A teenager with blue hair and earbuds rifles through dusty bins of vintage film cameras at a local thrift store, examining a Canon AE-1 like it's a precious artifact from another era. This scene has become increasingly common as Generation Z embraced film photography as their cool rebellion against the digital world of megapixels and algorithms. However, rising costs, disappearing labs, and AI-powered instant photography suggest that their younger siblings in Generation Alpha might be the last children to discover the unique experience of loading film and waiting for magic to develop.
Generation Z's love affair with film photography wasn't just a passing trend. They rediscovered what their parents had abandoned, transformed Kodak Gold into an Instagram aesthetic, and drove up prices of $50 point-and-shoot cameras to five times their original value on eBay. This revival represented a genuine cultural shift toward analog processes in an increasingly digital world.
The film photography renaissance has produced tangible results that prove its staying power beyond niche enthusiasm. In 2024, Ricoh released the Pentax 17, a brand-new half-frame 35mm camera designed specifically for smartphone-native users who prefer vertical frames. The camera features zone-focus design and can capture up to 72 frames on a standard 36-exposure roll, targeting younger photographers accustomed to mobile photography.
Manufacturers have invested heavily in expanding film production capabilities. Harman, the company behind Ilford, completed a multi-million-pound investment at its Mobberley factory in July 2025 to increase film-coating capacity and expand manufacturing operations. The company simultaneously released the second generation of its experimental color film, Phoenix II, demonstrating continued innovation in analog photography.
Even instant photography has experienced significant growth. Fujifilm announced in 2023 that it would boost global Instax film production by approximately 20 percent to meet surging demand from teenagers who want physical photos they can hold and share immediately.
Generation Z's attraction to film photography centered on its fundamentally different approach to image-making. Unlike digital photography's unlimited shots, film's 36-frame limitation forced careful composition choices. The required waiting period for lab development taught patience, while physical negatives provided tangible proof that something real had occurred.
This cultural shift influenced mainstream media coverage and celebrity adoption, making photographic imperfections fashionable again. Camera stores dusted off long-neglected film cabinets as manufacturers responded to clear market signals. Kodak expanded Gold film to 120 format, Lomography continued shipping experimental emulsions, and major companies placed significant bets on film camera production.
However, Generation Alpha faces a narrower window of opportunity to discover film photography. Children born between 2010 and 2024 are encountering a materially different landscape where film has become substantially more expensive. Fujifilm's corporate notices show repeated price increases since 2022, with some Japanese markets seeing increases of up to 52 percent in 2025.
Kodak Alaris has implemented multiple price adjustments, including increases scheduled for January 2025 across most consumer product lines. While some reductions occurred on specific products like certain Tri-X varieties, the overall trend shows significantly higher costs for color film compared to when older siblings first discovered analog photography.
Raw material costs have contributed to pricing pressures. Silver, the fundamental building block of traditional photographic emulsions, broke through the psychologically important $30 per ounce threshold in May 2024, reaching its highest levels in over a decade. While volatile input costs don't directly translate to retail prices, they create persistent headwinds for maintaining affordable film photography.
The film development infrastructure has dramatically contracted since the 1990s, when processing was as routine as buying milk or batteries. The extensive network of one-hour minilabs has largely disappeared, replaced by big-box retailers that ship film to third-party laboratories with multi-day or multi-week turnaround times. Many locations no longer return negatives to customers.
Mail-in development services have become mainstream, with companies like The Darkroom providing detailed guides for customers navigating the reduced landscape. Boutique laboratories have filled some gaps, and photography publications regularly update guides for film processing options in 2025. However, for a 12-year-old entering a strip-mall pharmacy, the analog photography pipeline appears much thinner than it did for older siblings.
The future of color film photography faces particular uncertainty due to supply chain concentration. Eastman Kodak manufactures color film master rolls in Rochester while Kodak Alaris handles familiar consumer brand distribution. In August 2025, Eastman Kodak's preliminary financial update and subsequent press coverage indicated substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue operations without additional funding or strategic changes.
While this doesn't predict immediate company closure, it highlights the fragile bottleneck through which most color film supply flows. Generation Alpha's opportunity to discover color film photography at scale depends on a small number of companies maintaining financial health in a definitively niche market.
Meanwhile, digital photography technology has advanced rapidly in directions that directly compete with film's appeal. Google introduced Magic Editor and generative fill tools enabling teenagers to rebuild skies in seconds. Samsung branded Galaxy AI features that clean up distractions and move photo subjects like digital stickers. Apple launched Apple Intelligence in 2024 with image tools including Image Playground and Genmoji integrated into iOS 18.
