Cover Photo: The Magic of Taffy by Sean Benham, ( CC BY-ND 2.0 ), Taken on Fuji Superia 200 film on a Minolta Hi-Matic E
Looking to develop film in Nashville? You’ve come to the right place.
Whether you consider Music City your home or you’re just visiting – a beginner in analog photography or a seasoned pro – you should have no problem choosing a great new photo lab.
We’ve found all of the best places to develop film in Nashville, including a list of which types of film are accepted and a map of their locations.
We’ve also got some additional options outside of Nashville, but still within Tennessee. If you’re looking to develop film in Memphis, Chattanooga, or Knoxville, you can skip ahead.
- Boutique Film Lab
- Third Man Photo Studio
- Southbound Film Lab
- Safelight Imaging
- Nashville Community Darkroom
- Map of Film Developing in Nashville
- More Places to Develop Film in Tennessee
Boutique Film Lab
Location: 800 Tall Oak Trail, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
No matter what type of film you like to shoot, Boutique Film Lab is definitely one of the best places for film developing in Nashville. They are one of your only options if you prefer less common formats like E-6 or sheet film.
Every type of film is accepted – 35mm, 120, and 4×5 film can all be processed, whether C-41 color, black and white, or even E-6.
To be fair, this isn’t necessarily the quickest lab – color usually takes 4-5 days and B&W and slide film are more like 6-7 days.
And no, it’s location (technically in Mt. Juliet) isn’t the most convenient for most photographers in Nashville. Luckily, on that front, Boutique has set up two drop boxes – one outside the lab for after hours and one more centrally located at Nashville Community Darkroom.
You’ll have your choice of three different sized scans, and they also have fresh film for sale.
Third Man Photo Studio
Location: 623 7th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203
Jack White is certainly determined to keep dying analog media formats alive and well. His Third Man imprint operates a record label with brick and mortar record stores, a plant that produces vinyl records, an indie publishing house, and now, a photo lab. Thanks, Jack.
Third Man Photo Studio offers developing for disposable cameras, 35mm, and 120 film, both C-41 color and black and white.
They offer multiple sizes of scans and also have hand developed contact sheets available. Aside from the lab services, you can also rent out a studio space for photo or video shoots.
Southbound Film Lab
Location: 2100 Dunn Ave, Nashville, TN 37211
Southbound Film Lab is owned and operated by local photographers who felt the need for high-quality, quick film developing in Nashville.
You can develop black and white and color film at Southbound, both 35mm and 120.
We’ve found that most labs started by passionate analog photographers tend to keep things simple – they know that the majority of us just want a good, reliable place to get film developed.
With the addition of scanning, that’s all you’re going to get from this lab. No, you can’t get your photo printed on a mug or your parents’ VHS video transferred. But we’re willing to bet that you probably just want a simple, good place to get your film developed.
Safelight Imaging
Location: 4320 Kenilwood Dr Suite 105, Nashville, TN 37204
If you usually shoot color film, Safelight Imaging may be worth looking into. Color film is processed in-house and usually takes just 2-3 days.
They do accept black and white and E-6 slide film, although those are sent out to another lab and take about two weeks. You can develop 35mm (or disposable cameras) as well as 120 medium format.
Safelight has an after-hours drop box outside the lab and they also offer all sorts of printing services and a studio space for rent.
Note – Last we checked, Safelight was planning and hoping to get the equipment needed to process all film in-house.
Nashville Community Darkroom
Location: 625 Hart Ln, Nashville, TN 37216
With a growing network of nonprofit, community darkrooms around the country, the art of DIY film developing and printing is still decently accessible in most big cities. Nashville is no exception.
Nashville Community Darkroom is your opportunity to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, if that’s the kind of thing you’re interested in. Their facilities are equipped to let you develop and print your own film photos.
Membership is required to use the darkroom, with discounts for longer memberships. You can also check out a class or workshop if you want to just dip your toes in the developer before you commit to a membership.
Map of Film Developing in Nashville
More Places to Develop Film in Tennessee
Sure, Nashville may be the biggest city in Tennessee, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the only ones that have good places to develop film.
If you’re looking for film developing in Tennessee, but you aren’t located near Nashville, check out the other cities that have options:
Developing Film in Knoxville
While Knoxville’s population may be nowhere near the size of Nashville’s, you may be surprised to find that the two cities have about the same amount of places to develop film.
Even more surprising is that Knoxville has more places to develop E-6 slide film and large format. They ain’t messing around.
If you’re looking to develop film in Knoxville, we’d highly recommend checking out one of these labs:
Knoxville Film Lab is a small, independent operation that does film developing and not much else. A lot of their business is developing film by mail, although they have a dropbox for local customers.
Thompson Photo Products is a 4th generation, family-owned business. Among other services, they are an E-6 dip and dunk lab that also offers prints and other photo finishing.
f/32 Photo is a camera store that still lists film developing as one of their services. While they have some gear and accessories for sale, they seem to be more focussed on their full-service photo lab.
Similar to Nashville Community Darkroom, Knoxville Darkroom is a nonprofit that offers a fully equipped space for members who want to develop and print their own film.
If you’re interested in more detailed information, like which types of film are accepted at each spot and a map of their locations, check out our complete rundown of where to develop film in Knoxville.
Developing Film in Memphis
Fortunately, you’ve still got a local option if you’re looking to develop film in Memphis. It’s great that there’s still at least one lab to process film without you (or your film) needing to leave town.
Memphis Professional Imaging
Location: 4780 Summer Ave #102, Memphis, TN 38122
Most photographers should be able to bring their film to Memphis Professional Imaging. Aside from slide film, they process all modern formats.
That means you can develop 35mm, 120, and large format film, if it’s C-41 color or black and white.
Other than film processing, this lab offers standard photolab services like printing, scanning, and other photofinishing.
Developing Film in Chattanooga
Chattanooga is another Tennessee city that is lucky enough to have a great place to develop film in town. We’ve had mostly good results from film developing by mail, but we still always like to know where the nearest photo lab is located.
Safelight District
Location: 1804 E Main St, Chattanooga, TN 37404
The fine folks at Safelight District are really dedicated to keeping analog photography alive and well in Chattanooga. They offer film developing services as well as a darkroom available for their members to rent.
If you’d rather someone else do the developing for you, Safelight develops disposable cameras, 35mm, and medium format film. Both C-41 color and B&W are processed on site.
Otherwise, members have access to the darkroom for DIY film developing and printing, although they also offer drop-in sessions for those who don’t want to commit to a membership.
Anywhere Else?
Have we missed anywhere to develop film in Nashville? What about other cities in Tennessee? Let us know if you have any more suggestions or a favorite lab on the list!
