I take photos of everything. I live my life through a lens. Whether that’s a spontaneous snap, or a precisely posed picture. Photos are memories immortalised.
I love nothing more than a rainy Sunday, when my brother or sister bring their new partner around and mum cracks out the photo albums from the loft. Holding the delicate, crumpled prints carefully between my fingers makes me smile.
You may remember that three years ago, when I started this blog, I used to post my disposable camera photos on here!
People have been taking photographs for years, but people only moan about it now it’s digital.
“You kids are always on your phones,” they’ll say. But on our phones are years of memories tucked away on the cloud instead of in dusty boxed beneath your old christening gown and first pair of shoes.
The sentiment hasn’t changed – we all still love to snap a picture – to capture a moment.
What I love about my Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 is it’s was like taking a step back in time. You set the aperture on the dial, click and wait for the photo to develop. You don’t get a second chance – there’s no ‘burst’ or ‘just take another for good measure!’
I loved the fact that these shots were one-of-a-kind. But I was always a little gutted that I couldn’t have everything on a cute 2×3 instax print.
Then I discovered the KiiPix Smartphone Picture Printer. I bought mine from Boots, where it was on offer for £29.99, with student discount knocking it town to £26.66. Their RRP is £39.99, so certainly cheaper than other instant printers on the market.
The printer uses the same film as my Mini 9. I tend to buy the duo pack and use one cartridge for my camera and the other for the printer.
The portable device is essentially a pinhole camera, which captures the image on your phone screen and prints it out for you to keep. I first used it to print out my graduation photos! The hardest part is choosing just 10 pictures to print.
My IGTV video below shows you exactly how to use the camera, but I’ll run you through it for good measure.
Once the film is inserted and you’ve removed the plastic front, you place your phone on top of the camera. Make sure your brightness is set accordingly before hitting the shutter button and twisting the dial to release your photo. Make sure to develop it in darkness for a few minutes, because contrary to popular belief – you don’t shake instax’s ‘like a polaroid picture’.
One of my favourite things about the KiiPix is that I get the opportunity to alter my images. I can check the exposure, remove red eye, check the colours and positioning without wasting any film. You just don’t get that kind of flexibility with an instant camera, but the printer provides the same nostalgic effect.
It took me a couple of attempts to learn how to use the camera – destroying three or four pieces of film before I got the hang of it. You can use the little platform your phone sits on to properly align the image, as well as the little mirror on the camera. You also have to double check your screen brightness and that you don’t have screensaver mode on – you wouldn’t want your screen to go black whilst printing!
Now I’ve used KiiPix a couple of times, I usually get nine good shots out of a film of 10. Below you can find my IGTV video of how I use my Kiipix to print off photos from my phone.
