Wedding Photographer Finds Rocks Inside Film Rolls Purchased on Amazon

On the day she was scheduled to photograph a wedding in Greensboro, North Carolina, Katie Hunt — owner of KD Hunt Photography — opened two five-packs of Portra 400 35 mm film she had ordered from an Amazon seller. The rolls were intended as backup for a second photographer, but the discovery occurred just before the ceremony began.

Newsweek

Hunt, 33, works primarily as a digital photographer and keeps film on hand only as an optional add-on for clients. Anticipating a possible shortage, she purchased the extra rolls online despite the seller’s 4.5-star rating. The incident did not prevent her from completing the wedding coverage, as she relied on her existing digital inventory.

Newsweek

Hunt told Newsweek that she believes a third party removed the film, replaced it with rocks, and resealed the canisters so they appeared untouched. Hunt received a full refund after returning the tampered canisters and sent images of the contents to Amazon’s support team for further investigation.

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• “There were one or two gravel type rocks in every canister,” — Katie Hunt

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• “I have been talking to Amazon directly and we think it was someone that purchased the item, took the film out of the canisters, then replaced them with the rocks before sealing everything very well (to the point of looking new and untampered),” — Katie Hunt

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• “The film that had the rocks in was just extra that I was going to have my second photographer use, so she didn't have to use her own,” — Katie Hunt

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• “I had my assistant recording because I often have someone capturing the behind the scenes on full wedding days to show potential clients what it’s like to work with me. I usually get bookings this way because they get to see how I pose, prompt and see my personality,” — Katie Hunt

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Hunt posted a video of the moment she opened the canisters on TikTok (@kdhuntphotographyllc). The clip amassed over 2.3 million views and 144,500 likes, drawing widespread attention to the mishap. She emphasized that the incident did not affect the quality of the wedding photographs and that her digital workflow remains her primary service offering.

Newsweek