48 hours, one instax™, zero regrets

Two bank holidays in May. That’s a lot of long weekends for a single month, and the kind of time that’s easy to let slip by without anything to show for it.

Here’s how to make the most of 48 hours away with your instax™ camera. A shot challenge to keep things interesting, a packing list, and a way to turn your prints into something you’ll actually want to keep.

The 48-hour shot challenge

The idea is simple: one pack of film, 48 hours away, and something different to shoot at each stop on your trip. Instead of reaching for your phone every time something catches your eye, you're shooting with intention, one holiday print at a time.

Pick a subject, shoot it, move on. Knowing what you’re looking for keeps you looking. You come home with prints that actually tell a story, rather than a camera roll full of stuff you’ll scroll past once and never open again. 

Need a nudge? Here are some good starting points:

• The journey there. Airport departure boards, the view from the plane window, wherever you end up killing time before you board.
• Where you’re staying. The view from the window, the hotel room before you’ve unpacked.
• The first proper look around. Streets, signage, anything that tells you where you are.
• Candid people shots. Your mates mid-laugh, mid-bite, mid-argument about where to eat next.
• Something you almost walked past. Odd architecture, a random mural, a market stall piled with stuff. 
• The light. Late afternoon is usually the best time to shoot. Find a good spot with soft, even light and the camera will do most of the work.
• The food. Always the food.
• The last shot before you leave. The view from the car, the platform, wherever you’re heading home from.

The best shots are usually the ones you had to look for. Having something to look for helps. And because you’re printing as you go, every frame counts. You can’t undo a shot and try again. That’s kind of the point. 

Which instax™ to bring on a weekend away

You don’t need to pack everything. Two cameras cover most situations, and if you’re travelling light, one is fine. The instax mini 41™ and the instax WIDE Evo™ cover opposite ends of the spectrum pretty well between them.

What to pack: The short version

Keep it simple. You’re on a weekend away, not a production shoot.

A travel case is worth the space if you’re moving around a lot. It keeps everything together and stops your camera getting knocked around in your bag.

Take more film than you think you need. One extra pack covers the moments you didn’t plan for.

A felt pen. For writing names, dates, or a single word on the white border of the print. Low effort, high payoff.

A small envelope or folded card to keep your prints safe while you’re out.

Can you use an instax™ for proper travel pics?

Short answer: yes. But what makes a travel pic worth keeping in the first place?

Most travel shots end up buried in a camera roll, never printed, never shared beyond a quick social media story. With an instax™, the print is the whole point. You come home with something physical. Something you can stick on a wall, or hand to the person you were with. That’s a different kind of value.

The instax WIDE Evo™ gives you more creative control than you’d expect from an instant camera: ten lens effects, ten film effects, digital capture so you can choose which frames to print. You’re not just pointing and hoping. The instax mini 41™ keeps things simpler, which is often exactly what you want when you’re moving around and don’t want to think too hard about settings.

What both cameras do well is get you off your phone and into the moment. You shoot it, it prints, it’s done. There’s something genuinely freeing about that on a trip.

After more inspo for getting creative with your shots? Check out our guide to lo-fi hacks for your instax™ for ways to push what your camera can do.

Turn your prints into a 48-hour zine

Here’s the part that makes the whole thing worth it.

At the end of the trip, lay all your prints out in order. You’ve got a visual timeline of the whole weekend. A zine is just a small, self-made booklet. Fold a few sheets of A4, slot your prints in chronologically, and add a line or two under each one. The date, the place, what was happening. Simple.

If you want to go further: use WIDE prints as full-page spreads and mini prints as detail shots. Slot in a bus ticket, a receipt, anything flat from the trip. The more layers, the better it gets.

Make two copies and give one away. Half the fun of a physical print is that you can actually hand it to someone. A zine from a shared trip is something people actually keep.

The shot challenge from earlier works perfectly as a structure here. Each print maps to a different moment, so the story already has its own rhythm.

Want more ideas for keeping and displaying your prints after the trip? Our guide to making your space your own with instax™ pics is full of ways to give your prints a proper home.

Give the long weekend something to show for itself

Two bank holidays. Don’t waste them on your sofa wondering where the weekend went.

Grab your kit, pick a direction, and see what you come back with. 

Browse the full instax™ camera range and find your perfect travel companion before the May bank holidays.