The Photo Lab Costa Mesa

They really make you feel like a priority. There have been times I’ve had my film developed and sent to Dropbox before I even get home and settled in. So speedy, so efficient, and they always deliver beautiful scans. I highly recommend them to anyone with photo needs.

These folks are phenomenal. Kat assisted me with printing a photo from my iPhone out and it came out amazingly.
Awesome customer service.
She even went above and beyond and recommended a great place for me to get my photo framed.
6 stars!

I’ve been shooting 35 mm film for a number of years and have always had a hard time finding a spot that is great at developing film in house, has a consistent turn around, as well as being affordable (not to mention a nice, knowledgable staff).
While doing work in Orange County last year, I came across the Photo Lab… I haven’t gone anywhere else since. Dave and the gang at The Photo Lab Costa Mesa are the absolute best people I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I’m always excited to see how my photos come out after I drop them off for developing, such a nice feeling as opposed to the anxious feeling I had before I discovered this spot.
Not only am I so satisfied with the product of their work, the process is second to none — from walking in and being greeted and helped by Billie, one of the excellent employees, then being kept in the loop about the progress of the project, to picking it up (same day, or the next) from Dave– it doesn’t get better than this.
Some of my jobs require me to travel. The Photo Lab is rad enough to allow me to mail my rolls in from wherever I may be, develop them, and Dropbox them to me! Such a life/​job saver!
If you are looking for anything film/​photo service related, this is the place for you. Thank you Photo Lab.

Do not go here if you need your photos in a timely manner. Took 2 employees an hour to get my order submitted. Was told the pictures would be ready in 90 minutes. Came back the NEXT day and they had not printed anything because it had been submitted incorrectly — ruined presentation and almost got me fired.

So disappointed that I was charged $ 20-​something for 7 prints less than 4“x6″. The fee came out to $ 3 when I placed the order on the website. However, there was a tremendous markup when I picked them up bc I asked to have 2 photos trimmed. $ 21 to trim 2 photos? I would have cut the white borders off at home for that kind of charge. The ethical thing to do would be to call me and let me know there would be a 700% markup on the order before going ahead with that. Not to mention, I was never notified the order was ready. These photos should have cost 39 cents a piece as listed on my initial website order — end of story. I’ve been completely price gauged. Time to find a more ethical photo printer.

I love this place! I started going here when Walgreens stopped doing 1 hour film development, and it actually turned out to be a blessing! Even though it is about a 20 minute drive for me to get to the Photo Lab– and I hate driving in Newport/​Costa Mesa area– I don’t mind it because the service is so far superior to that of the Walgreens photo department. The staff does an excellent job with film and I am never disappointed. The couple who I assume owns the shop is very helpful and will drop what they’re doing to greet you. A younger Caucasian girl rang me up when I came to pick up my prints and she was also very pleasant. I will come back here again and again because of the fantastic job they do (and it’s an excuse to get a Sidecar donut while I wait) :)

Had a GREAT experience with the Photo Lab from the quality of the DVD’s transferred from my cassettes to the extremely attentive and friendly staff!!! I am super excited to present a very unique gift to my Mother this year and Photo Lab made it happen for us in record time… AND during the Holidays!!! UNREAL!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!
Forever grateful,
–Justin L.

Doesn’t get any better then photo lab. Talented and kind staff. Will definitely recommend to others

Excellent customer service. Dave & his super staff converted 24+ VHS-​to-​DVDs of my dear mother who recently passed away & of my singing. The DVD of my mother was ready two days before her funeral. It was part of her funeral service. It added a positive, loving & cheerful touch to a sad day. They’re also converting cassettes to CDs. Very pleased with their professionalism and expertise.

Super friendly staff, user friendly computers and top quality pictures! I had a huge order and it was still ready in 24 hours! EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Love, love, love this place. I give them all my custom orders — from printing all the pictures for our family photo wall in our house, to printing invitations and holiday cards. They are super friendly and wonderfully creative.

This place has awesome customer service and is super friendly!!! Kat is amazing! She has a great eye for details and has a ton of creative ideas for photo projects. I’ve never been disappointed coming here!

Love this store! Walked in to see what they offered and they do all the prints that we offer our customers! We are wedding photographers and we haven’t found a local place that offers metal and acrylic prints until now. They have a super friendly staff and they were easy and fun to talk to. Highly recommend this place!

Just fantastic. I have done large amounts of professional medium format film, in color, b&w and slide. Always top notch, better than a lot of the «pro» labs I used to frequent. The staff are always helpful, always friendly and get to know your preferences if you are a regular.

I was really pleased with the customer service at the photo lab. I placed an order online of a really pretty sunset picture that I wanted developed. Rather than just printing it, they called me to discuss a different size option where the photo wouldn’t be cropped and the quality would be improved. This saved me money and time and shows that they really care about producing a good product.
I think that is going the extra mile to ensure good quality prints. Very impressed!

Try talking to a Lab tech and building a relationship that just about guarantees exactly what you want! Yes, most Photo Labs offer all the goodies, but not to the extent this lab does. I politely choose the lab tech who does my Photos, and the way I like them, at no extra charge. They will help you make decisions based on what you desire, and take the time to get the look you want… to me that is priceless, and rare in this rush to get it done day, and age. I shoot 35 mm film… Medium format film, and Digital. The Photo Lab is the ONLY business I trust with my work, and trust me… I have used the so called best in socal.

although service was fine/​good, hidden charges ($ 3 /​page) for what should have been very affordable scanning services made the photo book very expensive and we would not use the services again

The Photo Lab is amazing. They expedited my order during Thanksgiving week because I needed my prints done for an unexpected memorial service. Kat and David were so kind and helpful. They made the process quick and simple for me during such a difficult time. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I highly recommend them for their quality of work and customer service. They are truly a little gem in Orange County!

I’ve used them thrice before to process medium format film. The print quality both times was passable but nothing special. Each time I’ve had them develop film the quality was pretty much the same, but the customer service got worse. The last time I never received a call to let me know my film was done, and had to call myself. Upon picking up my film I found that for some reason I was given double prints and charged for them, despite telling the gentleman at the counter that I only wanted Single Prints. Granted it’s not a large amount of cash, but still a touch annoying. When I asked the person behind the counter why I was given double prints when I had not requested them she explained since I had not specified on the package that I didn’t want Single prints I was given double by default. I explained that I was told just to fill out the contact section of the envelope and the employee did the rest, she didn’t seem to care and made no attempt to rectify the situation. To make things worse I didn’t actually get double prints of all the photographs. For some reason they only made double prints out of 10 of the 11 printable negatives. Of course the one they skipped was the better of the 11 in the roll.

They process and print print (C-​41) and black & white 35 mm and medium format (¹²⁰⁄₂₂₀) film. They also process slides (E-​6) however I’ve never used this service before. The will scan at the time of processing as well.
They also provide enlargements. It typically takes about 24 hours for an enlargement order.
I have taken many rolls of film to this lab and I have always been very happy with the processing and printing. The staff is exceptional and very helpful.