The kit I bring to every party, and the three ways I keep the photos afterward.
I love Instax. It's one of my favorite ways to capture in-the-moment memories, and it's just really fun. It feels more like a creative tool than a camera to me.
As much as I love it though, one thing I really want to emphasize is that I don't believe Instax is an heirloom item. Instant film fades, and the ink quality isn't the same as a photo printed properly at a lab. These books I’m sharing below are for fun, and something that will last maybe around thirty years if you preserve them well.
So I use it for the things I want to be fun — guest books, party favors, something someone takes home with them. Not for the photos I'm planning to pass down to my daughter for years to come.
If it's a moment I really want to keep, I'll usually take a backup photo on my phone or DSLR camera too, so I have a proper print for her album later.
Okay, with that said — here's everything I bring, and four ways I've actually used it.
The kit
Three things I bring to every event now, no matter what it is.
The camera
Instax Mini 12 — this is the one I use. It's simple enough that you can hand it to anyone at a party and they'll figure it out, which matters a lot when you're not the one taking every photo. I always emphasize to anyone taking the photo that the photo capture button is sensitive so don’t press it until everyone is ready.
Film
Instax Mini film (color) — buy more than you think you need. I budget around one and a half to two shots per person, because people retake.
Black and white film is worth knowing about. I used it for my friend Jen's bridal shower and it turned out so beautiful. It makes everything look a little more pulled together and classic.
An archival pen
Micron PN — I personally prefer the archival ink, not only because it will preserve better, but it dries quickly on pages. Sharpie can also be useful and writes well on the Instax print itself.
Nice to have
An arch backdrop — I've used the same one at a bridal shower and at my grandfather's 90th. Having a designated spot makes such a difference. Without one, people end up taking photos wherever they're standing and you get twenty shots of someone's kitchen.
Themed stickers — pressed flower stickers for a floral baby shower, ocean and starfish stickers for a beach bachelorette. They take almost no time to put on and they make the whole thing feel designed.
Washi tape — I've used gold polka dot and a gold foil pattern to frame photos or add between pages.
Then decide where the photos go
This is the part that changes depending on the event. There are three formats I use, and the one I pick usually depends on whether the photos are staying with me, going home with guests, or being saved for someone to open later.
1. The book
This is my default, and the one I keep coming back to.
An Instax photo album with writing space — each page has a slot sized exactly for a Mini photo, with enough room around it for someone to write a message. There are a few versions, one, two, four or six Instax photos per page. I've only used the one-per-page version because I like using it for people to write on, and separating it for each person, and it has the least amount of photos needed.
I've done this in two colors now. The quality is really good — thick pages, a proper fabric cover. It feels like a book, not a craft project.
Why I like it as a guest book: most guest books end up being a list of signatures nobody looks at again. With this, everyone takes a photo and writes a message next to it, so you end up with faces and handwriting instead.
At a baby shower: the theme was floral, so I bought pressed flower stickers and put them throughout. Everyone wrote short messages. It turned out so beautifully, and my friend loved it.
At my grandfather's 90th: I was the point person, so I took the photos in front of the arch and had everyone sign their page. I used the confetti from the party in the book too, which brought it all together.
At my friend Kana's bachelorette in Hawaii: I used ocean-themed stickers (they were actually for nails, but worked really well size-wise for little sticker details) and all of her friends wrote notes. And because I'd brought extra film, I kept going all weekend — at the luau I took photos with people who hadn't been able to make the bachelorette itself. By the end it was sort of a guest book of messages just for her, from everyone who was there across the whole trip.
I'd really recommend that last part. If you have extra film, there's no reason the book has to be finished when the party is.
2. Magnets
Instax photo magnets — frames sized for a mini photo that stick to a fridge.
These work two ways for me.
As a party favor. For Jen's bridal shower we set up a little pop-up photo booth with a backdrop. It was a smaller group, so each person got to take two photos with Jen — one went into the scrapbook I made for her, and the other they took home as a magnet. My sister-in-law still has hers on her fridge, and that was a couple of years ago now, which is more than I can say for most party favors.
And at home afterward. Not everything has to go in a book. I keep some on our fridge where we see them constantly instead of them sitting in a drawer. It's also a good home for the photos that are a little blurry or a little silly — the ones you wouldn't put in an album but don't want to get rid of.
3. An envelope book
This is the one I used for my daughter's first birthday, and it's a little different because the photo isn't the whole point — the message is.
My mom made a little wooden box that we still use. I set it out with the Instax, a stack of cards with envelopes, and instructions:
Take a note card and write your message
Pick out a colored envelope — don't seal it
Take a photo of yourself or your group with the Instax, and put it in the envelope with your message
Afterward I glued the envelopes into a book along with printed photos from the party.
That's the part I'd point out if you're deciding between formats: because the envelopes are the thing on the page, you're not limited to Instax. You can add regular prints alongside them, which means the book can hold the proper photos from the day as well as the instant ones.
The "don't seal it" part was the fun part for my daughter, even years later. She loves opening them and pulling the photo out, and it's like this little treasure every time.
A few things I've learned
Give someone the job. The photos won't take themselves, and if it's your event you're going to be busy. At my grandfather's 90th I was the designated person, and that's why the book is actually full.
Pay attention to light. Instax can be unforgiving indoors at night (although there is a flash option). If you can set up near a window or outside, it's much better.
Budget extra film. People retake, kids take photos of the floor, and you'll want spares. Running out halfway through is really the main way this goes sideways.
Have a designated spot. A backdrop, a corner, a blank wall. Anywhere consistent is helpful!
Have people write while they're still there. If you wait and plan to do it later, it usually doesn't happen. And while they’re writing — they get to see the photo develop!
If you want to start small
You don't need all of this. A camera, one twin pack of film, and a pen will get you through an event just fine, and you can decide what to do with the photos afterward.
If you're not sure whether Instax is your thing at all, the magnets are the cheapest way to try it. You'll find out pretty quickly whether your people have fun with it.
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I've used Instax at baby showers, a bridal shower, a 90th birthday, and a bachelorette in Hawaii. Here's the kit I bring, three ways to keep the photos afterward, and why I don't treat these as heirlooms.