Bringing photos to life with an instant film camera

The new Polaroid Originals instant film camera launched earlier this month. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese smartphone users tapping away to take photos on their devices has become a common sight across the country.

Instant photography pioneer Polaroid is now aiming to tap that huge digital market by working with Chinese fashion brand JNBY and artists.

The photography brand is sporting a new name, Polaroid Originals, after its purchase by the Impossible Project company in May. It announced the rebranding with the launch of a new instant film camera in New York on Sept 13.

Oskar Smolokowski, CEO of Polaroid Originals, says he is confident of reviving the popularity of instant photography because people have spent too much time in the virtual world and they want to connect more with the real one. That includes taking physical photos.

"People take thousands of photos with smartphones or digital cameras. They seldom see them again. But they do value the physical ones taken on important days," says Smolokowski, 28. A fan of instant cameras himself, Smolokowski started taking instant film photos at the age of 13. He still loves to use it to record important occasions with families, friends and even pets.

Smolokowski admits that China's economic power makes it a potential market for Polaroid and he does get that feeling from the young Chinese consumers, usually aged between 20 and 30.

The market has been developing rapidly in the past few years, fueling annual growth rates of about 20 percent, he says.