Doll photography with Instant Film cameras

[Jonathan-]

Does anyone out there still have an old Polaroid camera?


Or maybe a new Polaroid, an Instax, a Lomography, etc?


I was recently given a newer model Polaroid camera myself, and of course I had to experiment with some doll photography. I'll post scans of my photos here, but if anyone else has an instant film camera and wants to share some photos taken in this charming format, please do!




Here are two shots of my Elyse:





And two shots of my Claire:




Do you have any doll Polaroids? Share 'em if you got 'em!

[Mr Franz]

Kind of wish I did still have one. Sold my last Polaroid in the flea market about 30 years ago. It was just like the one in the top pic. Really wasn't that bad a camera. Built-in flash and the batteries were part of the film cartridge, so you got fresh batteries every time you changed film.

[toddjy]

With today's technology, a phone with a camera in every pocket, and filters that can make photos look like anything, I don't see the point of buying a camera like that, and paying for film. Particularly if you take bad pictures. But if take a bad picture with a digital, you just delete it. You're not out anything. Unless your doll falls over and breaks right after you take the picture.

[Martinson Joe]

Does anyone out there still have an old Polaroid camera?


Or maybe a new Polaroid, an Instax, a Lomography, etc?


I was recently given a newer model Polaroid camera myself, and of course I had to experiment with some doll photography. I'll post scans of my photos here, but if anyone else has an instant film camera and wants to share some photos taken in this charming format, please do!




Here are two shots of my Elyse:





And two shots of my Claire:




Do you have any doll Polaroids? Share 'em if you got 'em!

I wish I had one, there are something special about those old Polaroids. Claire's shots in particulr are far from perfect, but beautiful images.

With today's technology, a phone with a camera in every pocket, and filters that can make photos look like anything, I don't see the point of buying a camera like that, and paying for film. Particularly if you take bad pictures. But if take a bad picture with a digital, you just delete it. You're not out anything. Unless your doll falls over and breaks right after you take the picture.

But you had to change your phone every two years and say each five for your storage drives, and old equipment lasts for ages. Is at least a tie

[Jonathan-]

Kind of wish I did still have one. Sold my last Polaroid in the flea market about 30 years ago. It was just like the one in the top pic. Really wasn't that bad a camera. Built-in flash and the batteries were part of the film cartridge, so you got fresh batteries every time you changed film.

Yeah, I remember someone in my family having one just like in the top pic, too. I was only a small child in the '80s, and I can't remember if it was my dad or an uncle who had it, but I remember the camera clearly, as well as loving the photo being ejected and developed right there on the spot.

The new models have an internal rechargeable battery, so that makes the newer, battery-less i-type film cartridges a bit cheaper.

With today's technology, a phone with a camera in every pocket, and filters that can make photos look like anything, I don't see the point of buying a camera like that, and paying for film. Particularly if you take bad pictures. But if take a bad picture with a digital, you just delete it. You're not out anything. Unless your doll falls over and breaks right after you take the picture.

Well, just like any hobby, the point is to have fun with it. Taking bad pictures is part of the learning curve, and it makes the experience of getting a good shot so much more rewarding. For instance, when I was experimenting with taking Polaroids of my car, I found that the square shape of the photos forced me to reconsider how to frame my shots. With a regular camera I have no problem getting a close-up shot of the car to while still having some of the background landscape in the shot, since the format is rectangular. But when I tried getting the same type of shot with the Polaroid, I could only get the car by itself, or part of the landscape with part of the car, but not both of them together:



Not the best shot. So that made me get creative and figure that, if I can't get the whole car into the frame, maybe I can focus on a just a portion of it and frame it in a way that accentuates the character of that part of the car. So then I shot this photo that focuses on just the right half of the front end, and I love how it turned out:



Seeing this photo after it developed felt great, and I was glad to have been given the impetus by the camera to think more creatively about taking photos. This would never have happened with a phone camera, or even a DSLR.

