Hunter S. Thompson and Bill Murray from Where the Buffalo Roam.

Polaroid photographs are used by make-up artists, costume designers, props, and set designers to maintain visual continuity in films and television dramas. It doesn’t always work, as I recall one tale (probably apocryphal) told to me during the filming of the BBC’s drama Your Cheating Heart, which was written by artist John Byrne, and starred Tilda Swinton, John Gordon Sinclair and Ken Stott. In one scene, Byrne was allegedly unhappy that the set was not “messy” as he had described it in the script. Therefore, he supposedly moved props around the set to make it more convincing, in particular a yellow telephone. After lunch break, Byrne returned to the set and moved the props again. This (allegedly) happened throughout the day’s filming. The end result was apparent on screen, as the yellow telephone was visibly seen moving around the back shot in one key scene.

This is a selection of Polaroids taken for continuity or for fun on a variety of film sets from the 1960s to 2004.
 

Winona Ryder, Girl Interrupted.
 

Johnny Depp, Benny and Joon.
 

Kate Winslet and Jim Carey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
 

Sean Young and Harrison Ford, Blade Runner.
 

Gillian Anderson, The X-Files.
 

Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffanys
 

Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver.
 

 
Via Flavorwire