Falling in Love with Instant Photography Again: My Journey with the Instax SQ6

Exploring the art of analog film photography

My first instant camera was a Polaroid—specifically a Polaroid P (600). I can’t quite recall when or where I got it, but it must have been in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, around that time, the original Polaroid Company went bankrupt and stopped producing films for my camera, so it ended up in storage.

The next instant camera I owned was a Fuji Instax Mini 55 Cheki. It wasn’t the best, but I had fun with it, especially during travels and for scrapbooking. However, finding film was still challenging and expensive, so I didn’t stick with it for long. The results I was getting just weren’t worth the cost of practice.

Last year, my daughter asked if I had an instant camera. When I couldn’t find the Instax Mini 55, I purchased a new Instax Mini 12. It was definitely an upgrade from the Mini 55, but in hindsight, I wish I had done more research. If I knew then what I know now, I might have chosen a different instant camera. Nevertheless, my girl enjoys using the Mini 12 at parties and get-togethers with friends. And, I’m slowly trying to see if I can use it for my own photography practice.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago, when I decided to take up instant photography again—this time, with more focus and intention.

After several weeks of research, I settled on the square format and chose the Instax SQ6, which I’ve learned is one of the best options in this format.

So, on one Amazon Prime Day, I ended up buying an Instax SQ6 (as well as an Instax Square Link printer; which I’m slightly regretting).

Here’s the unboxing and set-up video of my Instax SQ6:

My first impressions of the Instax SQ6

After unboxing the Instax SQ6, I was instantly smitten. The camera felt great in my hands—less cumbersome than the Instax Mini 12. I was also pleased with its features: various shooting modes (auto, close-up/macro, landscape, darken, lighten, double exposure), a self-timer, flash on/off, and a tripod mount. It even came with coloured filters that I’m excited to experiment with.

Keen to put it to the test, I took the Instax SQ6 on a weekend outing with my kids to one of our favourite local beachside spots. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate—it was windy, rainy, and cold. But that didn’t deter me, and the conditions made for some interesting shots and a truly memorable experience.

The first few shots were nerve-wracking, especially after my initial attempt failed miserably. Thankfully, out of the 10 exposures in the Instax film pack, I ended up liking at least 5 of the shots. One of them, in particular, brings me so much joy every time I look at it. I’d say only 2 or 3 were complete misses. Not bad for a first attempt—or maybe I just got lucky!

In any case, here’s a POV video I created on that test photoshoot day in Brighton, South Australia:

And, here are the photos from the photo shoot:

Instax SQ6 First Shots

And, this one’s my favourite from this lot, which was the sixth photo:

What do you think about instant photography? Let me know what you think!