As far as phone filters, well their very existence shows that there's a certain aesthetic value that real Polaroids have. And they can imitate that aesthetic, but it's just not the same. In a Polaroid, the developing chemicals interact with the film and sometimes create little imperfections that are unique to that photo, almost like the striations and swirls in a piece of marble.

I also like having tangible, physical photos of my doll girls. I take most of my photos of them with my DLSR, so if I want to see them, I need to hop on to my PC and pull them up on an image viewer. I'll do that from time to time, but I really like having these little polaroids on my nightstand so I can admire them when I'm in my bedroom, away from my desktop PC in the living room. They're just nice to have.

The only drawback is the cost of the film, which is definitely not cheap. But, if I never spent money on fun things, I wouldn't have my dolls

I wish I had one, there are something special about those old Polaroids. Claire's shots in particulr are far from perfect, but beautiful images.

Thanks! Yes, these types of photos have a certain charm to them that I just love.

[gogodolls]

Oh dear! All these photos are really cool! It reminds me of a good time! Love it!
Cheers!

[Mr Franz]

Hey, look what I found. An old roid photo taken sometime in the 80's.
That's a '69 Corvair I use to have. Man, I miss that thing and my Polaroid 600 land.

69VAIR.JPG (38.8 KiB) Viewed 330 times

[Jonathan-]

Oh dear! All these photos are really cool! It reminds me of a good time! Love it!
Cheers!

Thanks, Gogo! Dolls, cars, and cameras are all definitely a good time

Hey, look what I found. An old roid photo taken sometime in the 80's.
That's a '69 Corvair I use to have. Man, I miss that thing and my Polaroid 600 land.

69VAIR.JPG

Hey, that's a sweet ride, Mr. Franz! Too bad she's not with you anymore, but I'm glad you at least have a neat photo to remember her by.

[Taeyeon]

Hello Jonathan,

Oooh I did not know you have new doll Elyse!
She is so pretty and nice, I will go give visit to her pagees^^
And your instant picture are so interesting and amazing I think!
They give so nice analog feel. I like them very much.
I never had instant picture camera. But I am so curious to look inside^^
Do you must do shaking of picture?

TaeYeon

[Jonathan-]

Hello Jonathan,

Oooh I did not know you have new doll Elyse!
She is so pretty and nice, I will go give visit to her pagees^^
And your instant picture are so interesting and amazing I think!
They give so nice analog feel. I like them very much.
I never had instant picture camera. But I am so curious to look inside^^
Do you must do shaking of picture?

TaeYeon

Hi, TaeYeon!

I'm glad you like Elyse! She is so lovely and I'm very happy to have her
I'm glad you like my Polaroid photos, too! You want to see inside the camera? I'll show the camera and what it's like to take a photo with it


The bottom of the camera flips down so you can load a film cartridge inside:





After it's loaded, ask your model to strike a pose for the camera:





Then, frame the shot with the viewfinder:





After you snap the shot, the camera will eject the photo, image side up, and it will have a retractable plastic "film shield" covering it:





Release the shield to reveal the developing photo, but Polaroid doesn't recommend shaking the photo! I remember my family used to do that with the pictures from our old Polaroid camera, but apparently it's not necessary at all .
Instead, you just flip the photo over and leave it face down so it can develop without light hitting the film:





Give it about 15 minutes to develop, and then you have a nice, little photo for you and your doll to enjoy!

[Martinson Joe]

Great explanation for the newbies, Jonathan, and great model

I remember from the old days it was usual to use Polaroids for "autopictures", because of their "immediacy". Not today's selfish "selfies", more of a group thing in parties or friend's meetings. Just sayin'...

[Taeyeon]

Hi, TaeYeon!

I'm glad you like Elyse! She is so lovely and I'm very happy to have her
I'm glad you like my Polaroid photos, too! You want to see inside the camera? I'll show the camera and what it's like to take a photo with it

Oooh thank you Jonathan!
You are so kind to show (^_^)/
Instant camera is nice and interesting little machine.
Making picture looks much fun^^
I miss touching paper pictures.

TaeYeon