Expired film is everywhere: charity shops, car boot sales, eBay listings, forgotten fridge drawers. It's often cheap, sometimes free, and always unpredictable. That unpredictability is either the appeal or the problem, depending on how you approach it.
This guide covers what happens when film ages, how to compensate, and when to embrace the aesthetic rather than fight it.
How Film Degrades
Film is a chemical system in slow-motion decay from the moment it's manufactured. Three factors drive degradation:
Time
Chemical reactions continue even in ideal conditions. Dyes fade, sensitivity decreases, fog increases. This is why film has expiration dates—typically 2-3 years after manufacture.
Temperature
Heat accelerates all chemical reactions. Film stored in a hot attic degrades far faster than film kept in a freezer. Every 6°C above 20°C roughly doubles the rate of decay.
Humidity and Radiation
Moisture encourages chemical changes and can enable mould growth. Background radiation (cosmic rays, natural radioactivity) fogs film over decades.
Film stored frozen since manufacture may be essentially fresh 20 years later. Film stored in a hot warehouse for 2 years may be severely degraded. The expiration date tells you when it left the factory, not what happened after.
Colour Negative vs B&W vs Slide
Different film types age differently.
Colour Negative (C-41 — standard colour negative processing)
Three colour layers (cyan, magenta, yellow) degrade at different rates. This causes colour shifts—commonly toward:
- Magenta/red (yellow layer degrades fastest)
- Green (magenta layer degrades)
- Overall desaturation
Colour negative film is fairly forgiving because the negative stage allows correction during scanning/printing. Major shifts can often be corrected.
Black & White
The most resilient type. Silver halide crystals fog over time, reducing contrast and potentially increasing grain, but the single-layer structure means no colour shift issues.
Well-stored B&W film often remains usable decades past expiration. Poorly stored film develops fog and loses shadow separation.
Slide Film (E-6 — slide film processing)
The least forgiving. Slide film has narrow exposure latitude even when fresh. Expired slide film adds:
- Colour shifts (often toward magenta or cyan)
- Reduced saturation
- Increased fog (milky shadows)
These changes are baked into the positive transparency—no correction is possible without extreme digital intervention. Use expired slide film only if you want the degraded aesthetic.
The "One Stop Per Decade" Rule
The conventional wisdom: add one stop of exposure for every decade past expiration.
| Age Past Expiration | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 10 years | +1 stop |
| 20 years | +2 stops |
| 30 years | +3 stops |
When the Rule Works
This rule assumes average storage (cool indoor conditions, not frozen, not tropical). It's a reasonable starting point for unknown storage history.
When to Adjust
Cold storage: If you know the film was frozen or refrigerated, reduce compensation significantly. Frozen film may need no compensation even decades past expiration.
Hot storage: If film was stored in heat (attic, car, tropical warehouse), increase compensation beyond the rule—or accept significant degradation.
High-speed film: Faster films (ISO 400+) degrade more than slower films. Consider adding an extra half-stop for high-speed expired stock.
Professional films: Pro films were designed to be refrigerated from factory to user. If they weren't, they may degrade faster than consumer films.
Assessing Expired Film Before Shooting
What You Can Check
Packaging condition: Intact, sealed packaging suggests better storage than opened or damaged boxes.
Storage history: Ask the seller or previous owner. "Kept in a freezer for 20 years" is very different from "found in a barn."
Film condition: Look at the leader. Severe discolouration, brittleness, or smell suggests problems. Some fog may be visible in extreme cases.
What You Can't Check
You can't assess actual sensitivity or colour shift without shooting and developing a test. If the film is valuable or irreplaceable, consider sacrificing one roll for testing before committing to an important shoot.
Test Roll Strategy
- Shoot a test roll with bracketed exposures (+1, +2, +3 stops over box speed)
- Include a neutral grey card and colour reference
- Develop normally
- Evaluate which exposure works best
- Apply those settings to remaining rolls
Exposure Compensation Strategies
Option 1: Overexpose and Hope
Apply the one-stop-per-decade rule and shoot. Negative film's latitude is forgiving. This works well for casual shooting where you accept whatever happens.
Option 2: Bracket Important Shots
Shoot each important composition at multiple exposures: metered, +1 stop, +2 stops. Review results and learn for next time.
Option 3: Rate Conservatively
Rate the film at a lower ISO than box speed throughout the roll. For 20-year-expired ISO 400 film, rate it at ISO 100 and shoot normally. This builds in automatic overexposure.
