Rather than just use my phone camera this Christmas, I decided to make use of my Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 and get some fun pics of my family. It was the first time I used my new camera and I love it! I used one film (which takes ten photographs) on Christmas Day and one on Boxing Day. As soon as you take a picture it prints immediately from the top of the camera and it’s so fun seeing the image slowly appear. The vintage-like quality of the pictures is brilliant, and really reminds me of all the old polaroids my Mum and Dad have from the 70s.
Not many of the pictures are instagram worthy but it was actually really refreshing using the Instax Mini 8 – knowing I couldn’t alter or tweak the picture once I’d chosen to take it. Most of the pictures are imperfect – off centre, or people with their eyes closed. But that’s part of the charm of using an instax camera.
An instant camera like the Instax Mini is also a great talking point and conversation starter. Most of my family wanted to ‘have a go’ using it and we all had a giggle at the outcome of some of the photos. Most of us don’t get photographs printed like we used to. Then tend to be archived on our computer or phone. To be able to have a printed copy of your photos immediately is really gratifying!
Once the Christmas festivities were over I gathered together all twenty photographs and I wrote on the bottom of every photograph. I then used mini silver pegs and attached my favourite photographs to a thick piece of silver ribbon and hung them along the staircase. The mini silver pegs were bought in a pound shop and the silver ribbon was wrapped around one of my Christmas presents. I think the end result looks great and I’m going to hang this bunting every Christmas.
Why not create your own polaroid bunting? It would be fun to do a holiday one, a birthday one or maybe even a New Year’s Eve Party one. Encourage your friends and family to take hold of the camera and snap away, creating lasting memories to display in your home.
