Yes, I want to shoot some film. But where the heck do I get it developed?
Relax! There are a number of options, five of which we identify here. One will possibly surprise you.

If you’re still on the fence about shooting film, this Shutterbug article may help you make an informed decision: Start Shooting 35mm Film – Here’s a Complete Guide.

Roberts Photo Lab (Roberts Camera)
Family owned and operated since 1957, Indianapolis-based Roberts Camera provides expert film developing and printing under the guise of Roberts Photo Lab. They also offer one of the widest assortments of used camera gear via their online retail entity UsedPhotoPro.

Roberts develops all popular film formats including 35mm, 120, APS, 110, and 126. Processing a roll of 35mm color negative film (C41 process) costs just $7.99. They also offer scanning services and of course printing. Affordable; 4×6 inch prints run 40¢ each. A 10×14 enlargement costs less than ten bucks. Download their mail-in film processing form here.

If you DIY your film developing and scanning, shoot digital only, or otherwise need to print existing images, Roberts online printing options include cards, photo books, wearables, mugs, holiday decorations, water bottles, smartphone cases, post cards, stationery—the list goes on and on—and they even offer custom framing.

Roberts Photo Lab also creates posters, metallic and canvas surface prints. Wait, there’s more. They also do movie film processing, video transferring, retouching and restoration, and passport photos for local customers.

MPix
Located in Pittsburg, Kansas and Columbia, Missouri, MPix is a division of Miller’s Professional Imaging, a lab that has been serving pros since 1964. Known for lightning fast service and superlative handling/packaging of work products, MPix has been a reliable source of mail-in and online processing services that run the full gamut of possibilities and are sure to meet your expectations.

With prices starting at $11.95, MPix processes 35mm and medium format color film, and unopened single-use cameras. Order your choice of standard scans (4.5MB, suitable for 5×7 prints) or higher-res scans (18MB, prints up to 12×18). After scanning, your images are available for download, after which MPix mails your negatives to you. Easy-peasy.

Note that film must be shipped to MPix in a plastic mailer of your choosing, with a maximum size of 11.5 x 15 inches. Do not use USPS Priority envelopes or boxes; in fact, boxes of any type are not accepted. And BTW, most mail-in processing labs stipulate the same restrictions on shipping containers.

This video reviews the process of uploading your images to MPix online printing services.

Bay Photo
Bay Photo has a separate website for film processing information. You’ll find it here. To view their entire range of printing services, visit this site instead. For our money, access to Bay Photo’s amazing Xpozer prints is reason enough for them to make everyone’s short list.

Bay Photo offers processing and scanning of color print, color slide and black & white film. Prices start at $15 per roll and you have three choices of scan resolutions. You can add prints for an additional fee. Optionally, you can request process only, or scan only (of existing negs or slides). Download their mail-in order form here. The also sell an extensive assortment of film, frames and darkroom supplies.

Founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1979, Bay Photo has long been a favorite of professionals and is home of the Xpozer prints mentioned above. If you’re not familiar with Xpozer, watch this 1.5 minute YouTube video. Xpozer is the coolest way to display photographs we’ve ever seen.

The DarkRoom
Here’s how The Darkroom describes themselves: “In business since 1976, we’re a traditional dip & dunk lab with the modern convenience of easy online ordering, free inbound shipping, and a mobile app that allows you to order processing as well as download and archive your scans!” That just about says it all.

The Darkroom processes virtually all sizes of color print and transparency (slide) film as well as black & white. They also offer the full range of prints, print stocks, surfaces, photo gifts and nearly every other type of specialty print item.

Download The Darkroom’s mail-in order form and prepaid label here.

Even if you don’t become a customer of The Darkroom, take a look at their Film Index. It’s a great resource for film stock comparison.

CVS Pharmacy
Yup, we’re referring to the popular drug store brand. With sundry products and services ranging from flu shots to flea collars, Metamucil to MoneyGrams, it should come as no surprise that CVS offers film processing. They can handle APS (Advanced Photo System)—that’s simply amazing, since many of you can’t even remember APS— plus 35mm color negative, black and white, 110 and most flavors of slide film.

Many locations have kiosks where you can print digital images, too. And if you’d rather handle print orders online, CVS accommodates you there as well.

Need a passport photo pronto? Select CVS locations take passport and ID-photo pics using the KODAK Moments Passport & ID Photo System that automatically verifies your photos meet all government requirements. They charge about 17 bucks.

With more than 9000 locations scattered across 3390 cities, there’s likely a CVS location in your neighborhood. Click here to find a CVS location near you.

