5 reasons mums are capturing their pregnancy on real film this year
You'll take a thousand photos before the baby arrives. Here's why a growing number of expectant mums are making 24 of them count.
Your phone has thousands of photos of this. You'll look at none of them.
Scroll back to a month ago. Somewhere between the screenshots and the parking ticket is the first time the bump showed in a jumper. You didn't mean to bury it. The camera roll did that for you.
Phone photos cost nothing to take, so they're worth nothing to keep. A roll of film is 24 frames. You decide which 24 moments of this month get to exist. That decision is the whole point.
Film makes you stop. Which is the thing you'll want to have done.
Nobody takes a film photo by accident. You see the light on the kitchen table, you pick up the camera, you hear the shutter click, and you put it down again. For ten seconds a month, you were fully there for it.
Mums tell us this is the bit that surprises them. Not the photos. The pausing. A film camera is a small, physical reason to notice the weeks before they're gone.
Your mum's pregnancy is in a shoebox. Yours is in a cloud account.
Ask your mum where the photos of her carrying you are. She'll know. A box, an album, an envelope from the chemist with the negatives still in it. Grainy, badly lit, and the most precious things she owns.
Those photos exist because film made her choose, and because the prints were real objects that survived four house moves. This is the first generation at risk of not leaving that behind. Not for lack of photos. For lack of ones that were meant.
It's not a project. It's one roll a month.
This is the bit that puts most people off film, so let's be plain about it. You don't need to know anything. The CATCH camera is focus-free with a built-in flash. Point it, press it, wind it on. 24 shots and the roll is done.
When it's finished, drop it in the prepaid mailer and post it. We develop it by hand in our studio in Shoreditch and email you the scans. Three new rolls arrive every 90 days, which works out as one roll per month of your pregnancy. No shop, no darkroom, no settings.
By the first birthday you'll have around 20 rolls that nobody else took, from the bump to the first steps. That's the collection your mum had, with the developing done for you.
It doesn't stop when the baby arrives. That's the point.
The pregnancy is the beginning of the habit, not the whole of it. The hospital bag. The first week home when nobody slept and everyone looked beautiful anyway. The grandparents meeting her. Those weeks go faster than the pregnancy did, and the phone will be in the other room, charging.
Mums who start during pregnancy tell us the camera lives on the kitchen windowsill for years afterwards. A roll a month, forever, is the simplest tradition you can start for a child. And one day you hand them the box.
A "film camera" that plugs into your phone isn't a film camera.
There are a lot of new digital cameras online with a film filter built in. They're fun. They're also just another screen. Here's the difference.
| CATCH | "Digital film" cameras | Your phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real 35mm film inside | Yes | No, a filter | No |
| Frames per roll | 24, chosen | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Developed by hand | Shoreditch studio | Nothing to develop | — |
| Reusable | Yes, for years | Yes | Yes |
| Makes you put the phone down | Yes | It is a phone, roughly | No |
| What arrives | High-res scans, by email | Files on an app | More camera roll |
Shoot. Post. Scans in your inbox.
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1Your starter box arrivesFree reusable CATCH camera, 3 rolls of roda 35mm film, prepaid mailer, corduroy bag. Load the first roll (it takes 20 seconds, there's a card).
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2One roll a month24 frames. The bump on the first of the month, the scan photo on the fridge, the nursery half-painted. Focus-free, built-in flash, no settings.
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3Post the finished rollPrepaid mailer, any postbox. We develop it by hand in Shoreditch and scan it in high resolution.
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4Scans land in your inboxWithin about 7 days of us receiving the roll. Three fresh rolls arrive every 90 days so you never run out.
What they say after the first scans come back
"I had 2,000 photos of my first pregnancy and I've never looked at any of them. This time I've got 24 a month and I know every single one. The scan of my mum's hand on the bump made me cry."
"I'm not a creative person at all. I was worried I'd waste the film. First roll was a bit hit and miss, by the third I was genuinely good at it. It's just point and press, the camera does the rest."
"The posting back bit is the thing that sold me. I don't have time to find somewhere that still develops film. Mailer's in the box, took it to the postbox on the school run, scans came by email the next week."
"My mum has a shoebox of me as a baby. I realised I'd have nothing like that to give my daughter. Nine rolls in and the box has started. Best £30 a month I spend."
4.9 / 5 across 1,333 reviews of the CATCH starter kit.
Start the roll-a-month this month
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Reusable CATCH film camera, focus-free, built-in flash
£60Free -
3 × roda 35mm films, 24 shots each, new films every 90 days
£42 -
3 × development credits, hand developed, high-res scans included
£40 - Prepaid mailer for returns + corduroy travel bagIncluded
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Everything in your first box, bought separately
£142£30
Small team, stock is made in runs. The free camera offer comes and goes. Cancel anytime, keep the camera.
Questions mums ask us
I've never used a film camera. Will I waste the roll?
Probably a few frames on the first roll, which is normal and part of it. The camera is focus-free with a built-in flash, so indoors and evening shots work. There's a one-page card in the box. By roll two it's muscle memory.
Do I get prints?
You get high-resolution digital scans by email, usually within 7 days of us receiving your roll. Most mums print their favourites at the end of the pregnancy or for the baby's first album. We don't post physical prints.
How often does film arrive?
Three rolls every 90 days, which is one roll a month. If you shoot faster you can order extra rolls at any time.
Can I cancel after the baby's born?
Yes, any time, and the camera is yours to keep either way. Most mums don't cancel, because the first year is when the camera gets used most.
Is the camera really free?
Yes. The reusable CATCH camera normally sells for £60. On this offer it's included in your first £30 box and it's yours forever, whether you stay subscribed or not.
Is it safe for a newborn? The flash?
It's a standard small camera flash, the same as a disposable or a phone flash. Most people switch it off in good daylight and use it indoors.