Disposable Camera Photography: Rediscovering the Joy of Taking Pictures

Disposable Camera Photography: Rediscovering the Joy of Taking Pictures

Lately, I’ve been a little bored with photography – which is quite ridiculous, considering I own a Sony A7 IV, a collection of lenses and basically everything I could possibly need to take good photographs.

But after years of taking photos, something that used to feel incredibly exciting to me had kind of become like work:

There were so many decisions, so many expectations and (admittedly, mostly because I’d boxed myself in creatively)  far too much repetition.

Then, something happened:

I took a trip to Japan, walked past a camera shop and spontaneously bought a disposable camera.

I wasn’t expecting very much from it – I simply thought it could be fun.

But weirdly, this ridiculously simple little camera has made me enjoy photography more than I have in a long time.

Selfie taken in Kobe, Japan, with my disposable camera.

In this post, I want to share why I think shooting with a disposable camera can inject new life into your photography – and why, sometimes, reducing photography back to basics might be exactly what you need.

(I also turned this experience into a YouTube video, which you can watch below):

Essentially, photography started to become boring for me when I fell into one of the main traps…overcomplicating things.

When Photography Becomes Too Complicated

When you first fall in love with photography, the main excitement is simply seeing the world through a lens:

You notice beautiful light, interesting faces, or strange little details. You see something and think: I want to photograph that.

Then, you start to dive deeper into the topic: 

You learn about shutter speed, aperture and ISO; you buy different lenses; you start shooting RAW, editing, colour grading and learning Photoshop…and, for better or worse, you become more critical of your own photographs.

Of course, I’m all for learning the technical side of photography, as it gives you an incredible amount of creative control.

But I think there is also a danger that somewhere in between all of those possibilities, we forget how simple photography can be.

For me, this was definitely the case:

The last couple of years, instead of simply seeing something and wanting to photograph it, I found myself thinking about which lens I should use, whether the light was good enough, etc.

Most of the time, it was even more complex than that: I would decide on a particular concept before shooting and make editing and colour grading decisions before I had even taken the photo.

No wonder I became a bit fatigued!

In fact, photography had become way too complex for my own good. As a result, I let my camera gather dust for several months.

And then, quite by accident, I ended up returning to the beautiful simplicity of photography.

My Disposable Camera Photography Experiment

About ten days ago, after arriving in Japan for a 10-week stay, I happened to walk past a camera shop.

On a whim, I picked up a disposable camera – essentially, just a cheap plastic camera loaded with film.

I think part of the reason I impulse-bought it was nostalgia: my very first camera was actually a disposable one that my sister gave me for Christmas when I was about seven years old.

Starting To Take Photos Again

Next, something rather unexpected happened: I started carrying the camera everywhere…and actually taking photos again!

Street scene in Osaka, Japan.

There was something so liberating about walking around Japan with such a basic camera in my bag – particularly after years of using sophisticated (and heavy!) digital equipment.

And the more I use it, the more I’m realising that the limitations of a disposable camera aren’t getting in the way of my photography – they are precisely what’s making it fun again.

Here’s why:

1. There Is Almost Nothing to Control

A disposable camera gives you almost nothing to think about.

No aperture decisions, no shutter speed, no ISO, no lens choice, no autofocus mode, no white balance.

You simply look through the viewfinder and press the shutter.

This might sound incredibly limiting, especially if you’re used to a camera that gives you almost complete control over the final image.

But that’s exactly what I started loving about it because all decisions about camera settings, etc., completely disappeared.

With my Sony, there are so many parameters to tweak that I’m usually thinking: How can I shape what I’m seeing into a great photograph?

To do that, I might use a wide aperture and blur the background, change lenses, or underexpose slightly. Maybe I’ll create a certain effect and refine everything later in Photoshop.

Using My Eyes More To Take a Good Photo

With a disposable camera, I can’t rely on any of that. If I want an interesting photograph, I have to find something interesting in front of me.

The beauty about that is that it made me work a bit harder “in real life”.

I started looking for beautiful light, unusual colour combinations, funny little moments, reflections and compositions.

Street scene in Fukuoka, Japan.

So, in a strange way, using a “bad” camera made me use my eyes more.

And I would even argue that this can make you a better photographer:

Instead of relying on expensive lenses, shallow depth of field or other effects to make an ordinary scene look interesting, you’re forced to find the photograph out there in the world.

By the way…do you like taking portraits? Then check out my free ebook below:

…but now, back to the blog post!

2. Every Photograph Counts

Next, there is an interesting contradiction with disposable camera photography:

On the one hand, I stopped overthinking because there was almost nothing about the camera itself to control.

On the other hand, I started thinking more carefully about what I photographed.

