Saturday, June 6, 2015

Fujifilm Instax mini 8 | Tips & tricks


Turning and moving around. Taking some test photo's on my phone. Then some more turning and moving. And then finally: 'click!' and the polaroid picture rolls out.
I always want to prepare my polaroid pictures perfectly, because you can't do them over again. They have to be perfect in one time. And although they come out very nice quite often, it's easy to make mistakes. I've had several bad pictures, but also some pictures I'm very happy with. So here it is: my tips and tricks for your Fujifilm Instax mini 8.



Let's get started... :)




Tips
Based on mistakes from my own experience. 



Mirrors
This was my very first picture. I thought: 'Wouldn't it look cool for my first picture to take a picture of me taking a picture?!' So I walked over to the mirror and clicked to take a picture. I didn't know there would be a flash and when the picture was fully developed, it was all black with a tiny bit of color in the middle. I was not very happy :(. 

So tip #1: don't take pictures in the mirror.

Keep your eyes open! 
This one may seem obvious, but it's very important not to blink when you take the picture! (Someone blinked in my second picture.) If you're taking a picture of people, especially if they've never seen a polaroid camera being used, tell them before you take a picture that there will be a flash and that they have to make sure to keep their eyes open. :)

Tip #2: keep your eyes open when someone's taking a picture of you.



Blurry
This was my third picture. Very blurry. (It was so sad: my first three pictures all had a mistake, haha. I still like them all, though, because they've thought me these tips and there's a memory with each one, too.) Anyways, your pictures get blurry when you're too close to them. I'd probably want to have at least about a 60 cm distance from the object or people I'm taking a picture of. 

Tip #3: keep enough distance between you and the object or people you're taking a picture of. 



Center
I really like this picture: it feels so warm and Christmassy and when you see the picture you just think of home. And I also quite like that the Christmas tree is not in the center of the picture. But you might not always want that. Actually when I was thinking I how I wanted this picture to look, I planned for the tree being in the center. The reason why it's not centered is because the view finder is not right above the lens. It is slightly higher and more to the left. So when you're taking a picture of something that is close to you (but obviously not too close, or else it will turn out blurry) keep that in mind.

Tip #4 Keep in mind that the view finder is slightly higher and more to the left of the lens.

Flash
When you turn on your camera, it gives you a recommendation for the 'flash mode'. It's best to follow this, because if let's say it recommends to put your camera in the house mode and you switch it to the cloudy or even sunny mode (like I did) your picture will be way too dark and it'll look as if you took it at, like, midnight. What you can do, is put your camera on Hi-Key flash mode when the recommendation is house mode (trick!).  This will make it look very light, which I think will look cool, too, although it won't look so natural. I've never tried this before, but I think I will sometime.

This is the little table that is shown in the manual for a lighter picture:


(PS. I dropped my cactus, (whoops) so that's what you see on the right side of the photo... )

Tip #5: Stay with the recommended flash mode. (Unless you want to experiment with it or want a much lighter picture).


Tricks
For some inspiration and taking elephantastic pictures.




The pictures above are three of my favorites. Two of them (the vertical ones) were taken in Barcelona and the horizontal one was taken in Schieronnikoog (I also have posts about my trips there: The best of Barcelona & May in Schiermonnikoog).



Horizontal, vertical or slanted
When people take a picture with a polaroid camera, they usually take a picture holding the camera vertically. For a landscapes or so, taking a horizontal picture looks very good and taking a slanted picture gives it a cool playful effect.




Angles
Taking a picture from a different angle than usual gives your picture a really cool effect. Be creative! :) I took the polaroid of the palm tree in Barcelona from underneath, if you get what I mean. I crouched down under the palm tree and pointed my camera up. This also gave the picture the perfect amount of lighting and the picture turned out very sharp.

Natural lighting 
Natural lighting is my favorite light. My polaroid pictures taken outdoors look the most natural and have better lighting than my pictures taken inside. If you are, let's say, taking a picture of a group of people, I'd recommend taking it outside, so that you can use the gorgeous lighting of the sun ;).



