I really really want to like instant film like Fujifilm’s Instax films. It has all the pros going for it:

• Instant gratification: While one of the largest appeals of film photography is the way it slows you down and keeps you in the moment, it is also nice to have some moments of instant gratification in a hobby.
• It develops itself: This is almost identical to the previous point, but it can’t be overstated. I love darkroom work. I mean, I love darkroom work like developing film. But the occasional chance to see a photo mere minutes after you shoot it is its own type of magic.
• Cost: It’s expensive, but not that expensive after factoring in the cost of film + developing. Especially compared to medium and large format film.
• It’s tangible: Each instant shot is its own unique thing. You can touch it, and it feels so much more real in some ways than a photo negative or digital scans of an image do sometimes. It’s a special feeling to know that each photo is one-of-a-kind.
• It’s social: nothing beats taking photos at a party or other social gathering that people can leave with at the end of the night with no extra effort.

Despite these advantages, I still dislike Instax films. Most of the problems are not specifically caused by the film itself, but rather by the cameras designed to shoot Instax film. The cameras simply aren’t very good, often equipped with ambiguous exposure settings and low-quality lenses. They do capture the “retro aesthetic” well, which is perfectly acceptable at the right time and place, but they make it difficult to take consistent and technically good photos.

The film also has a slim exposure latitude, which is essentially the film’s margin for error. It is the amount you can over-or-underexpose film and still produce a decent image. Films with narrow exposure latitudes are less forgiving to shoot in complex lighting situations without sacrificing shadow detail or having too-bright highlights ruin the shot.

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Even still, I couldn’t resist purchasing a LomoGraflok Instant back for my Intrepid 4×5 camera. This clunky name comes along with this somewhat clunky large format camera back made by the company Lomography. It allows photographers to shoot Instax wide film with any large format camera that accepts graflok backs.

I was drawn by the appeal of instant feedback on my shots as I am learning to navigate a large format camera. I primarily hoped it would help me avoid wasting so much expensive 4×5 sheet film. A secondary perk was the ability to buy Instax wide film at my local Walmart, which feels like a novelty since moving to a rural area far removed from any brick & mortar camera shops. Furthermore, shooting Instax wide film on a large format camera nullifies many of the issues of the crappy cameras intended to shoot Instax wide film by giving the photographer complete control over focus and exposure settings.

After owning both my large format camera and the LomoGraflok back for a few months, I have to say the largest unintended benefit is that it makes photography feel easy. When my very desire and will for photography dries up, I’ve found that setting up my large format camera around my apartment with the LomoGraflok back affixed to it makes it possible to do something artistic and break through the times when creative paralysis is at its worst. And, more than anything, it’s just fun.

I still have some personal issues with the exposure latitude of Instax films, but we’re working through it now that I finally have a few shots I love.