4 Steps to Take the Perfect Polaroid Picture Every Time
Setting up the shot, playing with light and experimenting with limited-edition frames
After three years of experimenting with Polaroid film and numerous mishaps, I have compiled my best tips for capturing magic on Polaroid film. With the cost of Polaroid film between $2.00 and $3.00 per photo, each picture is precious. Below are my tips on how to avoid my mistakes (like the photo above) and to capture exactly what you, the photographer, want.
Lighting is Everything
You can capture amazing Polaroid photos both indoors and outdoors, but regardless of where you are shooting, ensure that your subject is well-lit, yet not overexposed. Polaroid will tell you that the “more light in your shot, the better your photo will turn out,” but there is such a thing as too much light.
On hot, sunny days, it may be best to reach for your smartphone instead, as too much light can cause the photo to come out with an orange tint and sometimes blue or orange scratch marks. These marks are what Polaroid refers to as “opacification failure” and while they can offer a fun, stylized feel to your photograph, they also risk covering up the subject of your photo. The photograph above of my friend and I kayaking off on Bainbridge Island, Washington is one example of an overly-sunny photo gone wrong.
On the other end of the spectrum, shooting in low light can often lead to a photograph coming out black or grayish. Slightly cloudy days can offer the perfect opportunity for a well-shot Polaroid, but whatever you do, take care to never to shoot directly into the sun. A backlit subject means that your subject will most likely come out dark, unless that is what you are going for.
Consider the Location of the Viewfinder
Even with the newer versions of the Polaroid camera, the viewfinder is a half an inch away from the lens. This means that whatever you are looking at, the camera will see what is slightly to the right. Since this makes it difficult to center a subject, I usually opt to place my subjects slightly off center. Or, if you are taking shot of people, make sure that no one is too far to the right — they might just end up getting left out. The photo below was meant to be a photograph of my fiancé, myself, my mom and my dad enjoying brunch. Unfortunately, only three of us made it into the photo.
Purchasing Polaroid Film
Polaroid film is sometimes hard to come by. Several times when I have stopped by Mike’s Camera to pick up film, they have been completely out of stock. The most reliable place to buy film that I have found is Best Buy — or Amazon, if you you are willing to wait for the film to be shipped to you and pay shipping fees.
There are also a number of different styles of borders available. While the white border offers a classic look, Polaroid also sells film in the “Color Frames” edition, which is a few dollars extra, but comes with frames all different colors of the rainbow, which might just end up beautifully accenting a color within your photo.
Last summer, I experimented with the “Gold Dust Edition” frame and captured these beautiful sunflowers outside of our apartment in the community garden. And at Christmas, I gave the “Festive Red Edition” frame a try to give my photos a holiday flair. Polaroid also sells a summer-themed frame called “Summer Fruits” with large graphics of watermelons, peaches and strawberries that I hope to try; although I am a little worried that it may overpower the photograph itself.
Keep in mind that when you buy your film, it will have a date printed on the outside. When I first discovered this date, I worried that my film was expired. There’s no need to panic. Polaroid prints the date that the film was manufactured on the outside of the box, not the expiration date. The film is good for a full year after the manufacture date.
As an additional note, in the instructions that come with the film, Polaroid recommends storing your film in the fridge. I do not recommend this. I stored a box of film in the fridge for about a month after buying two boxes of film at the same time. After putting the refrigerated film in my camera, my camera stopped working after I was not even halfway through the pack of film. It turns out that storing the film in the fridge had drained the battery in the film.
Choosing a Subject
My favorite subject for Polaroid photos is people, but what you choose to shoot is a completely personal choice. My best photos were taken just a few steps away from the subject, so that the subject filled the majority of the frame. I’ve also noticed that signage and brands seem to make for particularly interesting pictures.
There are still some aspects of the Polaroid camera that I have yet to figure out. I am still not sure what happened in this photo of my fiancé’s truck parked outside of our apartment after a snowstorm, however I think the effect is kind of cool. I have read that sometimes dust can cause white spots in photographs, but this seems too large for a dust mark; it is more the size of a giant thumbprint. Perhaps it is the result of overexposure from the sun reflecting off the snow. If you have any ideas, I would love to know!
Wherever you decide to point your viewfinder, make sure that you are capturing the moments that are most meaningful to you. Keep having fun, experimenting and being creative.
