My Decision to become a New UK Film Stockist and Retailer

I have been a long time photographer who uses film. More recently, I’ve relied on Kodak Tri-X to create my dark, high-contrast portraits in the studio, sometimes at short notice and often in collaboration with hair stylists, make up artists (MUAs), models, set designers and couture fashion brands. Under such circumstances, you do not want to be left without the film you depend on!

But time and again I’d hit the same wall when it came to finding stock of the films I use the most : Kodak Tri-X : “out of stock”. And I wasn’t alone. That frustration led me to launching my own, photographer-led, film shop.

It uplifts me to see, in the last 5 years or so especially, a younger generation discovering film and the tactile value it brings to their photography. With newer generations discovering film for the first time, and lots of former generations returning to it either fully or, in a hybrid style, it allows all of us to continue enjoying the medium for our art – whether it be for fun, or for professional use. The more of who shoot film, the more likely it is that the production of it will continue.

As a creative portrait photographer, I shoot rather a lot of film in studio settings accompanied often by makeup artists, models, and couture clothing brands. The increasing demand for film that I mention above has caused some shortages in supply here and there, whilst the manufacturers collaborate, tweak and perfect their production-to-demand ratios. No small task at global levels. This was made worse during COVID of course which happily, now, seems to be a past concern. Nevertheless, when you’re dealing with a global demand and global supply chain, I can definitely appreciate how hard that fine balancing act must be, and getting the “Production to Sales” demand right must be a science in itself, for companies like Kodak, Ilford Photo and so on.

Regardless of the causes of supply shortages that we sometimes see, I frequently found myself frustrated when I’d have a last minute shoot organised, and the films I depend on for this work often couldn’t be found and I’d be met with “Out of Stock” messages. This still happens to this day. Not as much as it did, but it does.

So, after some consideration, and some dialog between Kodak Alaris and I, I decided to apply to be a UK retailer of the films I know and love. And I am happy to be able to announce that my new shop is open to a community who I hope will value it.

I wish not to compete with any other vendors as I am alive to the fact that there are several big name retailers which I know and love, and lots of small family run outfits that sell film too – all of which I will still be buying from (this endeavour is specifically for business, and separate to my active photography work). Notable examples are of course

• Analogue Wonderland,
• LensFayre,
• The Darkroom UK,
• AG Photo Labs, and more besides.

I certainly do not want to be seen as “Yet Another Film Retailer”, but simply as an additional choice for film enthusiasts and professionals who use film in their workflow, especially for black and white films that I shoot myself. As such, my prices are about equal to most of the mainstream vendors mentioned above, give or take, as I would not want to devalue the market simply to get a foot in the door. I am of course conscious that film is not cheap for any of us though. I hope that by having another retailer in the mix, it gives all of us who shoot film an extra layer of “supply assurance” at least, even if the costs are not any less expensive.

Orders are fulfilled via a secure SumUp -powered banking platform with all major payment methods available including Apple Pay, so you can trust your payments are in safe hands. Film is stored cold and in the dark (of course), shipped fresh, and usually dispatched within 24 hours. I currently offer tracked UK shipping at ~£4, and local pickup is available for East Midlands-based customers.

In line with my own photographic style, I have even arranged for black postage boxes! My own website tagline is “Creating the dark, with light“, so it seems fitting to have a dark box, and my product shots also have a bit of a dark twist to them which I think works rather well, but the jury is out! It is early days. What do you think?

This isn’t an automated warehouse. I’m not a faceless supplier. I’m a working film photographer, who is active in the community (I may have met you face to face), shooting high end productions with film and who now stocks what I shoot — with a focus on high-quality black and white emulsions like Kodak Tri-X and Kodak T-MAX. If you’ve seen my work, you’ve seen what this film can do.

Launching this shop has been a leap — not of faith, but of commitment. Film photography is core to my professional work, and it only made sense to further help bring that same dedication into the supply chain. That said, even at wholesale distributor costs, buying large volumes of film has not been easy for me to do – when you’re buying tens of boxes, it is a lot of money to risk. Stock is limited, but growing, and I currently have Kodak Tri-X in both 35mm and 120, as well as Kodak T-MAX, which many larger outlets are struggling to keep in stock, such is the demand for these great films.

Whether you’re a working photographer like me (whether full time or part time), a student just getting started, a youngster who is bored of iPhones, or a weekend shooter who loves the feel of real film, I’d be honoured to be one of your trusted suppliers. Give my new shop a look:  shop.tedsmithphotography.co.uk and please let me know if there is a stock you’d wish you could find more of. I will do my best to stock it…especially if it is a black and white one.

Thank you, for taking the time to read. I hope to see in the shop or at one of the up and coming photography events and if you want to see more of what I do from a photography angle specifically, please visit https://www.tedsmithphotography.co.uk

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