The Darkroom

Love this shop! They have a super fast turnaround for developing film, great prices, and they’re super friendly :)

I've been using this lab exclusively to develop and scan all of my film for the past year. Not sure why other reviewers left such negative feedback, as I've always had a great experience with the staff there. All of my scans are beautiful and the price of film/development matches online retailers. Support your local lab!

TERRIBLE lab DELIBERATELY scratched my negative, technician changed the color and the density. (I said No Corrections) The color was horribly green and the density was dark. I had another lab inspect my negative and they said that the scratches on negative were very suspicious. The lab said that they have never seen anything like it. The Manager Curt said that there is nothing wrong with any of their equipment. This leads me to believe that the whomever work on my negative deliberately scratched my negative. You should read the negative reviews on Yelp.

I have been a customer for 25 years. Curt always takes extra care to get the best possible prints. In this day of color paper and digital prints, he can still get black blacks and white whites. Amazing. The best in the valley... heck, the county...

Dave is great! I can’t believe my luck to have such a great photo shop is so close to my house. If you’re doing anything with film, you owe it to yourself to check out this shop. I’m a regular for life. :)

Unprofessional, unkind staff who really get off on getting money for nothing. Buncha pissants

I needed a large 16x20 print for a Funeral. I emailed the staff a file which they color corrected. The print was mounted and ready for pick-up by End of Day. They did a great job and I will for sure use them again.

ive been mailing my film here from sf since i first started using a film camera a little over three years ago. never disappointed with how my photos are developed and they have super fast turnover for digitals and prints are mailed soon after. if i send in a roll that was erased they give me that money back toward my next order love this film lab i dont go with anyone else

I shoot film regularly, and I wouldn't trust anyone but these guys with my development and negatives. They are fantastic, well organized, and have it down to a science. They have fair and competitive pricing and also a great selection of film to purchase after turning in rolls for development. I spend a ton of money here and don't even think twice about it. BIG thanks to The Darkroom and Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope for being the BEST!! Here are some scans they have sent me over for reference

i've been going to the darkroom since 2008 (when they were located on reseda across the street from csun). i use them for both film processing and prints and have been recommending friends to do the same for 13 years. ran by film lovers who will meet you wherever you are on your film journey, the darkroom processes film quickly and does a wonderful job at making their customers feel like family. their generosity and overall support over the years has kept me deeply in love with film.

By far the best film lab I've ever came across! I started shooting film about a year ago and was having the hardest time finding the perfect film lab. A few places took forever to get my film scanned and developed and other places just didn't fit right (the employees were rude and not willing to answer questions I had about my camera). I found The Darkroom lab on yelp and read some of the awesome reviews and had to give them a try! Also they're right by my house so I'm there almost every week. They are the nicest people ever! Curt and Leslie are super helpful with any questions I had about my camera or scans. My film is always ready on time!!! I'm not kidding it's always on time. I've never waited more than a week or a few days for my scans & negatives. They're also fully stocked with all types of film. I recommend everyone to stop by for any camera needs or film developing. Thank you guys for being the absolute best in town!!!

I have been a customer for 25 years. Curt has always delivered the very best quality prints. In this day of color paper and digital prints, he can still get black blacks and white whites. Amazing. The best in the Valley... heck, the county...

"HORRRIBLE! I came to this place for years to develop film. One day I took my camera in for repairs and left them the body and lens (I didn't have a body cap on me, so they told me to just leave the lens on). I got a call saying my camera was ready to be picked up about a month later and listen to this..... I arrive to pick up my camera and they can't find it. What's worse is they claim I never left it there and they have no recolection of who I am (funny, since they had called me to pick it up). They claim they won't deal with me until I show the work order reciept (which the new guy had never given to me!). I was furious. I went into the store every week to find out what happened to my camera that they had "no paperwork" on. They offered to replace it with a camera of lesser value (as if I would accept any kind of replacement camera). I told them I wanted the SAME MODEL camera. No where in this conversation did I mention that my lens was attached to the camera (which isn't normal on a body repair), however, what they were offering me was a camera body and lens. Now, how would they know that if they really lost my paperwork? I finally got a camera replacement with a lousy 30 day return policy and it was a used camera. I will NEVER give this place my business again. The "manager" (some kid with a really poor attitude) was incredibly rude and tried to make me believe that it was MY fault they lost my camera. Come to find out, this place has a horrible reputation at the nearby university as being the WORST place to go in the LA valley. And they are not trying to fix their bad rep at all."

