PRINTING & CRAFTS

Print life's key moments with the Canon Zoemini S2

From solo travels to first exhibitions, we talk to a group of young people about the events that have meant the most to them and how they shared those memories with the Canon Zoemini S2 instant camera printer.
Outstretched hands hold out several Canon Zoemini S2 cameras, one printing an image, and one person also holding a black and white print.
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Everyone has a special moment in life they're proud of, or an experience that has made them who they are today. Whether it's a graduation, a first holiday with friends or a good grade in an exam, these achievements should be recorded and shared.

The significance of that 'big life moment' might not be immediately obvious, which is why it's worth capturing as many memories as you can – big or small – to share in an instant with friends or family, or to decorate your room or belongings as a happy reminder of good times.

Canon challenged a group of students to show off their big life moments in print. Discover what those life-changing events were and find out how they celebrated them using the Canon Zoemini S2 instant camera printer.

Meet the group

Four young people pose for a group selfie in a park, being taken with a Canon printer camera.

Our group captured the moment they first met with a picture. The Canon Zoemini S2 camera printer has a ring-light and mirror, making it ideal for group selfies, which you can print out immediately to share with everyone. The camera's compact nature also makes it easy to carry when out and about.

A Canon Zoemini S2, smartphone and selection of prints are laid out on a wooden surface. A hand can be seen using the touchscreen on the smartphone.

The Canon Zoemini S2 can be used as an instant camera and printer, so you can print from the existing images in your camera roll via the Canon Mini Print app.

Our group was made up of four students studying at Cardiff University, Wales: master's students Ashvin Tiwana, Megan Gaen and Shubhangi Dua, plus first-year music student, Evie Ingles. Together they shared and printed their proudest moments in life to date.

The group used the Canon Zoemini S2, a clever 2-in-1 mini photo printer camera that's perfect for saving precious memories. With a printing time of approximately 50 seconds, you can bring your photos to life almost instantly, while the Canon Mini Print app helps you get more out of your photos and turn them into mini artworks for display.

Ashvin Tiwana

A person using the Canon Mini Print app on a smartphone to make their photos into circular sticker prints. The table in the background is covered with Canon Zoemini S2 print outs.

"I really enjoyed printing my images out on the Canon Zoemini S2," says master's student Ashvin Tiwana. "Having the ability to add text in the Canon Mini Print app is also a helpful feature because it enables you to remember where you've been on your travels. It will always be there on the picture as a reference."

A man smiles at the camera, holding up a small print of holiday photos in front of his face.

The sliding switch on the top of the Canon Zoemini S2 allows users to swap between modes, including landscape without flash, portrait with auto flash and selfie with ring-light.

Ashvin chose a trip around Vietnam as his own big moment. He loves travelling solo and has been far and wide exploring different cultures. His first solo trip was a journey to France and since then he has travelled around Cambodia, Vietnam and Ireland.

"Since I was 19, I've been lucky enough to travel around the world," he says. "The best thing about solo travel is that you don't have to follow anyone else's schedule, and you get to explore and try new things based on what you enjoy."

The picture he chose to print was taken on his trip to Vietnam in 2020, when he was on a boat tour around Halong Bay.

"I really enjoyed my entire Vietnam experience because I made a really good friend on that boat trip and we are still close to this day," he says. "That solidified why I enjoy solo travelling because you get to meet beautiful people and you can create a special bond, not only with the places you're seeing for the first time, but also with the people you're seeing them with."

Hands place circular stickers on the back of a smartphone.

"It's great that you can add frames, filters and stickers in the Canon Mini Print app," says Ashvin.

To proudly show off one of his favourite memories, Ashvin decided to print his photo using Canon ZINK 1.3" Pre-Cut Circle Sticker Paper, and to stick this print, as well as additional images from his other adventures, onto the back of his phone, so he can see them every day as a reminder of his travels. The Canon Zoemini S2 camera printer and the sticker paper are both small and light enough to take with you on your adventures for instant printed memories.

Evie Ingles

A black banjo case rests against a white tiled wall, with a person sticking Canon circle stickers onto it.

"I thought the Canon Zoemini S2 was so fun," says music student Evie Ingles. "It's small and compact so is really portable too. You can shoot images on it or print images from your smartphone – it's so easy."

A woman looks straight towards the camera, holding a small print of herself on stage in front of her face.

For Evie, her big moment performing on stage was not only an enjoyable concert, but a meaningful experience. "It was one of the most fun things I've ever done, and it was a big milestone in my performances and for my confidence as well," she says.

Evie chose her first-ever pop performance as her big life moment and wanted to savour the memory by sticking her Canon Zoemini S2 print onto her banjo case, to carry it with her for future gigs.

