Here’s everything we use to capture and store family photos on polaroid and film!
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Ready to start photographing your family on film?! We have been trying out film together and it’s been so fun having our photos printed right away! With the holidays coming up I thought I would share our favorite film options so you can capture some holiday memories with your family too!
Our go-to has been our Polaroid Now! We have the white 1st gen version (no tripod mount, but budget friendly!), I keep it on hand at every family photoshoot and we take at least a few photos a week with our family as well! This Polaroid Now Bundle comes with film so you’ll be ready to start shooting as soon as it arrives! Plus it comes in the coolest coral color for the 3rd generation! The Now camera uses i-type color film and B&W film! We also have a manual polaroid I-2 camera that’s been fun to learn with! The I-2 takes i-type, 600 film, or sx-70 film (this one is b&w).
For displaying our own polaroids, I have a couple Polaroid Albums we keep in our main room! Each page holds 8 photos front and back. The kids love flipping through the pictures together and I love that each polaroid has an individual sleeve so they’re protected from sticky little hands!! I also love displaying polaroids on the fridge! We keep our favorites up there and occasionally rotate them! I use polaroid sized acrylic magnets. If we didn’t use albums, I like the clean look of this acrylic box! The open front would make it super easy to sort by year if you had multiple boxes.
For photos on film, we have a hand-me-down Canon Rebel 2000, this one comes with a 28-80mm zoom lens which is a great option for everyday photos! It takes CR2 batteries. If I were to try another film camera, it would be this vintage Canon A1-E that comes with a 50mm lens! For shooting in manual, a light meter is a great tool for getting proper exposure.
We take our film camera everywhere and occasionally it gets a little dusty! We give it a good clean after outdoor adventures or camping with this lens cleaning kit.
Fuji Color Film has been my go-to for color but I also love shooting with Ilford Black and White Film. Makes sure you keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to use them and don’t keep it longer than a month or two in your camera. If you need to store a few rolls at a time Kodak makes a film roll case that stores 5 at a time.
If you want to try your hand at film first without the big investment, I’ve seen artists use disposable cameras and get the developed photos sent straight to their email! If you live in Bellingham, WA Quicksilver is a great place to get your film developed, they do their B&W photos in house! If you’re storing film scans or digital family photos, I use a sandisk solid state drive. Make sure you back up your photos in multiple places! I use the 3:2:1 rule. Three back ups, two different methods of storage, and one method offsite.
For printed 4×6 photos, I love this clear organizer with separate compartments for easy organization. If you’ll be displaying the box, this linen organizer is a great option!
If you need a strap for your polaroid or film camera I love our peak designs camera strap! It comes with a quick release option so you can have another camera ready to switch between and share the strap! I swap my strap between my main mirrorless camera and my Polaroid Now. They have a few different styles and widths if your camera is bigger, go for a thicker strap.
For shots of our whole family we put our cameras on a timer and use either our amazon tripod or our peak designs tripod (a little spendier but very user friendly and rugged!)! I love that the peak designs tripod has an integrated phone mount!
Hope this helps you literally gear up for film photography with your family! Good luck and pack lots of snacks! 🙂
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