Essential Photo Supply — Local services in Salt Lake City

EDIT: The owner reached out and did his best to make it right. It is a bummer of a situation but I can say Essential Photo Supply will do all they can to solve the problem.

The nutshell is they ruined my roll. They did give me a refund which I appreciate. Still I’m leaving this review so other people know what they may be getting themselves into when they process black and white film at Essential Photo Supply. I dropped off a roll of BW film and was told I would have the scans either tomorrow or the next day. I waited 5 days and called to see what the status was. I was then told I would have my scans the next day. I waited 3 more days and called back. They tell me that they were just about to call me. They explain that they were training someone new and this person handled my film without gloves so there are some fingerprints on the negatives. They made it sound like only one frame had a bad fingerprint and the rest was pretty minor. So they issue me a refund which I really appreciate. The thing is it was not just one frame. Nearly all frames have some black smudges/marks/lines in them. There are maybe 5 negatives that are clean, the rest fall on a spectrum that ranges from little random black blurry marks to black scribbles all over the frame to fingerprints that CSI could use to convict. The person I talked to said I could probably fix them with photoshop but I don’t even have photoshop. They said this was a new trainee and this was their first oopsie and that quality is important to them. It really sucks to hear that and to hear it so nonchalantly. I felt like the refund was just part of the cost of training a new employee. And it makes me seriously hesitate processing my film at Essential Photo if there’s a chance a new trainee will be handling my film that day without proper training/supervision. Maybe train people on your own film and not a paying customer's? I get that mistakes happen but the whole experience left me feeling discouraged and frustrated by the ruined roll and the way it was communicated. It was all a...

Essential Photo Supply is a true haven for film photographers.

The staff is warm, welcoming, and incredibly knowledgeable. Every visit feels like catching up with friends who happen to be experts in their craft. They take time to answer questions, offer thoughtful recommendations, and make sure you leave with exactly what you need.

Their film selection is outstanding. Whether you’re hunting for classic stocks or exploring something new, the shelves are always full of exciting options. It’s clear they care deeply about supporting every kind of photographer.

The development quality is exceptional. My negatives come back clean, beautifully handled, and ready for scanning or printing. You can trust them with your most important rolls and know they’ll treat your work with care and precision.

Essential Photo Supply is more than a store. It’s a place where creativity is nurtured and community thrives. Highly recommended for anyone who loves the magic of analog...

I’ve had film developed here 5 times over the past year and from my cumulative experience, I find they do a good job. I appreciate how convenient it is that they email me scans of the film. Plus, the scans always impress me with their high quality.

As for processing times, I’m unsure what is considered fast for this industry, but I can say the first time I got my scans back the same day while subsequent orders took 3, 3, 5 and then 3 days. Of the 5, only 2 batches I had 2 rolls of film, the rest had only 1.

For cost, each film canister costs me $16.16 to develop with just normal scans, which I think is fair since the quality is there. You can also choose to pickup your negatives.

My only suggestion is to have some sort of film processing tracker for people impatient like me. Nothing tests my patience more than waiting for your film to be processed, that’s why it’d be nice to know the status of my batch. Other than that, I’m happy with their processing...