Ombre
On a lot of my polaroid pictures I have a little ombre effect around the corners. In my picture of the beach in Barcelona, you can see this very well. The sky is a beautiful blue way at the top and becomes lighter and lighter. Awhh, I love it so much :). To be honest, I don't know how to do this, or if you can even manually do this, but I just wanted to point it out, because it makes your pictures sooo pretty.

Double picture
What also looks super cool is to have a picture of a polaroid picture with the things that are on the polaroid picture in the background. Okay, this sound very complicated. But here's what I mean:

This is a picture from Urban Outfitters' instagram. (Note the beautiful ombre sky in the picture!)

And here's another one:
This is a picture from a photography gifts and gear store (Photojojo).

I haven't done this yet, but I'm definitely going to try this soon! (It'll make a great Instagram photo ;). )


I hope these tips and tricks helped you out, and keep taking awesome pictures!

xoxo Mia


30 comments:

  1. Thank you! I love these tips! I had the same problems as you hahah, so you just helped me a lot. Hey, I saw that you took a picture of a palm tree, which flash mode did you use? I have some problems with the flash mode when I take pictures in sunny places.

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    1. I usually use the recommended one on top of the lenses (It has a bright orange light). Usually that's the best one to use, and it always turns out well for me. You probably already know this...but just in case you didn't. ;)

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  2. Thank you! I love these tips! I had the same problems as you hahah, so you just helped me a lot. Hey, I saw that you took a picture of a palm tree, which flash mode did you use? I have some problems with the flash mode when I take pictures in sunny places.

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    1. Hi! I'm so sorry for the super late reply. I have taken a blog pause for a while, to kind of refresh.
      Anyway, to answer your question, I think I used the 'big sun' mode (it gives the lowest flash). Usually, pointing your camera right up gives a very overexposed picture, but as the palm tree leaves were blocking the sun a bit, the picture had perfect lighting. If your pictures often turn out overexposed, try to find a bit of shade or something else that softens the light. Hope this will help you :) xox Mia

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  3. I took a landscape picture of my stuff with my mini 8 and the print came out to be black. Has this ever happened to you? I was told that the mini 8 doesn't have the capability to take horizontal pics but I've seen more than one reviews that say otherwise :(

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    1. make sure your lens are up, and the batteries are nice and charged. When I had this problem, I changed them, and vwala! Good as new. Also, something might have been blocking the lens such as a finger or anything else. That probably wouldnt happen but it could. :D

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    2. Horizontal pics are definitely possible! Try it out, I love the way they look. :) ASweet 11 gave some good advice, too!

      xoxo Mia

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  4. um..I have a question; when i took a picture in the bright sun and put it on the reccomended mode outside, it came out very light and you could barely see anything. all you could see was the trail of a hike and a rock, but nothing in the sky, or the ocean beside/below it. it was weird and i was dissapointed for waisting my film. thank you if you answer, ASweet11

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    1. Hi ASweet11, I think your camera recommend the brightest sun mode, but there was so much light outside that you actually needed an even softer flash. Since that is not possible as a setting or something on the mini 8 camera, I'd try sticking some masking tape over the flash. I've seen this before on Youtube, but I've never tried it myself before. Hope this will solve your problem. :) Thank you for commenting. xox Mia

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  5. Hello Mia, do you charge the batteries or you just change them? how do you know when you're supposed to charge/change them?

    Thanks, V

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    1. Hi Veronica!
      My batteries haven't run out yet, but I'm pretty sure you just change them. Change the batteries when your flash doesn't give enough light anymore. Hope this helps. :)
      xox Mia

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  6. So here it is: my tips and tricks for your Fujifilm Instax mini 8. ... fujifilmcamera.blogspot.com

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  7. when you went to barcelona with your camera did the film get ruined when it went through the security? im wondering if i should bring my camera or not

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    1. Hi LaurenF,
      I personally haven't ever experienced any film damage at all when my camera went through security. I have taken it with me to several places (by plane) and I found no problems, so I would definitely bring your camera with you! Take some awesome photo's! xoxo Mia

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  8. How can one get good view of the things behind the object ....I mean I didn't get any view of the landscape (it was night) and only I was visible in the picture !

