22 Instant Film Photographers You Need to Know!
Instant film has a special place in the hearts and minds of artists worldwide. It is a tactile object that is often seen as a building block in the creation of photographic art. Polaroid film in particular has an exceptional ability to produce striking imagery that embraces the inherent flaws and happy accidents that go hand and hand with this medium. Those photographers who choose to embrace this temperamental process have doorways opened to tangible images that can be made no other way. From soft color palettes to striking black and white imagery, artists from around the world are still making groundbreaking work that surprises even the most dedicated instant film lover.
With this in mind, we invited Andrés Aguilar Caro from Instant Photographers Magazine to curate a list of instant film photographers you need to know! For many of us, the amazing instant gratification of this film predates our digital lives yet the artists he has selected show that their work can endure like no other.
Andrés Aguilar Caro writes:
I try to avoid falling into the cliché of saying that I like instant photography for its magic, but at a certain point, it is impossible to avoid it. The first time I opened a peel-apart photo I was disappointed, as I had no idea about the technique required. I just thought that the photo’s chemicals were dry or perhaps that my Polaroid Land Camera 320 I received as a present wasn’t working. At the time, the idea of having to invest more time and money into Polaroid did not suit me, and that I would quickly return to digital photography to keep entertaining me at that moment.
However, I took a second chance, motivated by the wonderful people at the CHANDAL photographic store (Barcelona, Spain). This second chance was all I needed as it led me into instant delight as I was able to shoot some rare chocolate-dyed Polaroid cartridges that are now a collector's item. With it, I shot portraits of everyone around me, documented the city in which I lived, held an exhibition, and all at once, I began to feel a thirst for instant film that could not be quenched.
It has been over a decade since that experience and I have not stopped enjoying all possible formats in instant photography. This passionate curiosity for all things instant has led me to travel, curate exhibitions, create my Instant Photographers project. This has led me to meet the most incredible community of photographers I could ever wish for. Each time I see the work or meet with an instant photographer, I begin to feel a brotherly relationship with each of them. As my relationships with these artists grow, I become so fond of them and their work that I begin to take on the roles of father, friend, and faithful squire and guide. But at the same time, as a reward for their trust, I can't help but feel like the roles have often reversed, that I have become both their student and unconditional follower.
This selection of photographers that I recommend today is a part of that history. I have not and will not stop learning from their creative abilities to manipulate and utilize instant film in ways I could only dream of. I have a deep respect for those who continue to hold the high flying flag of our beloved medium in the light of an overwhelmingly digital world. I am clear and I always say it, if it weren't for you, friends of instant photography, all my work would have no meaning. The admiration I have for every one's work is infinite and my gratitude for inspiring me feeds on your light. On that note, please enjoy my curation of 22 instant film photographers that deserve recognition in the Polaroid world and beyond.
-Andrés Aguilar Caro, Founder of Instant Photographers Magazine
20 INSTANT FILM PHOTOGRAPHERS YOU NEED TO KNOW!
“Medusa” by Guillaume Nalin | Polaroid SX70 with Close-up Lens + Polaroid Type 600 Black and White Film
Artist: Guillaume Nalin | Location: France
Link: Instagram
The first time I saw Guillaume's work, I thought it was a lie that something so good could be created. I have been a follower of his work since I met him in Paris at Instant Art: all his mixing techniques and his already famous compositions are a huge inspiration to me. If you pass through the city of light, call him, he will be delighted to tell you how he creates his art.
“Cream” by Alessia Amati | Polaroid SX70 + Polaroid SX70 Color Film
Artist: Alessia Amati | Location: Italy
Link: Instagram
Without a doubt, the new generation of instant format photographers have Alessia in their best names. Her settings, complex staging and a touch of romanticism and delicate humor, are key components in her work.
“Self-Portrait in yellow” by Anika Neese | Polaroid SX70 Sonar + Customized Duochrome Polaroid FIlm
Artist: Anika Neese | Location: Germany
Links: Website | Instagram
The first time I heard about Anika it came from a photography master, so such a recommendation could not pass up. She is a treasure who has been working in this format for many years, but who has needed many years to get out and be able to show us everything she has done in the privacy of her laboratory. Her photos are cult pieces for me, and her infinite management of her techniques make her the master in instant photography that we should all follow daily to learn from her.
“Run” by Ariel Shelleg| Polaroid SX70 Sonar + Expired 779 Polaroid FIlm
Artist: Ariel Shelleg | Location: Israel
Links: Instagram | Website
Ariel is the neighbor we would always want to ally with to get in good trouble. His charming and vibrant personality is reflected in all his work. Full of passion, poetry and love for the world, makes Ariel one of my favorite people, but also, his work is a box of surprises in which he leaves his soul in each photo.
You cannot stop following Ariel's work if you are curious to see how this genius creates through his dreams.
