I’m no expert, but I’ve been wasting Instax Mini film for years so I picked up a few tips and tricks here and there. Here are five of them for newbie owners, or for people who are looking to purchase one very soon.
Photos turn out better in a well-lighted environment.
The Instax Mini takes photos just fine in low light situations given that you use the flash, but the flash tends to obscure the background in a shadow. To get your background to show up in the picture as clearly as the foreground, light it up — turn on the room lights or go outdoors.
Stand two to four feet away from your subject.
The Intax Mini’s lens has no macro capabilities so shooting too close will result in blurry photos. Stand too far away on the other hand, and your subjects will appear tiny in a photo that only measures two by three inches.
Aim slightly lower to center your subject
The viewfinder and the lens in the Instax Mini do not align as perfectly as — say, SLR cameras, so you have to compensate for it. Instead of putting your subject dead center in the viewfinder, try aiming slightly lower. This centers your subject in the final print and eliminates the large headroom you might otherwise get if you aimed straight on.
Avoid extremely reflective surfaces.
Avoid having mirrors, windows, and glass doors in the background. When the flash hits a reflective surface, it will show up as a black spot in your photo (where the light “burns” the film).
Practice FIFO when using film.
If you stockpile film like I do, practice FIFO or “First In, First Out”. Check the manufacture and expiration dates on the box and use the ones that expire sooner before you use the ones that expire later. If you use a film that is past its Use By date, your pictures may have a bluish tint and dull colors.
11 July 2011 at 21:12
i just dont understand about “Aim slightly lower to center your subject” topic. can you email me for more details? thanks
12 July 2011 at 10:29
here ya go — hope this helps! :)
18 August 2012 at 11:28
Hi, I didn’t understand the part on the reflective surface. I understand that a black dot will appear, but will spoil the camera or the other films? thanks:)
18 August 2012 at 11:39
Hi there! If you shoot directly at a mirror, the black dot will appear in the shot, but it won’t ruin your camera or the rest of the film in the pack :)
18 August 2012 at 15:40
Thanks dude! That really help, everything really help! I’m one step towards becoming a pro hahahah:)
16 September 2012 at 10:17
Thanks for the tips! What mode do you usually use for the outdoor/indoor pictures with good lighting? Do you usually change the mode?
16 September 2012 at 10:42
For Indoor, I use the Flash (House) mode but try to make sure we’re still under good light :) For Outdoor, I use Cloudy because cloudy or sunny the Cloudy mode works out pretty well :)
2 December 2012 at 17:39
Hi, do you know if I can use the instax on night landscapes? like to take christmas lights outdoors? thanks:)
3 December 2012 at 23:26
Oh they aren’t ideal for night landscape shots — you’ll get very little detail :( They are much better for full sun or indoor with ample lights ^^;;;;
7 December 2012 at 22:48
oh thanks, you saved me some film! hahahaha:)
26 March 2013 at 09:31
what setting did you use for the first picture and how about for landscape shots?
26 March 2013 at 11:36
I used cloudy. And just tilted the camera sideways for landscape shots.