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Eight Reasons Why Every Photographer Should Have Instant Cameras

Joy Celine Asto
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Last updated on 10/19/2017
10/19/2017
3 Mins read
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Last Updated on 10/19/2017 by Chris Gampat

Instant cameras: are they the future?

Instant cameras have been a big part of the recent analog resurgence, and it’s easy to see why. There’s nothing like seeing an instant print develop right before your eyes. With this medium, you also get to own a bit of photography history in the camera itself. However, if you still need some convincing, New York City-based photographer Josh Katz has eight reasons why every photographer should actually have an instant camera.

Josh, who has always shot with a DSLR and played around with film cameras, has recently bought two instant cameras: a Polaroid 600 and an Instax Mini 90. He refers to both cameras and the medium itself as “polaroids”, which is understandable since the magic of instant photography actually began with Polaroid cameras. In the video below, he gives a rundown of what photographers can learn with instant cameras.

Now, to summarize his points:

Decisiveness

Josh has found that because you actually pay a good amount of money per shot of a Polaroid or Instant print, you’d have to be more deliberate or push to be perfectly timed with each snap. You also only have eight or ten shots per film pack, so no test or burst mode snaps here. It’s a big difference from the “spray and pray”  method with DSLRs (or digital photography in general), so you’ll have to be sure about what you want to capture before you press the shutter.

Cost

The cost per photo could be a turn-off for some, but for those who are really curious about this medium, it’s actually pretty affordable to get into. The cameras don’t cost as much as most modern digital cameras, and you can get them from yard sales, thrift shops, and online stores for cheap.

Feedback loop

Compared to traditional film photography, the Polaroid and Instax snaps give you immediate results as they develop in a matter of minutes. You can easily see what you need to improve, but it still gives digital photographers a good exercise in slowing down with every shot.

Framing

With instant cameras, your framing is key right from the beginning. The usual practice of giving yourself an extra room for cropping later doesn’t apply here. Again, you’ll have to be very deliberate about your shots, which should also help with your decisiveness.

Master composition

Josh also finds that because there aren’t many manual settings to worry about, you can just focus on your composition when working with a Polaroid or Instax camera. Sure, the simplicity in the controls and the cameras themselves could be taken as a limitation. But as we all know, limitations often lead to more creative solutions and results.

No editing

Related to Josh’s previous points, since every photo comes out as a print that develops right before your eyes, there’s no opportunity or need to edit. According to Josh, since there’s no editing to “separate the AMS from the PROs”, it levels the playing field and forces you to focus on shooting the actual photo.

Rush out of photography

Because the whole shooting experience and the results are different for instant photography, Josh describes getting a rush out of using the cameras. He also mentions an intense feeling of anticipation leading up to pressing the shutter

Cool factor

Let’s face it, these instant cameras look cool. The fact that images unravel from each print is also cool. When you think about how chemistry is at work with each photo and film pack, it becomes even more amazing. Add to these how both cameras easily become conversation starters, and you get the “coolness factor” Josh talks about.

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