While most of us have a smartphone glued to our hands that can easily shoot an endless number of high-quality photos on the go, more and more people are returning to a style of photography that our parents and grandparents grew up with: instant film cameras.
We take so many digital photos with our phones, but we've moved so far away from having physical photos that we can display in the real world. Part of that is because real film cameras are a lot less convenient to carry around, and they have a greater learning curve to use properly. They also require you to bring your film to get developed, and then (*gasp*) wait days before those physical photos are ready to pick up and take home. Even simple point-and-shoot digital cameras still require you to upload your photos online and send them off to get printed by a service, like Shutterfly (aka more waiting).
But in a tech-forward world where everything we do seems to be centered around instant gratification, it actually makes a lot of sense that we'd be drawn back to instant film cameras that allow a photograph to go from point to shoot to print in a matter of seconds.
What is an instant film camera and how does it work?
To put it simply, an instant film camera is designed with its own little internal developing studio in which all the mechanisms necessary to develop the instant film exist. These instant film cameras must be outfitted with self-developing film, which removes the need for you to develop the film yourself or bring it someplace where it can be developed for you. Instant film cameras are also typically very easy to use, with simple buttons and minimal features so beginners can jump in with very little experience needed.