Instax Mini 8 Tips and Tricks

This year for Christmas my 10 year old daughter asked for a camera.  I was so excited for her!  I have a digital camera that I was willing to give her, but I wanted her to have something that was all her own.  We started looking at Instax Mini 8 cameras and it sounded like superfuntimes, so that’s what Santa brought.  This camera is adorable and taking pictures with it is so much fun, but my daughter quickly became frustrated with how her pictures were turning out.  This is not a digital camera.  It’s not even like a regular film camera.  It’s a maverick camera that plays by its own set of rules.  A twin pack of film costs about $15 and includes 20 exposures.  I did the math for you.  That’s $0.75 per photo.  That adds up when you’re an unemployed fourth grader.  Luckily, through trial and error and extensive Internet searches, we learned some tips that I thought I would share.

The main point of frustration is that when you look at your subject through the viewfinder, there’s a circle indicating the center of your photo.  Except (GOTCHA!) when your photos develop, the center of the photo is slightly lower and to the left.  The photos below looked centered in the viewfinder, but there’s a lot of head space in the actual photo.

So when you’re taking pictures with your own Instax Mini 8 camera, find your center and then move it down a notch.  Also, these pictures are tiny.  They’re about the size of a business card.  Try to fill the frame as much as you can, rather than pulling back or you’ll have to get out your magnifying glass to see what’s in your photos.

Here’s a picture of my daughter taking a picture of that amazing sunset with her Instax camera a few weeks ago.  (Yes, we get fall in December here in Arizona.  Jealous much?)

Here’s how that picture turned out.  This camera works best when you are 2-4 ft. from your subject.  Otherwise, most of your photo will be dark and scary.  While we’re on the subject, don’t get too close, either.  My daughter kept trying to get closeup pictures of flowers like she’s seen me take with my macro lenses and the pictures were all just a big blur.  This camera has no macro capabilities.  None.  At all.

The camera always sets off the flash indoors, so make sure you’re not shooting directly at a window, mirror, or television with a fake fireplace for Christmas morning.

After learning some of these tips, my daughter and I set out on our bikes in search of quality subjects.  Every time she would point to something and say, “Would that make a good picture?”  We would review our tips:

1. Is it 2-4 feet away?
2. Does it fill the frame?
3. Is it free of mirrors and windows?
4. Is it worth $0.75 of my allowance?

If the answer was yes, then she took the shot.  Here are two of our favorites:

It really is so much fun for her to look at an album full of photos that she took herself.  I love that the Instax Mini 8 is teaching her not only how to take pictures, but how to take good pictures.  We’re all used to snapping away and hoping something turns out right.  This camera requires much more discipline.  I’m hoping she’ll let me try it out someday.  At least until I earn enough allowance to buy one myself.