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Hi I was wondering why my film has come out like this? Is it my fault, the camera faulty or they developed it in correctly? I just got this camera second had in really good condition and it’s my first time using it

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    What camera and lens? Are other images okay, or mostly also have problems? New, unexpired film? Can you add a low res scan of a film strip with some problem images? Can you make a video with the camera back open showing the shutter and film advance mechanism working?
    – xiota
    Nov 14, 2019 at 7:12
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    I suspect problem with the camera (mainly because of the beach photo), but need more info. Looks like some other issues as well, like underexposure.
    – xiota
    Nov 14, 2019 at 7:15
  • I’ve got a Kodak Vr35. All of the images except one had this problem. @xiota
    – Grace Shields
    Nov 14, 2019 at 8:40
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    For video, you can try uploading to YouTube.
    – xiota
    Nov 14, 2019 at 9:32
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    You know, half the time people are here asking how to get their camera to do effects like these. :)
    – mattdm
    Nov 14, 2019 at 11:01

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Sadly, your film was fogged.

"Fogging" is where the film is inadvertently or deliberately exposed to light prior to development. It can be a light leak within the camera, the felt leader area could be damaged, or it could have faced 'up' in the sun. It's also possible to be chemically fogged or heat fogged, but those are rarer and require much more work to do so. Time also 'fogs' film, but that's usually a combination of chemical, heat, and radiation.

Looking at the supplied images, I'd say it's a light leak fog.

Going around your image, the top left is underexposed significantly and probably isn't fogged, or possibly the film was old leading to darker negative with insufficient exposure to print in that manner. The top right you can see that the film's sprockets are visible on the right side- based on that, I'd say the cartridge was opened and light leaked into it. This was common if we couldn't get the film out of a can (we used literally a beer cap opener) to pry the top off and stuff it into a special loader box. Typically did it in a dark room or a dark bag, and if any light got into the 'loader' box (felt lined and a snap down lid) you'd get that. You could also get that if you opened the back of the camera quickly.

The bottom left is just junk, no image, it's just random light hitting the film, and the bottom right is a 'blank' frame that was accidentally printed.

Hope it helps.

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  • Thankyou that helps so much !
    – Grace Shields
    Nov 16, 2019 at 1:10
  • I'd say the lab messed up in several ways here. I see two prints that only show half of the frame, and the automatic scanner completely missed the right colour balances. This is most likely due to a faulty camera, and the automated lab equipment trying to correct for these faults. I would not go back to this lab and at least ask my money back.
    – timvrhn
    Nov 16, 2019 at 18:37
  • Where do you believe is the best place to get photos developed. I’ve been going to big W and so far with other cameras they’ve been fine.
    – Grace Shields
    Nov 16, 2019 at 23:52
  • @GraceShields Sadly it's been SO LONG since I've done film, I couldn't even begin to tell you where to go. I can tell you what makes a good lab though- quality control and relationships. You can casually ask if they run daily QC strips (a strip of film with set exposures which are then read into a machine), and printers get the same characterization. Sometimes if I found a lab-worker that enjoyed their job I'd wait to and ask only them to run the film. That increased the odds I got good results. Lastly, look for 'professional' labs that do work local. They might exist. Good luck.
    – J.Hirsch
    Nov 20, 2019 at 19:59

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