Leslie saved the day!! My holiday photos were stuck on my dead laptop. I sent her the online link and she was able to spot which prints I needed, print them BEAUTIFULLY and have them ready in perfect time for me!! This is the first time I have used The Darkroom but I need look no further for another photo developer. Woodland Hills Camera Shop highly recommended them and I was 100% satisfied!

The Darkroom is a throw-back to decades ago when a shop cared about each individual customer, cared about their shop, and customized their products and services to meet local needs. I don't give-out a lot of 5 star reviews, but seems like the Darkroom deserves this based, again, on what I found to be friendly and attentive customer service by staff that knew a great deal about cameras, printing and telescopes. For photo printing, I was impressed that they took the time to fine-tune their equipment and the prints. If you go to CVS or places like that, then you need to try out a place like Darkroom and compare/contrast. Photos are suppose to be as good or better looking than what you see on your computer monitors. The staff at this shop produced fantastic prints and holiday cards for me in a matter of a couple hours at a price better than the online delivery shops (that later inundate you with spam emails). Great job! - Kevin

I was going to this lab when they were on Reseda Blvd. in Northridge and was really sad that they had to close that location, it was so close to my house. I still now drive the extra 20 minutes to still get my work done at the Woodland Hills Camera drop off location. I also like that they still kept the drop off box because I can't always get there during business hours with my work schedule. I never thought about writing a review for this place till now because in a desperate situation I had to use a lab close to my work to get same day service which is something the Darkroom can't offer at the new location. I miss that too. After getting my prints back from this other lab I realized how much I appreciated the Darkroom. The prints just did not look like what they normally do, no contrast and the colors were just not there. I use this color film called Rollei CN200 and I have taken this to some other labs and they get freaked out a little because the film looks different because it does not have the orange layer. This is why I love this film and I will say the Darkroom lab seems to be the only place that knows to scan and print this stuff. I also discovered something because I normally give the Darkroom a negative to order my prints, not scans. I had a print done by the Darkroom and I had to submit a scan of the image for a gallery. I then realized that I just could not capture the image the same way the print was by scanning the negative. Even with the print there in front of me, I could not scan and adjust this image to look like the print, they just do it so much better. I ended up scanning the print itself because it was just so much more true to the color. I also appreciate this place because you have managed to still keep your prices on film developing and prints affordable and for someone still using film it is well appreciated because I would hate to see it get to expensive to the point I would not be able to print. Please stick around Darkroom, I love the work you do.

They process my film fast and have prices you can't beat! Their staff is very knowledgeable and can answer just about any question you might have about the film world. The Darkroom is the only film lab in the Valley that I trust. I'd recommend them to anyone!

First, I should say that I've just started to mess around with photography, and unfortunately I'm not very good. I took my 35mm film to be developed by the Darkroom and payed about $11 for a single set of 24. Since my photos are not very good, I cannot say much about the quality of the prints, but they seemed alright. Due to the cost, this place is not for the amateur photographer. Take them to Costco and pay half the price. On a different day, I went to have them develop a roll of what I mistakenly thought was slide film (oops!). I was working on documenting my paintings in order to apply for grad school, and I wanted to DIY it. When the manager became aware of my mistake, he took the opportunity to explain why It would be a good idea for me to have the Darkroom photograph my work. He informed me that I would also be able to have decent prints made from the slides they would take. The guy was kind of pompous and pretentious but he seemed to know what he was talking about. I ended up paying almost $100 to have 5 of my paintings photographed. The slides seemed to turn out well (though I don't have a projector) and I was relatively happy with the results. I figured It was a pretty good investment until I went to have prints made of the slides (for $35). The detail was wonderful but the colors were horribly off, not just desaturated, but yellowish. When I called to complain, I was informed that prints made from slides will be slightly darker. Why was this not mentioned earlier? I would have had digital images taken instead and had slides, prints, and a cd made, all at the same time. It would have cost more, but In the long run it would have been a better investment. I no longer trust the darkroom for my important projects, and will not be returning. Actually, I suddenly feel motivated to improve my photography skills!