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  9. How can one get good view of the things behind the object ....I mean I didn't get any view of the landscape (it was night) and only I was visible in the picture !

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  10. Hi! I recently bought one and when I take pictures inside I change the mode to inside but the pictures still come out really white, making my friends really really pale and certain parts just really white in general,do you have any tips to stop this from happening?

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  11. Ok so... I have been trying to click pictures from my Instax mini 8 and I don't seem to be getting it right...I try to use the lighting settings as suggested by the camera indoors /outdoors, but most of the pics turn out to have the evening look because of the flash and sort of greyish... I tried covering the flash in day light but the picture turns out to be black... I have wasted about 3 packs already trying to figure it out :( Please suggest how do I get my pictures right ?? :/

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    1. I'm not Mia but since she hasn't replied yet, I thought I'd help lol. Well if you're taking photos in the dark you'll want to make sure you're close to the object you want in the picture, or else it will be too dark. I've found the it is kinda impossible to take a super good picture in the very bright light without the picture looking white, so it's best to avoid that unless the things you're taking a photo of aren't a really light color, like a persons skin. I'm pretty pale so most of the time my skin won't show up if I'm too close. But also it might be because you were standing in direct sunlight. I'm still trying to figure that out myself lol I've only had my camera for 3 months but have experimented a lot. Anyway make sure you're camera is on the brightest setting when outside in the sun and make sure you aren't close to what you're taking a photo of with that setting.
      i hope this helps in some way. -Mint

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    2. I'm not Mia but since she hasn't replied yet, I thought I'd help lol. Well if you're taking photos in the dark you'll want to make sure you're close to the object you want in the picture, or else it will be too dark. I've found the it is kinda impossible to take a super good picture in the very bright light without the picture looking white, so it's best to avoid that unless the things you're taking a photo of aren't a really light color, like a persons skin. I'm pretty pale so most of the time my skin won't show up if I'm too close. But also it might be because you were standing in direct sunlight. I'm still trying to figure that out myself lol I've only had my camera for 3 months but have experimented a lot. Anyway make sure you're camera is on the brightest setting when outside in the sun and make sure you aren't close to what you're taking a photo of with that setting.
      i hope this helps in some way. -Mint

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  12. I took a picture of the ocean and it's coming out to bright ,what's the best setting for taking a picture of the ocean ?

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  13. Hi, I would like to ask. I took a picture. The face and body could be seen but everthing beside me was too dark. It is even morning when I took a photo.

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  14. hi
    You're pictures look amazing! sadly all the pictures that ive been taking with my camera are coming out super dark, whether indoors, outdoors, with the required setting, or even moving away from the required setting :/. im so confused. im not sure what im doing wrong. i wish i could attach a picture of the shots ive taken.

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  15. Hi! I love your tips and tricks but I still have a question. If I were to be taking a picture inside my house and the lights are on, which mode what I put it on? Would I started on house mode and then change it what because I want it to look all natural, you know? Please respond to me ASAP. I just got my Instax mini 8 yesterday for Christmas and I still don't know how to use it.
    Thanks

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  16. I did the same thing, I thought it would be cool if I took a photo of me in the mirror, and it turned out so dark. I tried 2 different settings, and it stayed the same. I really wish there was some way to take a bright photo in the mirror. I just got this camera, and I don't want all my photos to be dark. Thank you

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  17. how do you usually center the subject of your pictures? Do you move your camera lens to the right then up or the other way?

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  19. thank you so much for these awesome tips I will be sure to use them on vacation when I go to Disney World

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    1. Awesome!! How did your polaroids turn out? :)

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  20. Hey Mia! Thanks for your tips!
    My pictures turned out retro style ones. I don't know why? I used normal fujifilm instax films.

    https://www.amazon.in/Fujifilm-Instax-Mini-Picture-Format/dp/B07FYZZ6VH/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1550848906&sr=1-3&keywords=polaroid+camera&refinements=p_89%3APolaroid%7CFuji

    ^have ordered these. Can you tell me why is it happening?

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