Remember back in the day when photos were taken from cameras and there was film to capture your content? While many may not, most will. There was the anticipation of taking an entire roll of pictures and then wondering how they had come out. Of course, there was no way of knowing until you dropped the roll off for processing, and then it would take a few days, really back in the day. More recently, you would get your prints in about one hour.
Now, you can relive that vibe of waiting for your digital photos to “develop” using an app called “1 Hour Photo”. It does exactly what it claims to – you take digital photos and then you have to wait an hour to view them. While that doesn’t sound like it makes sense, because all digital photos can be viewed instantaneously, what the app is aiming to do is recreate the feeling and sense of wonderment behind what you’ve just captured. In that time of wonderment, you build your own pictures and memories of the moment or event before you’ve looked at the photo. This increases your involvement and attachment to the photos.
The reason for waiting is simple. Nowadays, with digital photography, we tend to click away without abandon. This means endless quantities of photos that are not worth keeping. When we were taking film photography, each shot was calculated and planned to the best of our abilities, because you didn’t want to waste your film. In the digital age, we can now snap a shot and delete it if we don’t like it. 1 Hour Photo brings back the concept of waiting to see your photo, so you slow down the photography process and really engage with it.
The other big advantage to this app is that it is linked to the several printing outlets, so you can send your photos for print directly from your iPhone and expect to get the results in about one hour. No more going to the store and connecting devices to print the pictures, or even downloading the photos to a desktop from where you’ll send them to a printer. This makes photo printing instantaneous.
There are a variety of photo sizes to choose from and now the app has added the option to order photo panels and magnets, as well. There are lots of options to choose from the app itself makes it so easy to choose your printer and send the order. Choose photos that are already on your device and easily upload them to the site you choose to print them.
One downside is that at times you are not guaranteed a one-hour turnaround time. I think it’s difficult for the app to know and ensure that the store you pick will in fact be able to have your prints ready in one hour. What would be cool is an indicator stating what their current turnaround time is when you choose a site, before you choose to print there.
Until then, 1 Hour Photo does make it easier to enjoy photography more and get the prints you want, where you want, so you can share the moments you’ve captured.