Push or Pull Processing?
Push processing: Rarely helps expired film. It increases contrast and can emphasise fog.
Pull processing: Can help reduce fog and tame excessive contrast from some degradation effects. Consider pull processing colour negative if fog is the main issue.
For B&W, some photographers develop expired film in very dilute developer (stand development) to manage fog and contrast.
Colour Shifts and How to Handle Them
In Scanning
Colour negative film shifts can often be corrected during scanning. The colour correction tools in scanning software or Lightroom can neutralise most casts.
Tip: Include a grey card in one frame. Use it as a reference point for colour correction, then apply those settings to the entire roll.
Embracing the Shift
Many photographers shoot expired film specifically for the colour shifts. The warmth, the cross-processed look, the unpredictability—these become features rather than bugs.
If you want the "expired look," don't correct. Scan flat and let the colours be what they are.
Slide Film Shifts
Slide film colour shifts are permanent in the transparency. You can correct in digital post-processing, but you've lost the original slide aesthetic. This is why most photographers avoid expired slide film unless they specifically want degraded results.
Where to Find Expired Film
Sources
Online marketplaces: eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and specialist forums often have expired film. Prices vary wildly—some sellers overvalue it, others practically give it away.
Car boot sales and charity shops: Sometimes yield large quantities cheaply. Storage history is usually unknown.
Friends and family: People who shot film years ago may have forgotten rolls in drawers.
Cold storage lots: Occasionally, professionally stored expired film becomes available when facilities close or labs liquidate stock. This is the best-case scenario.
What to Pay
Expired film should be cheaper than fresh—how much cheaper depends on age, storage history, and rarity.
Common films (Portra, Tri-X, Gold): Should be 30-70% of fresh price depending on age.
Rare or discontinued films: May command premiums if the stock is desirable (old Kodachrome, certain Fujis).
Unknown storage: Heavily discounted. You're gambling.
Some sellers price expired film at fresh or higher prices, citing "vintage aesthetic." The aesthetic is unpredictable—you might get interesting results or unusable fog. Price should reflect the risk.
Common Expired Film Results
Desaturated Colours
Colour dyes have faded. The image looks muted, pastel, or washed out. This can be pleasant for certain subjects.
Colour Casts
One colour layer has degraded more than others. Often warm (orange/red) or occasionally green or magenta.
Fog
Overall haze, especially in shadows. Reduces dynamic range and makes shadows milky rather than black.
Grain Increase
Chemical changes can clump grain, making it more prominent than fresh film of the same type.
Brittleness
Very old or poorly stored film may become brittle, cracking during loading or winding. Handle gently.
Mould
Film stored in humid conditions may develop mould—visible as spots or web-like patterns. Usually unrecoverable.
Specific Films and Ageing
Kodak Portra (ISO 160, 400, 800)
Ages relatively well due to modern dye technology. Colour shifts tend toward warm tones. Overexpose generously.
Kodak Gold (ISO 200) / ColorPlus (ISO 200)
Consumer films designed for amateur storage. Often ages better than professional films because they expected non-ideal conditions.
Fujifilm Superia (ISO 200, 400, 800)
Can develop green or magenta casts. Variable results depending on storage.
Ilford HP5 Plus (ISO 400) / Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400)
B&W workhorses that age well. Expect some fog with very old film, but usually usable with compensation.
Slide Films (Velvia ISO 50/100, Provia ISO 100, Ektachrome ISO 100)
Age poorly. Colour shifts and fog are permanent. Use only if you embrace the degradation.
Kodachrome (ISO 25, 64, 200)
Requires discontinued K-14 processing. Can only be processed as B&W now. Historical interest only.
Summary
- Film degrades from time, heat, humidity, and radiation
- Storage history matters more than expiration date
- The one-stop-per-decade rule is a starting point, not gospel
- Colour negative is forgiving; slide film is not
- B&W ages best and tolerates the most abuse
- Test before committing to important shoots
- Embrace unpredictability or correct in post—both are valid
- Don't overpay for unknown-storage expired film
Expired film connects you to photographic history—rolls that sat in drawers, survived house moves, outlived their owners. The results are unpredictable, which is either liberating or frustrating. Most photographers who enjoy expired film have learned to treat the unpredictability as part of the medium rather than a problem to solve.