Harry Styles disposable camera experiment goes wrong leaving “hundreds” disappointed

Harry Styles’ film photography experiment at his latest show has left concertgoers disappointed with many coming away with empty frames. At the sold-out show in Manchester, UK, this month, Styles banned smartphones, instead giving the 20,000 fans disposable cameras. The cameras, sourced from FotoFilm, came loaded with 27 exposures of ISO400 color print film and had a built-in manual flash – these usually retail for £15.99 a piece.

While the nostalgic sentiment of using a film camera to capture the magic of Styles’ first concert in over two years was a hit, many of the photos were not. In a recent Instagram post, Analogue Wonderland, a UK film photography company that has processed scores of the disposable cameras used at the show, has said “hundreds” have been duds.

The Instagram post includes a reshared clip from a BBC 2 radio show where a fan who was at the concert holds up their developed film frames, with nothing but “three red dots” of light to show for the experience.

Although disposable cameras are a fun alternative to higher-end gear, they are certainly not suited for the tricky low-light conditions at music concerts, especially when you throw flashing stage lights into the mix.

As one of the commenters on the Instagram post highlighted, many people seem to assume that disposable shooters are of the same quality as digital cameras, which just isn’t the case. What’s more, even higher-end film cameras would still struggle in this scenario compared to smartphones.

Another commenter who was at the gig said that it was all a bit “chaotic” and that they didn’t receive a disposable camera. However, according to the Mirror fans were made to keep their smartphones in plastic bags, which didn't stop some from taking photos, which have been shared online.

Harry Style’s failed experiment should be a lesson to any concert photographer that disposable cameras can’t be relied on. While I don’t know what the success rate from the 20,000 attendees was, as a film shooter, it’s better not to take the chance, and get yourself a proper rig. To help with this, here's our expert take on the best cameras for music photography and (if you want to go analog) the best film cameras.