Polaroid One Step: Don't Mind if I Do

The Polaroid One Step close-up camera takes 600 film, has a built in flash (which you have the option of not using), 2 distance settings (2 – 4 feet or 4 feet – infinity), and an optional darken/lighten setting. I was given this camera as a hand-me-down gift from my boyfriend’s mom who—sadly, like so many folks these days—has gone digital. But one person’s trash is often another person’s analogue treasure!

I’m embarrassed to say that until this camera, I had never shot a Polaroid before. But at the same time, I’m still riding that initial wave of excitement that comes when you first discover a true love!

My biggest tip: don’t forget to set the close-up setting when you’re under 4 feet from the subject; it really makes a huge difference in quality. A little blur can be fun—especially with the right intentions—but the crystal clearness you’ll get when on the right setting is quite satisfying and beautiful…not to mention that the last thing you wanna do these days is waste a Polaroid photo! Some of my favorite photos have been taken with expired Polaroid film. The strange color shifts (typically some pinks and yellows show up) and what I can only refer to as “Polaroid light leaks” give the photos a really unique vintage feel. And you absolutely have to brand the photos with little captions or jokes at the bottom; it’s the sign of a true Polaroid photographer in case ya didn’t know ;)

I haven’t tried the newly manufactured Polaroid film yet, but I hear good things about it; this past year or two I’ve always relied on eBay for purchasing my original 600 film. But I’ll be getting ahold of some soon and running it through my newly acquired Polaroid Land Camera SX-70, so be on the lookout for my next review!

Last but not least, Anthony and I completed on a year-long project called “Happy 10th” in 2009. Check it out in this post on my blog, Fake Bright Plastic Food: http://fakebrightplasticfood.blogspot.com/2009/12/year-of-happy-10th-polaroid-project.html
and be on the lookout for this year’s “Happy 10th” photos from Anthony and I (LC-A+ style) as well as “Happy 16th” photos from vtayeh and ssamm66, courtesy of the fuji instax cam!

written by strangelilgirl on 2010-04-24 #gear #expired #review #project #instant #polaroid #600-film