Say “Cheese!”

Back in the 1940s, American physicist Edwin Land peered through his camera and snapped a photo of his 3-year-old daughter. She asked why she couldn’t see the picture right away. Back then, all cameras used film, which had to be developed, or treated with chemicals at a lab. His daughter’s impatience inspired Land to invent a faster option: the instant camera. It contained film that developed automatically. For the first time, anyone could watch a photo image appear right before their eyes.

Back in the 1940s, American physicist Edwin Land snapped a photo of his 3-year-old daughter. She wanted to see the picture right away. But she couldn’t, because back then, all cameras used film. The film had to be developed, or treated with chemicals at a lab. Only then would the image be visible.

Land was inspired to invent a faster option. He created the first instant camera. The camera contained film that developed automatically. Anyone could watch a photo image appear right before their eyes.

Land founded the Polaroid company, and his instant photos became an instant hit. His first instant camera, the Model 95, went on sale in 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. It sold out in minutes. Over the next few decades, Polaroid sold hundreds of millions of instant cameras and more than 1 billion packs of instant film. Other companies joined the instant-photo market in the 1980s.

“Instant film may be the most chemically complex product humans have ever invented,” says Stephen Herchen, the chief technology adviser at Polaroid. From camera flash to finished photo, the process requires a sequence of almost 50 chemical reactions!

Land founded the Polaroid company. His first instant camera was called the Model 95. It went on sale in 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. It sold out in minutes. Instant photos were a hit! Over the next few decades, Polaroid sold hundreds of millions of instant cameras. People bought more than 1 billion packs of instant film. In the 1980s, other companies started making instant cameras too.

Developing film is a complicated process. Instant film uses a series of almost 50 chemical reactions! “[It] may be the most chemically complex product humans have ever invented,” says Stephen Herchen. He’s the chief technology adviser at Polaroid.

Instant film has three layers, each with a different light-sensitive compound. When the film is ejected from the camera, rollers crack open chemicals in the white band at the bottom of the film. These chemicals spread into the film and freeze the image in place.

Instant film is made up of three layers. Each one is coated with a different chemical that reacts to light. After snapping a photo, the camera ejects the film through two rollers. The rollers squeeze additional chemicals out of the white band at the bottom of the film. These chemicals spread into the film and develop the image.