For young people whose first photography experience involves apps that generate new pixels on demand, the motivation to try film photography must overcome substantial convenience advantages offered by digital alternatives.
Despite these challenges, film photography will likely continue along two distinct tracks rather than disappearing entirely. Black-and-white photography offers a more accessible entry point, being simpler and cheaper to process at home. A plastic developing tank, changing bag, and basic chemistry can transform a bedroom into a functional darkroom for the cost of several restaurant meals.
Educational institutions still recognize analog photography's pedagogical value. Texas State University recently invested in new darkroom facilities, reflecting broader recognition that analog processes teach fundamental principles impossible to simulate digitally. Schools and universities continue supporting film photography programs despite digital alternatives.
Modern scanning technology has eliminated many traditional barriers to film photography workflow. Instead of expensive dedicated film scanners requiring specialized connections, photographers can now convert negatives using basic digital cameras, macro lenses, and software like Negative Lab Pro within Lightroom. Even smartphone-based scanners produce acceptable quality files for most applications.
Color film photography faces a different trajectory, trending toward premium hobby territory where individual rolls become special treats rather than regular shooting habits. Rising input costs, limited coating capacity, and corporate financial risks position C-41 processing as increasingly luxury territory requiring careful curation.
This doesn't necessarily mean color film's disappearance, but rather transformation into special occasion photography. Parents and educators may need to structure experiences around birthday trips to camera stores for Kodak Gold or class projects built around shared rolls with exposure lessons. Harman's Phoenix II release signals that independent players continue experimenting beyond monochrome photography.
The Pentax 17's half-frame design stretches standard rolls to 72 shots, adapting classic techniques to modern budget constraints. Kodak Alaris's mixed pricing strategy in late 2024, including some reductions, suggests market participants seeking sustainable equilibrium rather than unlimited price increases.
Parents, teachers, and community organizations can take specific actions to ensure Generation Alpha experiences authentic film photography. The goal should focus on reducing friction rather than stockpiling expensive materials. A $40 thrift-store SLR with standard 50mm lens and two-roll class project provides better educational value than $1,000 point-and-shoot cameras that remain unused.
Community partnerships with makerspaces or local laboratories can support monthly "Develop & Scan" events. Teaching contact sheets and sequencing allows children to edit, print, and display mini-exhibitions in school hallways, creating tangible connections between process and result.
Black-and-white photography should serve as the primary introduction. One 100-foot bulk roll of classic black-and-white film becomes twenty 36-exposure cartridges at fraction of per-roll retail costs. Home development using daylight tanks transforms the process into practical STEM education covering time, temperature, chemistry, and cause-and-effect relationships.
Scanning approaches should embrace digital native expectations. DSLR cameras on copy stands or flatbed scanners can demonstrate bracketing and inversion in software, allowing students to watch images appear on screens from strips they processed themselves. This combination maintains tactile connection through loading reels and hanging negatives while providing immediate digital conversion.
Color photography can become ceremonial rather than routine. Building family or classroom traditions around special color rolls—summer projects, holiday documentation—makes expensive materials meaningful rather than wasteful. Half-frame cameras like the Pentax 17 extend shooting capacity while mail-in laboratories remove processing mystery and stress when local options don't exist.
Economic reality suggests film photography will never again be truly affordable. Even if demand moderates from 2021-2023 fever levels, manufacturers must price products for long-term viability. Fujifilm's formal notices of repeated increases since 2022 clearly communicate this business logic, while Kodak's distribution adjustments reflect similar sustainability concerns.
However, expensive doesn't mean extinct. Vinyl records didn't succeed based on price competition but because sufficient people decided the experience justified the cost. Film photography appears headed toward similar territory—not ubiquitous, not for everyone, but undeniably alive for those who value the process.
Whether Generation Alpha becomes the last to discover film photography depends on how we define "discovery." The era of stumbling across $4 Fuji rolls at drugstores and getting same-day prints with negatives has already ended. However, genuine encounters with cameras requiring intention, material processes, and results existing outside smartphones remain possible.
The pathway has narrowed and become more expensive, but it hasn't closed. The responsibility and opportunity rest with current generations to maintain access. Parents can teach rituals, teachers can maintain darkrooms, laboratories can provide reliable mail-in services, and manufacturers can continue supporting enthusiasts and romantics.
Film photography doesn't need mainstream adoption to matter to the next generation—it just needs to remain possible. The burdenand the opportunityrests with us to ensure that possibility survives.
