedding.
| Wedbox | Disposable/instant cameras | |
| Gathering all pictures of the guest | Yes | Yes |
| Get personal pictures | Yes | Yes |
| Digital place for all pictures | Yes | No (with a few exceptions) |
| HD quality | Yes, taken from the phone cameras | No |
| Ecofriendly | Yes, everything is digital | No – recycling |
| Easy to use for all guests | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free (in-app purchase max. 50€) | 200 disposable cameras for 320€ 1 instant camera between 20-40€ |
| Number of photos limit | Unlimited | Approx. 12 per Camera |
| Number of people who can take pictures | Unlimited | Limited by the number of bought disposable or instant cameras |
| Live slideshow of pictures | Yes | No |
All in all, looks like using Wedbox at a wedding has more pros than cons:
- it is cheaper than the analogic alternatives
- it is effortless to use (let’s be honest, your guest are going to be taking pictures with their phones anyway)
- everyone can have the pictures
- it provides entertainment during the wedding party
- there is no limit to the amount of photos that can be taken and shared
- you can share videos
- you can use it before, during and after the wedding
- all the photos and videos are safely stored
- the wedding couple chooses who can see, upload and download photos
- Wedbox will not use your photos for own purposes
Even guest who are taking pictures with a DSLR camera can upload them to Wedbox from a computer!
Don’t despair! If you still want to have a physical photo you can easily download them and print them or even print them as a Polaroid by using a device like the Polaroid ZIP Photo Printer.
Same memories, in a better quality, for ever.