In 1948, the Polaroid Land Model 95 instant camera was invented and first demonstrated at a department store in Boston. The camera was simple to use; the photographer would inject a piece on paper into the camera and take the picture. Next, the paper would pass through a set of developing rollers. Last, after a minute of time, the user would pull apart the two-layered photographic paper to reveal the finished image. The ability to create instant Polaroid pictures was so successful that in 1963, colored Polaroid film became available and the camera continued to make technological advances over the next decades in both functionality and photographic quality.
The height of the Polaroid camera and instant photography was in the 1980s, spear-headed by media placements and celebrity endorsements including Andy Warhol and The Muppets. Despite the fact that the Polaroid company was one of the first to enter the digital photography market, sales of the popular instant camera began to decline with the advances of digital photography and its brighter, downloadable and shareable pictures. In 2008, Polaroid announced that it would discontinue producing its once popular film due to lack of sales. Since then, many groups have been rallying for Polaroid to reconsider and bring back the nostalgic film product.
Although the need for Polaroid pictures decreased, the legacy of Polaroid still lives on. There are several websites that give free Polaroid plug-ins and tutorials for you to use with Photoshop. Thus, even a beginner on Photoshop can create a Polaroid frame around a digital photo to create a vintage feel. That throwback to a less digital age has also made its way to picture frames. You can purchase a frame in the shape of a Polaroid and write on the white bottom to create an instantaneous feel to any digital photograph in your home.
In the 2000s, taking Polaroid pictures became a trend in several aspects of wedding photography. To create a unique and vintage feel, couples took pictures of themselves with Polaroid cameras and turned those photos into a collage and included them in save-the-date cards or posted them on wedding websites as a fun addition, aside from the standard, heavily orchestrated engagement photos. At weddings, couples sometimes gave Polaroid cameras to guests who were encouraged to create documentary images of the reception. Guests could then keep the images they wanted or leave them for the newlyweds' wedding album.