#polagram

There’s no denying pictures look much more visually appealing in polaroid form – they’re framed, mini, and has that vintage-y feel to it. However, it’s difficult to capture the jaw-dropping picture in just one shot. (Seriously, how many times are you going to have to jump in order to get that perfect action photo in front of the Eiffel tower?) 

One wrong click and it’s a piece of film wasted – and those things are not cheap. Thankfully, with LALALAB (previously Polagram) you’re given 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances to snap the shot, or until your phone memory’s been used up.

I’ve personally always longed to plaster my walls with polaroids and string fairy lights up to match the generic yet oh-so-aesthetic bedrooms seen online. Given my perfectionist tendencies however, I’d probably continue to save the film until I spot the perfect shot because I wouldn’t be able to bare the thought of it being any less than flawless… thus most likely never capture anything at all. That’s why LALALAB was a lifesaver!

Using pictures directly from your camera roll, the free application (available for both iPhone and Android) makes them available for purchase in the form of:

polaroids/giftbox of 36 polaroids (10x12cm)

prints (10x10cm/10x13cm)

canvases (stretched on a wooden frame, 30×30 cm)

phone cases

photobook (26 photos, 21×21 cm)

poster (35 photos, 50x70cm)

calendar (12 photos, 20x20cm)

large prints (20x20cm/20x27cm)

postcard (10x15cm)

Prints clock in at about HKD $3 ($0.45, £0.29, €0.39), printed on glossy high quality Fujifilm crystal archive paper supreme. Unlike typical polaroids that must be stored appropriately for reasonable longevity, these prints have excellent resistance to light fade and long term dark storage. You are also given the option to print a customised caption.

I first ordered one print to test the services and it arrived on the last day of the estimated arrival date, taking 11 days as I live in Asia and the company is based in Europe. My second order (for this review), arrived in 9 days for the prints and 11 days for the canvas. They were ordered within minutes of each other. Both orders came with a beautiful piece of paper inserted with instructions on the back to create an origami animal.

The application runs very smoothly, however on the version available when this order was placed there was a kink with the gift box. It appeared as though the option to edit the photos and to add/remove them was not available to all the images selected, therefore I couldn’t edit several of them and was required to start all over having to pick the 36 again if I’d made a mistake.

The customer service is excellent, responding to inquiries through Facebook, Instagram and email. They only respond during working days (weekdays), so don’t fret if they don’t answer if you sent your message on Friday and don’t receive a response.

If you use my code PGLMJKN7, you can get £5 off your order (or 17 FREE prints)!

Visit LALALAB’s site here, their Facebook here, and their Instagram here.

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Stephanie