This has taken me some time to finally review this place. Based on review alone, I was hesitant to go here. In my experience, the negative reviews could not have been more off. For my B/W photo class, I did my final project a bit last minute. I needed prints and I needed them quickly. In reviewing my images, I realized that I had made the mistake of having my aspect ratio on 16:9. I had to shrink this down to a 5x7 without clipping any portion of the image off. In display it had to match my other photo which was shot in the correct ratio. I also needed the pictures done in 1.5 hours. Quite the task, I know. Not only did they sit with me and troubleshoot my issue--stretching it so that you wouldn't even know. But they charged me no extra for this service. They had the images printed and ready to be picked up in an hour. Bear in mind this is during finals week. The last day of most photo classes for CSUN. Excellent service, moderate pricing, good selection (from what I briefly saw), and conveniently located close enough to school for those "last minute photo emergencies". Oh and not to mention an amazingly accommodating staff. Will definitely return. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. In my frantic search to find a place that could do this for me, I also had a friend who lives a few towns over take my images with him to be printed at an officemax, just in case my place fell through. Though I was aware that there would be a difference in the quality of image produced from either party, I can honestly say that it was like night and day. The difference in paper quality, ink, density, clarity etc was so extreme that when people in the lab were watching me mount them and saw the comparison, they were all asking me where I got them printed and writing down the address.

I am so glad I found this place. I use to drive over the hill to pay high prices to get my headshots done. Now I save gas and I save money by going to their Woodland Hills location. They are fast and friendly. And the quality of work is excellent. I will be a customer until the end of time.

Curt and Leslie are meticulous when it comes to the craft of development. I'm a professional photographer and cinematographer in the movie business here in LA. My standards for processing and development are higher than most places that process. Curt and Leslie have seriously streamlined the process. The results are spectacular. I continuously trust them to all my rolls of film both personal and professional. Large, Medium and 35mm formats. I even give them my 127 film rolls I typically don't write reviews because it seemed insincere. Write a good review and we give you a discount. Something like that. But that's not this review. This just me @fistfulloffilm plainly saying that their work is unparalleled, and I'll drive all the way from downtown LA just to hand deliver to them in the valley just so I can say hi. They are as nice as they are proficient. And that's rare in Hollywood.

I love these guys! They are so helpful when I get my headshots printed. The quality is definitely the best I've seen. I heard about them through a pro photographer I was working with. He gets all his prints from them and I know why. I decided to go to them directly to save a little dough and I'm sold for life. They added my name and a border to my headshots without an additional fee. The turnaround time is always really fast too. Their service is polite and friendly. I only wish they were closer. Northridge is far for me, but they are worth the drive! I realize this even more after trying a printer in Hollywood that left me dissatisfied.

Very nice selection of holgas and film. Places like this are such a disappearing breed , I was happy to discover this place today.

I very much approve of this place. I buy/develop all my film from here. Compared to other places I have been to for film in the valley, I've discovered these guys have a lower price on their film. Getting it developed, I've had no problems whatsoever with them. They develop it and get it back to me very quickly and the results have always come out beyond satisfactory. In terms of their knowledge, they know their stuff. I bought my Holga 120N from them and they always have an answer to my questions about it. On top of all that, they have all the materials you need for your photography class (at csun.) I highly recommend them!

Best place to get headshots duplicated. Great quality and fast service. You won't be disappointed. Those who remember them in Northridge, can go to their processing area in Chatsworth to pick up if Woodland Hills is too fat (which it is for me)

Great selection of film for horrible prices. More than $12 for one roll of Kodak Portra that you could buy almost anywhere else for less than $8/$9.

Big Disappointment. Very poor service. I went to this place for digitization services. The project took an unreasonably long time to finish, although there were no major complications. I paid half the bill up front (over $1000) so I expected a certain amount of professional courtesy and service. The Darkroom is run by Woodland Hills Telescope and Camera, the current owner of The Darkroom. Although the store takes your order, everything is sent to The Darkroom to be processed. The two places do not communicate well with each other. As the order dragged on I called Woodland Hills Camera to inquire about the status. After several inquiries, the store instructed me to call the lab directly. It was very frustrating that I was expected to be the one checking in on the lab rather the owners of the lab. Nonetheless, I left three voicemail messages inquiring about the status of my order over a three week period and NONE of my phone calls were returned. When I did finally speak to someone at The Darkroom I was just referred to someone else. Not the type of service you would expect with an order that cost over $2000! When the order was finally ready, it sat in storage at the store for over a week because no one thought to call me to come pick it up! I was promised extra copies of DVDs as a result of my order being so large, but never received them either. I spoke with the manager of The Darkroom about the service I received. I didn't ask to be compensated for the terrible service. I just calmly expressed my dissatisfaction. My concerns were by and large brushed aside. I didn't receive an apology for the poor service, or an appreciation that I brought my concerns to the manager's attention. The quality of work is not worth the headaches. I suggest finding a place that appreciates your business.

Curt did an amazing job with my pictures ! I had to contact him kinda last minute but he was still able to take me in and do amazing prints with my photos ! I've already referred him to two of my friends and many more soon! Thank you curt and your whole team ! I'll be back soon !