Let's be real – we go on a hike for the cool picture at the top with a little exercise on the side, we go on family vacations and have our parents awkwardly take pictures of us at the pool bar, and we spend hours thinking of captions and sifting through filters to get the best possible picture, but why? I do it, you do it, we all do it, but it's time to stop.
I am all for capturing moments, I think it's what helps us remember the best of times, and gives us great memories to look back on and you can't forget a good old TBT. But today we are so focused on who, what, when, and where the picture is taken rather than why. Why are you taking this picture and spending hours on end editing them? Is it for you, is it for others? It's time we take pictures to capture moments rather than poses.
A Polaroid camera as cheap as $50 is the best way to capture each and every moment, and what makes it even better is that it is immediate. Once the picture is taken there are no edits, no delete buttons, and no going back. The cool retro grainy picture quality is also super trendy these days, so it basically is a filter in itself. You don't have to wait to get these photos developed because they are right at your fingertips. This makes it nice and easy for moments and memories to go straight to your wall, which will last a lot longer than 60 of the same picture on your iPhone.
If you are meeting up with friends, having a Polaroid camera is a great way for them to take home pictures to remember your time together and not have to wait weeks to be tagged on Facebook. Carry this around with you for one day and you will have some of the best pictures and moments captured. And hey, if you don't like it, it can disappear just as easily as it was taken.
I have always been one to say “hold on I want to snapchat this" or “what should I make the Instagram caption" and I have realized that these little moments of wasting time are causing me to miss out on the greater things around me.
It is about time we put the phone away and turn the Polaroid on. These snippets of moments whether they come out good or bad, disclose exactly what was happening in that exact moment in time and is something our iPhones will never be able to capture.
This summer, challenge yourself, do something fun and adventurous, and don't sit in the car the whole way home editing the pictures you took. Flipping through the amazing polaroids that are soon to be taped to your wall have a far greater meaning than scrolling through your camera roll. The raw and effortless shots will last a lifetime. You wont regret this purchase and you wont regret the memories documented.