“Silence” by Astrid Jacomme | Supercolor 635 + Polaroid Tyoe 600 Color Film
Artist: Astrid Jacomme | Location: Spain
Link: Instagram
Astrid is an artist that I follow very closely and constantly learn from. I know her and her work since years and that is why I know that sometimes when we sit down to talk about photography, she not only listens, inside she is in a permanent process of creation. Everything is a constant feedback for her and each picture, sound, color, moves the chemistry of her life to develop poetry and image. Although she still wants to deny it, her photographic work has many hidden messages, I personally love trying to decipher them all.
“Untitled self-portrait” by Lili Cranberrie | Polaroid SX70 + Expired Polaroid Time Zero Film
Artist: Lili Cranberrie | Location: France
Link: Instagram
Lili is not only a great artist of her own image, but a passionate about what the instant format is for decades. She explores techniques, looks for unique films, transforms them, plays with her, her body and her light, and any of her photos is a still life that we would be willing to pay millions to have exhibited at home. Lili is gold, her work speaks for her.
“Skin” by Lula | Polaroid SLR680 + Polaroid Type 600 Color Film
Artist: Lula | Location: Unknown
Link: Instagram
Lula is mystery, darkness and fog. Three terms that many of us know can be applied correctly to instant photography. I resort a lot to the sensitive and delicate curation of her works because they transport me to scenarios and situations that I love for my own creations.
“Inpurities“ by Koichiro Kojima | Polaroid SPIRIT600CL + Expired Polaroid 600 Film
Artist: Koichiro Kojima | Location: Japan
Link: Instagram | Website
I think I will visit Japan just to see the world in which Koichiro lives. He creates in a similar way to mine, but his results are from that fantastic world that he creates. I can't imagine what he must think every time he finishes an image, but I am sure that the fact that he is an inspiration for many of us who create art. That is the reason to continue living the feeling of what he does for many more years.
“The Reflection” by Cristina Fontsare | Polaroid 600 SE + Photographic Negative of Fujifilm FP100C Film
Artist: Cristina Fontsare | Location: Spain
Links: Website | Instagram
I got to know Cristina's work as a cold water fountain a few years ago. I couldn't believe that her work was better known in other parts of the world than in her home, the city where I live, Barcelona. I allowed myself to bring her to an exhibition that I curated and then from there the world with her spaces was filled in my photographic style. Her eternal cat curiosity invades me from time to time and invites me to transform my style, to quench the thirst to create and, like her, to allow myself the audacity to risk with beauty in hand.
“Waiting“ by Simona Salerno | Polaroid One Step + Polaroid Gradient Frame Edition Expired
Artist: Simona Salerno | Location: Italy
Link: Instagram
Simona is a photographer on the list of stars that I go to whenever I need inspiration. Her facet as an artist flies in the middle of the psychology of her photos, an introspection and the search for being. Her fantastic aesthetics is worth breathing. Her work is so delicate that just looking at her photos makes you shiver with pleasure.
“San Antonio II” by Rosalie Anderson | Polaroid Now + Polaroid Gradient Frame Edition Expired
Artist: Rosalie Anderson | Location: Everywhere
Link: Instagram
Rosalie has been one of my great discoveries in the last year. One can stare at her photographs for hours and discover new universes each time. Her delicate work exploring techniques, her magical moments designing mirages, and great imagination make Rosalie a photographer for whom I predict a great future in contemporary photography.
“Self-portrait” by Paula Martínez Alvarez | Polaroid SX70 + Impossible Project Third Man Records Edition Film
Artist: Paula Martínez Alvarez | Location: Unknown
Link: Instagram
The protagonist in Paula's work is her life. She fills books and boxes of photos documenting a whole process in which she is only the bearer of a message. I admire the energy, aesthetics and careful quality of her work. I'm also a huge fan of her only published fanzine, which I constantly reread in search of inspiration for my most complex moments in photography. Paula is undoubtedly one of my greatest recommended in terms of photographic creation.
“Doyle Portrait 2020” by Mark Francis Fenning | Polaroid 1 Step + Polaroid Originals Color Film
Artist: Mark Francis Fenning | Location: Ireland
Link: Instagram
Mark is for me one of the great contemporary portrait artists in the instant format. His eye for detail, ready to offer us bodies about to be devoured with our eyes, and his intelligent staging, make his work a necessary work to be studied if you want to dedicate yourself to this art.
“Torso” by Marjolaine Vuarnesson | Polaroid SX70 + Polaroid Originals Black and White Type 600 Black Film
Artist: Marjolaine Vuarnesson | Location: France
Links: Website | Instagram
Marjolaine is recurrent when people ask me about who my reference is. Her sensitivity, technique and curiosity to explore has always been key for many of us to follow her work closely. Tireless photographer Marjolaine is without a doubt one of my favorite photographers.