The thing is, with digital photography, taking another photograph costs essentially nothing.

If I’m unsure about a composition, I can take ten versions. I can move slightly to the left, slightly to the right, shoot vertically, shoot horizontally and take another five just in case.

With my disposable camera, I had around 27 exposures.

Suddenly, I found myself looking at something and asking: Do I actually want a photograph of this?

I found that refreshing because instead of accumulating hundreds of almost identical images, I became more selective before pressing the shutter, only taking a photo when I thought it was really worth it.

Street scene in Osaka, Japan.

3. I Actually Have It With Me

There’s another very practical advantage to a disposable camera: It’s tiny (and ultra-light).

My Sony A7 IV isn’t an enormous camera, but taking it somewhere is still a bit of a faff:

I have to decide which lens to take, if I should take another battery, which camera bag, etc., and more importantly:

Am I actually going to photograph enough today to justify carrying it around?

The Perfect Tool to Capture Spontaneous Moments

A disposable camera weighs pretty much nothing, so I just threw it into my handbag and forgot about it until I saw something I wanted to photograph.

As a result, I’ve found myself taking pictures of ordinary moments I would never have specifically gone out with my Sony to photograph.

I’ve also caught spontaneous moments where I only had a few seconds to take the shot.

And actually, I’ve started realising that perhaps having a camera you actually want to carry is more important than having the “best” camera with you (as my photography teacher literally used to say: The best camera is the one you have with you).

Spontaneous shot of two deer crossing the street in Nara, Japan.

4. You Have to Wait to See Your Photographs

Here’s the next thing I love about disposable film photography:

As opposed to a digital camera, where you can look at a photo the moment you take it, you just press the shutter and move on.

That’s it.

You don’t know whether you got the shot, whether the exposure worked, or even whether you accidentally put your finger in front of the lens.

By the time you finish the camera and get the film developed, you might not even remember some of the photographs you took.

But I had forgotten how much I love this, because it creates something digital photography has almost completely removed:anticipation.

Getting the scans back felt so exciting! Some photos were better than I remembered, and a lot of them were quite a lot worse 😂.

There was something so fun about seeing them for the first time days later instead of judging them seconds after I’d pressed the shutter.

But Let’s Be Honest: It’s Also a Terrible Camera

Now, I also want to be honest with you:

Objectively, disposables are pretty terrible cameras.

The low-light performance is awful, you have pretty much no creative control, and the image quality can’t remotely compare to my Sony.

Obviously, no one (I think?) would choose a disposable camera for professional work, large fine-art prints or images they wanted to manipulate extensively afterwards.

Another Big Downside: Plastic Waste!

As much as I’ve enjoyed this experiment, there is another downside I don’t want to ignore:

Disposable cameras are made largely from plastic and, as the name suggests, get disposed of after one use, so it’s not something to get into at a large scale.

I bought mine because I wanted to experiment with the format and experience the absolute simplicity of it.

If you’ve never tried disposable camera photography, I think doing the same can be a lovely inexpensive creative experiment.

But if you discover that you love shooting this way, I’d recommend buying a simple reusable film point-and-shoot instead.

You get many of the things I love about the disposable – one lens, limited controls, no screen and a small camera you can carry everywhere – without having to buy another camera body every time you finish a roll.

It is also a more cost-effective solution, plus you can experiment with different film stocks.

What a Cheap Camera Taught Me About Photography

I’m obviously not replacing my Sony:

Itcan create photographs this little plastic camera simply can’t, and there are countless situations where I want all the control and image quality my proper camera gives me.

But this experiment reminded me of something:

Perhaps the solution to creative boredom isn’t always more possibilities – sometimes, it might be fewer.

Like this deliberately imperfect tool, that disrupts the way you’ve learned to work and forces you to pay attention again.

Disposable camera shot in Osaka, Japan.

Letting Go of Control 

We spend so much time trying to acquire equipment that gives us more control: better autofocus, more megapixels, faster lenses, more dynamic range, etc.

And all of those things can be great, but creativity doesn’t necessarily increase in parallel.

My little disposable camera experiment reminded me that photography doesn’t have to produce an amazing image every time to be worthwhile.

Sometimes, it’s enough that taking the photograph was fun. And, slightly embarrassingly, I’ve had more fun taking pictures with this cheap plastic camera than I’ve had with my Sony in years.

Next Steps

So, if you’re ready for your own disposable camera experiment, get your camera here:

🇺🇸 Buy on Amazon US

🇺🇸 Buy at B&H Photo

🇬🇧 Buy on Amazon UK

(Just so you know: These links are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate/partner of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you).

Also, I think disposable cameras are really well suited to street photography, where you have to be quick and don’t want to carry heavy gear.

If you want to learn more, check out this street photography post here.