Disposable cameras, WhatsApp or a photo-sharing app? An honest comparison
Disposable cameras, WhatsApp groups, shared albums and QR code photo-sharing apps compared honestly, with what each one is good for.
Updated · 7 min read·By the DropSnaps team
Questions people ask
Are disposable cameras worth it at a wedding?
They're fun and give a nostalgic look, but each camera takes a fixed number of shots, there's no video, and you wait for developing. Many couples put a few out for fun and use a photo-sharing page for everything else.
Why not just use a WhatsApp group?
It's easy, but WhatsApp compresses photos unless people choose to send them in HD or as documents, the photos get lost among the messages, and getting them all out afterwards is slow.
There's no single right way to collect your guests' photos. Disposable cameras, group chats, shared albums and QR code photo-sharing pages all work, and each has a catch. Here's an honest look at all four, including where a service like ours isn't the best fit.
At a glance
Disposable cameras
WhatsApp group
Shared album
QR code photo sharing
What guests need
Nothing
WhatsApp, and your number
An account with that service, usually
A phone with a camera
Photo quality
Film: charming, often dark
Compressed unless sent in HD
Varies: iCloud shared albums keep smaller copies
Full quality, originals kept
Video
No
Yes, compressed
Yes
Yes, on paid plans
When you see them
Weeks later
Straight away
Straight away
Straight away, on a screen too
Getting them all out
Scans from the lab
Slow, one chat at a time
Download the album
One zip download
Cost
Per camera, plus developing
Free
Free
Free for small events, or one payment per event
Disposable cameras
Good for: fun, nostalgia and a break from phones. A camera on each table gets people taking photos of each other, and film has a look phones can't copy.
Watch out for:
Each camera takes a fixed number of shots, so the last ones often go on ceilings and blurry selfies.
There's no video: no speeches, no first dance.
Indoors at night, many shots come back dark or blurred.
You pay for each camera and again for developing, then wait to see the results.
Someone has to collect the cameras at the end of the night.
A WhatsApp group
Good for: small weddings where everyone already knows each other and is in the same group anyway.
Watch out for:
WhatsApp compresses photos and videos unless people choose to send them in HD or as documents, so they won't be the originals.
Photos get buried between messages, voice notes and "what time are we leaving?".
Saving everything afterwards is slow, especially across several groups.
Everyone in the group can usually see each other's phone numbers.
Shared albums
Good for: couples whose guests mostly use the same kind of phone, such as an iCloud shared album for a crowd of iPhone users.
Watch out for:
Guests usually need an account with that service to add photos, which can leave out guests who don't use it.
Someone has to invite everyone, one by one.
Some services keep smaller copies rather than the originals: iCloud shared albums, for example, reduce the size of photos and videos.
There's no big-screen slideshow built for the venue.
A QR code photo-sharing page
Good for: most weddings. Guests scan a QR code at their table and upload from their phone's browser, with no app or account. Everything is kept in full quality in one place, it can play on a screen at the reception, and you download it all at the end.
Watch out for:
It needs a phone signal or Wi-Fi to upload. In venues with no signal, guests share later from home, as the link keeps working after the day.
A few older guests may need showing how to scan a QR code. Put a short line on the card, and the six-letter code as a backup.
Videos, unlimited photos and longer storage come with a paid plan. The Free plan suits smaller gatherings.
Everything in one place: the live wall in the polaroid look
Our honest recommendation
Combine two. Put a few disposable cameras out for fun and the film look, and use a QR code photo-sharing page for everything else: the full-quality photos, the videos and the live slideshow. You get the nostalgia without relying on it.
