Ultimate Ways to Use a Disposable Camera.

SMACK SOME EXTRA EXPOSURES OUT OF IT

Our first tip started out as a simple way to get our disposable’s flash to fire, but we soon discovered something far greater.

Much to our surprise, this trick will also often force the shutter open to make a double exposure!

The process is simple:

• Charge your flash
• Hold camera in one hand, and SMACK! it down onto the palm of your other hand (lens facing out)
• The flash will fire, and you may get a double exposure as well!

FLASH FILTERS!

Hold flash filters in front of your disposable’s flash for photos with an extra splash of color.(Like this awesome one from photographermeimaimaggio on flickr!)

You can also make your own flash filters by taping cellophane, colored wrappers, waxed paper, or any other experimental material to your flash!

Another easy option? Color over your flash with a permanent marker!

LENS FILTERS!

To completely transform your image, try making a filter for your lens!

Because disposable camera lenses are so small, its easy to make DIY filters on the cheap.

Try using colored marker on packing tape, coloring directly onto your lens, using your sunglasses or soda pop bottles, or holding a prism in front of the camera!

(We made this image with a blue filter over the lens to make everything in the picture super-duper blue.)

DAMAGE THE FILM

This might sound crazy, but it can be really fun to ruin your film.

Photographer Thomas Anderson got these beautiful results just from throwing his disposable camera into a pool*. (He’s got a full set of ‘em right over here on flickr, too!)

Try leaving your disposable in the freezer, the hottest place you can find, or even poking tiny holes in your camera to intentionally cause light leaks!

Looking for more fun film damaging ideas? The damaged film group on flickr has got ya covered.

*Make sure to let your photo lab know that your film is wet. They’re going to need to dry it out before they develop it. Thanks for the tip, Alysoun!

DAMAGE THE LENS

Just as you can get great results by damaging the film inside your camera, you can get out-of-this-world photos by damaging it’s lens!

This dreamy photo (by Thomas Anderson) was made by scratching up the edges of a disposable lens with a hot screwdriver!

Other fun methods you can try: Scratching your lens with steel wool or sandpaper, melting your lens with a hot tool, painting over it with nail polish, or even taking it off and flipping it around backwards!

Head over to Disposable Distortion to see more scratched, melted, painted on, and broken lens results!

Just some of the examples from this great article (here)

Some of these I have tried, others are on my to-do list!