Bonus: Online Print Providers (no processing)
Printique (an Adorama company), Saal Digital and WhiteWall do not offer film development, but all deserve inclusion here because of their sterling reputations for exceptional quality, and immense assortment of first-class photo products, including professional services, standard and stylized prints, posters, calendars, photo books, interior-designer-level art prints, greeting cards and a broad selection of popular photo gifts like mugs and keychains.

In short, turn to Printique, Saal Digital and WhiteWall for legendary quality and never-tiring varieties of print options, professional customization and exemplary production standards.

Conclusion
Now there’s one less excuse you can use to rationalize why you don’t shoot an occasional roll of film. Dig that SLR out of the closet and bang off a roll of Fujifilm Fujicolor.

A parting thought for photographers already hooked on celluloid, check out this Shutterbug story: Film Shooters: The Film Photography Project is a Valuable Free Resource You Should Know.

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Nighttime photography can be very rewarding, especially when there are bright objects moving through the frame, like cityscapes with vivid taillights from passing cars or seascape scenes that include illuminated boats. In fact, the techniques required for both scenarios have a lot in common.

We’ve posted videos in this topic in the past, and most concentrate on focus and proper exposure with sufficiently long shutter speed to capture this eye-catching  effect. Today’s episode from the Light Meets Lens YouTube channel takes a different and very interesting approach by describing how to compose images while anticipating motion so that the streaming lights are in perfect position when the shutter is tripped.

Instructor Nick Kuhn says this type of photography is his favorite because, “I love the true beauty of capturing a car or something else with lights on it as it smears across the frame.” Kuhn is a pro specializing in landscape and cityscape imagery so he’s the perfect man to explain this unique approach.

He describes his method like this: “I have to think quite a lot about how lights move through the scene, because I want to time the shot just perfectly.” He typically uses a cable release on his tripod-mounted camera to help him memorialize what he considers to be the decisive moment.

Kuhn visits three locations in this behind-the-scenes episode, and he briefly discusses  necessary camera setting for this style of long-exposure photography. His primary intent, however is this: “My goal is to show off a compositional technique with light trail photography because you have to think differently when you do it.”

For his first shot Kuhn is poised atop a high vantage point, shooting at minimum aperture to achieve the slowest possible shutter speed—in this case he ends up to an exposure of 30 seconds. With the preliminaries out of the way Kuhn devotes the remainder of the video to a detailed demonstration of the careful way he composes this particular scene and the other two that follow.

In a way, Kuhn’s nighttime technique is similar to that used by sports/action photographers working during the day, who insist that “you don’t shoot action, you anticipate it.” In other words, this means substituting fast burst rates in favor of well-honed reflexes.

It’s a lot of fun experimenting with this style of light trail photography, so how about making this your weekend photo assignment? Be sure to browse Kuhn’s instructional YouTube channel where there are more pro secrets to be revealed.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we posted earlier from another accomplished pro, with a Lightroom color-grading technique that can be very helpful for boosting the impact of light trail photographs.

Today we’re discussing an issue faced by photographers who output their work at home with an inkjet printer. Namely, color files look really good but b&w prints leave a lot to be desired. You’re not alone if this happens to you because this is a rather common occurrence.

Instructor Keith Cooper is a British architectural photographer and an output specialist who puts it bluntly: Most printers are much worse at black-and-white printing than they are with color.” In this episode he discusses the reasons for this disparity and provides a variety of effective solutions for making the best possible b&w prints.

Cooper covers several key topics including how the software, drivers, and inks that you use may affect your results. You’ll learn how choosing appropriate paper and setting the printer according factors into the equation. He also addresses whether or not purchasing a newer (or better) printer will solve all your b&w woes.

So what’s the root cause of this problem in the first place? Copper responds with this unexpected statement: “Our visual system is much more sensitive to small tints and tone in b&w prints than it is in color prints. He notes further that our eyesight tends to adapt quickly to slight flaws in precision when viewing images in color.

In short, our eyes are less forgiving when evaluating images outputted in monochrome—even if you make adjustments to the ambient lighting where your prints are on display. One simple solution is to try a different type of paper than what you use with success for making prints in color.

Cooper pulls up some prints he made on a pro-level printer to illustrate potential snafus, with a variety of solutions for getting optimum results with whatever printer you own. He also offers this interesting  lament: Why don’t manufacturers offer printers optimized for b&w like the monochrome-only cameras made by Leica and Pentax? That could solve all the problems but there’s a two-word answer: demand and economics. So don’t hold your breath.

Yet, by watching this lesson and following Cooper’s expert advice you may notice a big leap in quality the next time you print in b&w. There’s a lot more to learn on his instructional YouTube channel, so take a look when you have time.

And on a related note, we recently featured a tutorial with a unique Lightroom technique for creating b&w photographs with more dynamic range by using color tools during the editing process, so be sure to check that one out as well.