How To Make Dreamy Lomo'Instant-grams!

Are you on the hunt for a way to take your Lomo’Instant skills to yet another insane level? Stop right there — you’ve found it! Now keep reading to find out how to make super cool Lomo’Instant-grams using a Lomo’Instant and a few common household items.

Photograms — essentially photos made with light sensitive paper and without a camera — have been around awhile and although the technique is rather old, it doesn’t mean it’s not still a great way of making rad photographic creations. Using a more modern method that utilizes an instant camera and film, which (lucky for you) perfectly describes what the Lomo'Instant is, you can make some wicked Lomo’Instant-grams! And with just a few items you probably already have lying around the house. Check this list and you’ll be well on your way!

The Tools

• Lomo’Instant
• Instax Film
• Flashlight
• An Extra Hand or Two
• A (Completely) Dark Room
• Objects to Photograph (This is where you can get really creative with your Lomo’Instant-grams. As you can see, some of the things we tried were pasta noodles, coffee beans, a feather, postage stamps, hair, newspaper clippings, floss picks, a flower, a slice of tomato, and paper clips, but you can try anything you want. A word to the wise, though, when choosing your objects — the more transparent, the better the results. Items like coins, for instance, that aren’t transparent at all, will result in a completely black area on your film, which works great if that’s what you’re shooting for.)

Once you’ve gathered your tools, grab your friend(s) and head to the dark room. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the various ins and outs of your Lomo’Instant and film, if you haven’t already, because once the lights are out, you won’t be able to see anything. When everything is in place, and you’re confident you can operate your Lomo’Instant eyes-free, it’s time to make your Lomo’Instant-gram!

The Steps

• Turn off all the lights
• Open your Lomo’Instant and pull out the Instax film cartridge
• Place the object you want to capture on the exposed film
• Make sure the object is touching the surface of the film as close as possible (the closer the object is, the more in focus it will be)
• While you’re holding the object in place, have a pal point the flashlight at the ceiling and turn it on, then immediately turn it off (we’re talking a half a second here — one quick motion)
• Replace the film cartridge back into the Lomo’Instant
• Snap a photo with the lens covered to develop your Lomo’Instant

Once the photo pops out, give it a couple minutes to develop and then admire your rock and roll Lomo’Instant-gram! Ideally, all will go as planned and your creation will (somewhat) resemble the object you intended to gram. If it doesn’t turn out the way you planned, give it another go — you’ll get the hang of it! It took us a couple tries to really dial in the flashlight exposure and object focus.

Keep in Mind

• We found once we took the film cartridge out of the Lomo’Instant, it was easier to get our objects flat on the surface of the film if we pushed the film from the back of the cartridge towards the front and held it there (especially when the cartridge was nearly empty). This means you will have to hold the cartridge in one hand and press the object onto the film with the other (one more reason to have a friend or two to help out).
• Multi-colored transparent plastic bags and paper can also add a nice tint of color to your Lomo’Instant-grams. Simply place the bag or paper directly over the film and whatever else you are gramming and proceed as usual.
• If you use your fingers to press down the object on the film, depending on the transparency, they will also affect the final outcome. This is good to keep in mind for two reasons — #1, because it might add an unwanted dark area on your gram, and #2, because it can be used to give your gram an added touch of color. It all depends on what you want!
• Finally, get seriously creative! Try a bunch of different things and then come back here and report your findings!

Thanks to themindseye for the inspiration. Now grab your Lomo'Instant and get to gramming!

written by jacobs on 2015-01-20 #gear #tutorials #tipster #instant-photography #photograms #dirty-tricks #lomo-instant #homemade-exposures