“SIJENE” by Andrea Cassady | Polaroid Land Camera 101 + Fujifilm FP100C
Artist: Andrea Cassady | Location: Spain
Link: Instagram
Andrea's work is a wave of fresh air to the world. The fortuities of life turned her from participating as a model in my photos with her rock band to be my assistant in personal sessions, but from very close I see how curious she learns from the work of others and forms her style through experimenting, elaborating and build stories. The lighting in her photos is unique.
“Khroma 15” by Fanny Genty | Polaroid 635 CL Supercolor + Polaroid Color Film
Artist: Fanny Genty | Location: Unknown
Link: Instagram
I've seen ink flying, splashes of color coming out of polaroids. I've seen photos drenched by psychedelic rainbows and many dangerously boiling chemicals in Fanny's hands. Not only is her work a wonder to follow, but so is the creative process behind it. You can't stop watching her work to admire what color can do behind her photos.
“Hello my pale moon” by Lynda Grine | Polaroid One Step+ + Polaroid iType Color Film
Artist: Lynda Grine | Location: Belgium
Links: Website | Instagram
Privacy is an essential factor for many of us who create in the instant format. Lynda is essentially her work, in front of and behind the camera, telling how she lives her dreams, desires and passions. Not only as a visual but also a technical factor, since she moves very well through different techniques and formats, with fantastic and emotional results. You can feel yourself reading a Haiku while contemplating all of her work, and surely you can feel her love without a doubt.
“A girl looking out of a window.” by Lilian Wildeboer | Polaroid Duplicator with a Selfmade Technique + Polaroid Spectra film
Artist: Lilian Wildeboer | Location: The Netherlands
Link: Instagram
Lilian is like a mentor to me. She has the best that the old photographic school has, and that she uses mixing with new technologies, with a lot of detail and almost trying to make her go unnoticed. Her work never ceases to amaze me, she has that great passion to challenge herself every time and she herself has become an unbeatable experimenter. We share a great passion for the missing Spectra film.
“On the Road” by Clotilde Noblet | Polaroid SX-70 Alpha + Expired Polaroid Type SX70 Film
Artist: Clotilde Noblet | Location: France
Link: Instagram
To speak of Clotilde is to speak of sensitivity, of moments, of exact situations where her special way of seeing the world often makes me sit down, and I enjoy without saying a word while I look at her photos. I met her in person a few years ago in Paris at Instant Art Paris and I can remember her presence with a great aura of passion and feelings.
“Ella” by Isabel Herrera | Mint SLR670s + Polaroid Black and White Film
Artist: Isabel Herrera | Location: Guatemala
Link: Instagram
Isabel is my alter ego. Her gaze, dedicated aesthetics and perfectionism, make her one of the most professional photographs I know. Having a good time listening to how her passion moves her photography, and then seeing how each work she creates is a challenge that she tries to overcome again and again with better results, is for me the most real meaning of beauty in art.
I could say that Isabel is becoming one of the most sought-after contemporary photographs today and that her support for instant photography is undoubtedly a global balance point: living art.
“Omen” by Ivan Pujol | Polaroid SX70 One Step + Polaroid Color Film
Artist: Ivan Pujol | Location: Spain
Link: Instagram
Ivan is arguably one of the photographers I looked at early in my career for inspiration. Both he and I are lovers of music and photography, and then he has this innate madness in his photos. Be it musicians, models or his famous pre-wedding or wedding photos, his polaroids are a trip to another style, to create without fear. I would say that Ivan is a bit of the punk artist that we all want to become. His work has my absolute respect.
“It felt like home” by Ina Echternach | Polaroid SLR680 / Mint lens + Impossible Project Type 600 2.0 Beta Film
Artist: Ina Echternach | Location: Germany
Link: Instagram
Ina is a myth for many of us. Her photography has taught us for years that nothing is entirely invented. Much of what she does is sometimes just a small piece of her world and we just have to stop and stop and re-learn from it from scratch. Ina questions herself, creates and in the midst of her shadows, the light of her images tells us where she spends her life. You will see many scenarios out of stories, because that is Ina's world, and knowing her is entering that world full of fantasy.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Andrés Aguilar Caro begins his career in photography at the same time he begins to study journalism. Disillusioned with XXI Century journalism, he starts to focus on documentary photography, and, specializing in photojournalism, he starts working as a freelance photographer and editor for international media. In 2010 he gets his hands on the first instant format camera and starts working with it parallel to his digital equipment, recording some of his more intimate works in this new format. In 2013 he leaves aside his career as a freelancer to create his personal project: Instant Photographers, former Polaroid of the day, until today. IP is a platform for cultural and artistic support for amateur and professional photographers of the instant format, and in which everything is about art, capturing it in very personal images and where photography is the goal of the whole project. His work has been exhibited in Barcelona, Paris, Bucharest and Berlin.
Connect with Andrés Aguilar Caro on his Website and on Instagram!
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