If you are a lover of Polaroid photos, then you have probably heard the sad, awful news: Polaroid has decided to discontinue the production of all its instant films to make room for new technologies. I am an artist of many mediums, and one of my favorites is Polaroid. Amateurs and professional photographers alike have embraced the instant gratification that a Polaroid gives us. Some well known artists who loved the medium include such names as Ansel Adams, Chuck Close, Walker Evans, Andy Warhol… the list goes on and on.

I bought my first Polaroid camera from a Goodwill in Rhode Island, and never looked back. I have taken thousands of Polaroids since then – a mix of snapshots and more formal pieces. Some of them stay as they are, others are incorporated into mixed-media resin sculptures, or used to make digital negatives for alternative processes. The loss of Polaroid as a medium is absolutely heartbreaking to me. Reading the testimonials on Save Polaroid made me want to do everything I can to keep this medium alive.

Artwork: Untitled by Colie Parks
Shop Imagekind Gallery

If you are a Polaroid enthusiast, you know that they made many other films besides the consumer 600 film, with only a few of them having the “Polaroid” white frame. The 669 film is especially unique in that the photographic emulsion is on the surface of the photo, not protected by a plastic layer. An artist can take the emulsion off of the plastic backing and apply it to almost any surface. With the consumer films, one can manipulate the photos after taking them too -the emulsion doesn’t harden right away, and so with a blunt tool and imagination, the artist can physically move the emulsion around in the frame. The long-discontinued Time-Zero film was renowned for its dreamy and soft manipulations.

Artwork: Vintage Court by Sarah Hazel
Shop Imagekind Gallery

Unless another company picks up the manufacturing rights to (and WANTS to manufacture) the film, then our Polaroid cameras have a bleak future (Fujifilm makes some instant films, which does give me hope!). So lets enjoy all of the Polaroids that are already in existence. I was so excited to find a large group of artists here on Imagekind who have digitized their Polaroid pictures and made them available for sale as prints.

Artwork: Hotel by Marianne Luther
Shop Imagekind Gallery

Though the demise of Polaroid film appears imminent, you can help keep them alive by buying and selling them as high end art prints. Here are four tips to help give your Polaroids new life as giclee prints. I have a few personal recommendations for making them as awesome as they possibly can be.

1. Be sure to scan them at very high quality. I leave all the scratches that the surface gets in the scan because I like the way it looks – but be sure to carefully look at the final scan to be sure it is free of anything that you don’t want to show up in the final print.

2. When scanning photos made with a consumer-grade camera, consider whether or not you want to keep the signature white frame around the image. One may argue that the kitsch factor is dulled by removing it. Take a look at what others have done and decide if your image is effective when cropped. If you do decide to keep the frame as part of the image, consider making it so you can see all the edges – adding a little bit of contrast or shadow to the edges to really make it stand out in prints.

Artwork: Hard Candy by Manuel Branco
Shop Imagekind Gallery

3. You should feel free to manipulate your pictures in Photoshop! Once your image is on a computer, take advantage of the tools that you have to make your photos even better. Or experiment even more and combine other elements into your photos that may be unexpected, such as drawings or textures. Let your Polaroids be a starting point for other works. You’ll still have the original to cherish, so have fun with your reproductions!

4. Consider the paper that you are going to print on. The Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl paper will give a similar stiffness and surface as an original Polaroid, but a watercolor paper (such as Somerset Velvet or Hahnemuhle Torchon) can bring out more painterly aspects of your images. Polaroid emulsion lifts or transfers look especially beautiful when printed on these papers.

Artwork: Polaroid Mix 4 by bradstrain
Shop Imagekind Gallery

If you want to read more about this amazing medium, there are some great resources out there. Our friends at COLOURlovers have interviewed some fantastic polaroid artists in their blog. If you want to join the petitions to save this amazing medium, please check out SavePolaroid.com. Spread the Polaroid love and post your Polaroids to polanoid.net, join the Save Polaroid Flickr Group, and of course start selling your Polaroids on Imagekind!

Artwork: The End by Lord Schmindie
Shop Imagekind Gallery

R.I.P. Polaroid. Hopefully we’ll see you again someday.

-Emily