Last week I had the pleasure of exploring the new Polaroid Fotobar in my home town of Delray Beach, Florida after just moving back to the States.
I wanted to check it out before the Mamatography group "Foto Night Out" this month. I'm stoked for us local Mamatographers to have a chance to put faces to names as we've been working with one another mostly via Facebook. From my first step into the store, I knew that they would feel just as enthralled as I felt! The store had a NEW aire about it. Organized, modern, & fresh…and I mean smelling too ; )
I wanted to stay and play all night. But I had my feisty toddler, Safi, with me and my husband who even as a "Non-Creative" was excited with all the wall art we could create for our home.
Their kiosks are chic and easy to use. You can either link straight to your Instagram account or upload your JPG's from a camera card, etc. For best results from your digital files, you always want to print from a minimal resolution of 250 DPI. And remember the more you scale and crop, the more pixels or Dots Per Inch you loose! A BIGGER PICTURE needs MORE pixels.
This can be done in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
The Polaroid Fotobar has done a stellar job of matching an online and IN-STORE experience. But my favorite part about the 'Fotobar Revolution' is how they are in part responsible for the resurrection of the Polaroid itself. They offer baskets full of traditional cameras and Polaroid film in the store. It's no wonder why so many digital photographic styles have been mimicked from the original insta-image. Back in college, I reveled in the Polaroids my Advertising Photography professor would snap in class with such vibrance and texture. I was just learning the 2nd Photoshop and was certainly still shooting film!
In 2008, Polaroid DISCONTINUED it's film and closed it's factory doors. A Great American Tragedy! That same year 2 Polaroid enthusiast purchased the last closing factory and started the 'Impossible Project'. And there it was, a Polaroid revival!
Now, with another new store open in Washington DC and others in the works, Mamatographers all over the land will have a chance to get their hands on custom products captured by YOU!
Wanna try out Fotobar products? Mamatography readers Get 20% OFF their Polaroids! (Use code: CJ20MR)
Happy Snapping, Vicky
