Why did my roll turn out blank?

There can be many reasons why your film didn’t produce any images.

The main causes are:

  1. Not loading the film properly in the camera
  2. Severe under or overexposure
  3. Camera malfunction
  4. Not using a flash indoors

If you know you were shooting an appropriate speed film in the right lighting conditions, check on your shutter. If the shutter on your camera doesn’t open, your film can’t get exposed to light, and therefore can’t make an image! Simply open the back of your camera (without film in it, of course), cock the camera’s shutter (if necessary), and look through the lens plane while you click the shutter button. You should see a brief circle of light appear and disappear right before your eyes.

If you know you’re shooting the right speed film in the right lighting conditions and your shutter is working fine, your film may not be advancing within the camera. To make sure your film is advancing within the camera when the back door is closed, simply locate the rewind crank on your camera and watch it as you turn the advance wheel. The rewind crank should spin as you advance the film.

If you submit a roll to us for develop/scan or develop/scan/print orders and it produces no images, we will issue a voucher for future film processing with a one-year expiration. The voucher will be returned with your negatives and has no cash value. Lost vouchers cannot be replaced or honored.  A voucher is not issued for “develop only” rolls or sheet film.