"It was probably the biggest performance I've done so far," she explains. "It was with the Cardiff University pop collective and it was a big deal for me because I was singing on a big stage in front of a large audience."

As well as singing, Evie plays the saxophone, clarinet, flute, banjo and piano. The Canon Zoemini S2 sticky-backed print paper came in handy for Evie when making the banjo case print. She also printed some images onto Canon ZINK 1.3" Pre-Cut Circle Sticker Paper, to add more decoration to the music case.

"I like to put band stickers on my banjo case anyway, so I've also stuck my Canon Zoemini S2 print on there," she says. "When I'm gigging I'll have a nice reminder of this milestone."

Evie also enjoyed using the Canon Mini Print app and added a frame to her image. "It was very easy to use," she says. "It was simple to connect the Canon Zoemini S2 via Bluetooth, and I added a frame to my image which was great as it had the same colour scheme as the photo and really enhanced it."

Megan Gaen

A pair of hands hold up a Canon Zoemini S2 and a smartphone showing the Canon Mini Print app, with a graduation photo on its screen.

Master's student Megan Gaen enjoyed playing around with the features in the Canon Mini Print app. You can use the self-timer setting and remote shutter via the app, check the live view, add cool personalisation and make collages.

A woman clips a small black and white photo to a string of fairy lights, which has other photographs already clipped along it.

Megan found the Canon Zoemini S2 really easy to use. She displayed her print in her university bedroom, attached to a string of fairy lights.

Megan focused on her 'at home' undergraduate graduation as her big moment. Like many students whose university experiences were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Megan's graduation from the University of Southampton was cancelled.

"My big moment was in 2021 when I finished my undergraduate degree in German and Spanish," she says. "We could still hire the gowns, so I did a small graduation at home with my parents. We got some nice photos and that was really important, because it was four years of hard work and it felt like a moment to celebrate."

In addition to hanging up her print in her university bedroom, Megan plans to add a copy to her photo gallery wall in her room at home. "It has a black and white theme, so I used the Canon Mini Print app to add a black and white filter. It was really handy, as I didn't have to worry about editing it on my computer," she explains.

Megan was printing using an existing image from her smartphone camera roll, but there's a filter button on the back of your Canon Zoemini S2 that lets you switch from vivid colour to shoot in black and white. There's also the option to connect to Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos through the app and print your images from there.  

"I thought that adding all the little stickers, filters and frames was really cool and then you can personalise your image to your taste," she says. "It was simple and quick – and I didn't have to worry about the ink drying."

Shubhangi Dua

A young woman sitting in a wicker chair proudly holds up a painting. On her lap and next to her are two more colourful artworks.

Master's student Shubhangi Dua used the Canon Zoemini S2 to print a series of pictures from her debut art exhibition. "I’ve never considered art as a profession before, but because of the exhibition I now feel like I can call myself an artist," she says.

Shubhangi is an aspiring artist, and naturally her creative passion had to fit into her big life moment. Recently she fulfilled her childhood dream of having her first art exhibition, at the Fringe Arts Festival in Bath, England.

"I chose this painting (see above) to be my big moment because this piece is from my first exhibition," she says. "Just seeing my work hung on a wall amongst many other talented artists gave me a sense of achievement and recognition for the hard work I've put in. Also, it's a big moment because for many years I thought I wasn't good enough to be an artist and I'm glad I proved myself wrong."

A Canon Zoemini S2 sits face down on pieces of colourful artwork, next to a small sticker of the art being placed into a journal.

Shubhangi prints her big life moment for her journal. The Canon Zoemini S2 has a charge time of approximately 120 minutes, and you can even print while charging.

A woman in a grey overcoat smiles at the camera, while a hand holds up a small print of artwork photos in front of her.

The border button adds a white or custom border to your print.

Shubhangi also printed two paintings from the exhibition that were very personal to her. "These two paintings are meant to look at each other," she explains. "The big one is of my mum and the small one is me when I was younger."

The Canon Mini Print app comes with a large range of stickers, from flowers to animals. Shubhangi used the app to add some flower stickers to her print of the paintings, to reflect the natural theme. "I've put the prints in my journal and I'm going to make copies and put these up in my room as an achievement board, to remind myself that I've done it," she says.


So whether you want to shout about your 'big moment' and show it to the world or keep the memory alive in a personal diary, the Canon Zoemini S2 and the rest of the Canon Zoemini range are ideal for creating prints to display at home, decorate your tech and share with friends and family. What are you waiting for? Don't forget to share your results with the hashtag #FreeYourStory, tagging @canonemea.



Written by Tamzin Wilks

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