Instant photography has come a long way from the 1940s and whilst instant photography was once the very forefront of photographic practice, it is mostly used today by photography enthusiasts, or as a novelty / nostalgic activity – or as a way of quickly and digitally printing images.

Why do people love instant photography?

It’s so much fun, and you get to see the result in an instant! This was unheard of when photography was first invented – as prints could take weeks to be developed and the process of getting your photograph into a frame was a long one (and often expensive).

On film cameras, you wouldn’t be able to see your photograph instantly like we now can with digital cameras or smart phones. You would look through the viewfinder, trust that the settings were correct, and press the trigger – hoping for the best. You wouldn’t see your developed images until your prints were processed and back from the darkroom.

But instant photography changed all of that – it allowed you to take a photograph and then process it immediately, without a darkroom. It cut the waiting time down hugely – and people loved seeing and sharing their photos minutes after taking them.

The Birth of Polaroid

In the 1940s, Edwin Land, a scientist and inventor, was on holiday taking photos of his daughter. Being a child, she was curious as to why the photographs couldn’t be seen right away – and after thinking about it, Land set out to develop a solution and try and make it possible for her. It was in 1948 when Edwin Land invented the Polaroid Land Model 95 camera – which became the breakthrough of instant photography.

This camera utilised two separate rolls of different charges; positive and negative charges respectively which allowed photographs to be created inside the camera. It made such an impact in the photography industry that all units and film supply sold out on day one.

Development of Edwin’s breakthrough solution continued and in the 1950s, Polaroid’s sales continued to skyrocket.

This led them to producing different camera models and film types. By 1956, Polaroid’s sales had passed the million mark. Then as technology progressed, in 1963 the world’s first ever colour film, polacolor, was created. This development led to the production of an affordable instant camera model which became widely used in the passport photo service.

The polaroid camera became massively popular, and a huge part of culture and photography through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Polaroid photos became an ideal way to capture memories and keep moments. If you look back in scrapbooks you’ll spot polaroids in the centre stage!

Creating a Future with Fujifilm Instax

In 2001, the Polaroid Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection and decided to step out of the market in 2008. Then Fujifilm, a Japanese manufacturer of instant cameras took advantage of the market vacuum. They went ahead to develop two films FP-100c and FP-3000b that are compatible with older polaroid cameras.

Today, thanks to Fujifilm, photographers around the globe can still enjoy instant photography. They offer instant cameras (akin to those originally produced by Polaroid) and they also have devices that produce instant film prints – from digital devices such as smartphones. It keeps the ‘instant photography’ concept alive, and keeps the nostalgia and novelty around instant photography popular and thriving.

Instant photography has indeed come a long way, and if not for Edwin’s daughters question, instant photography might have never come to be.