The day of memories
Photography

19 August 2021

The day of memories

The day of memories



It is thanks to Daguerre and his photographic process developed in 1837 that today we celebrate World Photography Day. The daguerreotype was recognised by the French Academy of Sciences in 1839, the same year that William Fox Talbot invented the calotype. Thanks to these two inventions, 1839 was considered the year of the invention of photography. That same year, on 19 August, the French government would come to proclaim photography as a gift to the world.


There is rarely a person who does not like photography nowadays. The mobile phone has brought the general public closer to the image that eternalises moments, that tells stories and that simply keeps our vision of the world. The idea that only professional photographers can create beautiful images no longer exists and the World Day of Photography serves to bring together all those who love photography, whether amateurs or not.


The first image was taken by Niépce in 1826. With Daguerre, it became accessible to a larger number of people. Following the same line, with Kodak, amateur photography gained wings and families could start putting together their own albums, full of spontaneous moments. It took more than 100 years for the first digital camera to be invented. From then until today, it was always innovating. However, it is interesting to realise that, despite all the technological development, there is one specific type of photography that never goes out of fashion: instant photography.





Polaroid shone for many years in the world of instant photography, but after the arrival of digital cameras, it gave way to Fujifilm with the Instax cameras. Launched in 1998, the Instax gave a sense of materiality to photos that had begun to disappear with digital. The credit card-sized photos are the perfect excuse to bring people together and record spontaneous moments forever.


With a rectangular format, the Instax Mini 9 and Instax Mini 11 are among the most popular. Similar in design, the two cameras are virtually identical. Both use the same recharge and both are automatic, with the user only needing to be guided by the light that appears on the lens to correctly enter the light mode (Very Sunny, Sunny with Clouds, Cloudy or Home). The main differences between the models are that the Mini 11 comes with a close-up lens integrated into the lens, while the one on the Mini 9 was removable, and that the flash is brighter on the Mini 11, allowing to better capture the backgrounds of images taken in low-light scenes.


On the other hand, the Instax now has a portable printer available that lets you print your mobile phone photos in Mini format. It's easy and convenient to record moments with your phone, but often the images get lost in the camera roll. So why not print those special ones with the Instax Mini Link? This instant printer is simple to use. Just choose your photo from your phone, edit it with the filters Fujifilm gives you and press print.





There's no secret when it comes to shooting with the Instax Mini. It's worth reading the instruction manual to understand how the light modes work and to find out that the Mini has what's called parallax error. It's a complicated name, but basically it just means that the display you're looking through is slightly offset from where the lens is located. So don't think it's strange if the photos come out a little bit to the side of what you saw. You can count on that and make up for it right at the moment of taking the photo. Other than that, just press the button.


However, we went looking for tips on how to take the best pictures every time. On both the Mini 9 and the Mini 11, you can't turn the flash off. It always goes off. If you see that you're in a situation with lots of natural light or if you want to take a photo in front of a mirror, our trick is to cover the flash with your fingers or black insulating tape. This will allow you to shoot in natural light only and catch reflections.


Also, it's important to know that when you take photos at night, the flash will illuminate the first object it finds, leaving the background dark. If that object or person is too far away, you run the risk of the flash not having the necessary range and the photo becoming darker in its entirety or completely black.





Although it's quite simple to take photos with the Instax, there are a few tricks you might want to try. One is to take photos that complement each other, like the example below. Another is to play around with the camera speed. The default speed of the Mini is 1/60. This means that if the object or person being photographed is moving too fast it will be out of focus. It will probably freeze motion if the person is walking, but if they are running it will blur. You may then want to create a purposeful blur, if you stand still while the person runs, or you can even try panning, if you follow the movement of the person running and take the photo in the middle of that movement. Be careful, this is a tricky technique that may not work at first.


There are of course general tips like paying attention to the composition, trying several angles before pressing the button, shooting during sunrise and sunset to get a more harmonious and soft light and trying to catch spontaneous and natural moments. While we're on the subject of light, we'd also like to say that the Instax works best in balanced light situations, without too much contrast between light and shadow. Likewise, if you shoot in direct sunlight, don't think it's strange when a black dot appears in its place. This is because the camera can't handle that much light. Something very similar happens when you photograph on the beach on very sunny days. As the sand is light and reflects sunlight, there is a high probability that the photo will be too bright. To compensate for this, there are specific filters for the Mini.


With instant photography, testing is the key word. If you want some inspiration, take a look at Taschen's 'The Polaroid Book', where you'll find images taken by great photographers such as Edwin Land, Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Martin Parr. Have fun shooting with Instax, collect moments and happy world photography day.






Photography


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