Polaroid Of Us

Polaroid cameras started as a range of polarised sunglasses in the 1920s. Edwin H. Land, the creator of Polaroid, filed a patent for a synthetic light polariser in 1928. Twenty years later he produced the first instant camera (The Land Camera) with sepia photographs, with black and white available by 1950. In 1963 the Polacolour pack allowed coloured instant photographs to be created. Nowadays Polaroid cameras and film are no longer produced by Polaroid. Instead film and refurbished cameras can be found at The Impossible Project.

A Polaroid picture (Wikipedia)

People such as Ansel Adams and Lady Gaga have been hired by Polaroid as creative consultants.  The term "Polaroid" has become synonymous with the instant photographs, even if they were not taken by a Polaroid camera.  There are also apps availble for Android and iOS devices to turn your photographs into Polaroid-style pictures.

Polaroid Model 95 Land Camera from
the 1940s-50s (Gary600playsmc)

Polaroid cameras use self-developing film to instantly develop negatives inside the camera so the photographs can be seen immediately afterwards.  Each image is the only copy as there are no negatives, so they can't be edited afterwards.  This led to people seeking to alter the printed Polaroids by drawing on them, warping them with heat or adding chemicals for an effect.

The film is loaded in film packs and works by lifting a sheet of negative up to the camera lens when the shutter is pressed.  Like a pinhole camera, the sheet is exposed to the light from the lens.  When the exposure time is done, the camera will release the film sheet so you can remove your photograph.  Because of the chemical process, the photo will not be 100% developed when it is ejected but the colours will gradually set and the picture will appear normal.

A SX-70 Polaroid Camera (timmythesuk)

Nia Lovelis taken by Miranda Miller
(Nia Lovelis)

Polaroid cameras plus scanners are cheaper to buy than digital cameras so many prefer them, especially for the aesthetic effect of putting up Polaroids.
High profile users of polaroids include Taylor Swift, who used one for her latest album cover, 1989, and the members of Hey Violet, formerly Cherri Bomb.

I like the look of Polaroids and I think they're very nice, but I'm not going to lie - the main reason I wanted "one of those cameras that prints out the photos straight after you take them" is because they used one on The Tweenies and I was obsessed.

Taylor Swift's album cover (Wikipedia)

Sources used:
Polaroid Corporation
Wikipedia
Wikipedia II
New Media Studies
Camarapedia
Opposing Views
"Polaroid 600 sunflower" by Mrnerd1billion Ryan Notch of www.areographers.com - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polaroid_600_sunflower.jpg#/media/File:Polaroid_600_sunflower.jpg
"Model95Side" by Gary600playsmc - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Model95Side.JPG#/media/File:Model95Side.JPG