Instant photos let you hand a picture to someone right after you take it, so the moment stays alive in real time. It turned a camera from a silent recorder into a conversation starter, making people share their stories almost immediately. That quick exchange made images feel less like artifacts and more like shared memories, so people felt closer even when they were miles apart. It also raised the bar for immediacy—now we expect to see results and reactions almost instantly, which has sped up how we communicate visual stories.