Want to win a camera?! No skill required, just be amongst the first 100 people at the opening of the Fujifilm House Of Photography in London’s Covent Garden. You will get given a goody bag with an Instax camera in it, and five random lucky people will get a Fujifilm X-A7 mirrorless camera worth £700!

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The aptly named House of Photography is set over 3 floors in the heart of the West End. It’s an amazing space, which must have cost a fortune, they are going to have to sell a lot of gear! Fujifilm call it a sensory photography playground, designed to inspire everyone to take, share and print photos.

Fujifilm asked us Press types to come and have a peek at their new baby, the first of its kind to be opened anywhere in the world. It’s encouraging that they choose London over say New York or Tokyo, shows we’ve still got it! It is very impressive, and I can see it becoming another London attraction.

We were split into small groups and given a tour of the place. First up was the Instax (Fujifilm’s instant camera) section where you could raid a props trunk and make yourself look silly/glam, while an assistant took an instant photo. I looked quite fetching in a blue wig if I say so myself.

It seems the young are getting into analogue, just look at turntable and record sales.

The lovely assistant had a Fujifilm camera tattooed on her wrist which I thought was above and beyond.

The House of Photography is very much aimed at young people. My biggest take away from the evening is that Fujifilm wants to educate/encourage people to print, like their mums and dads used to in the olden days. Don’t just leave your photos on the phone.

Apparently Fujifilm say 1.2 trillion photos are taken each year, I’ve no idea how they counted that. How many are printed, especially off phones? I’ve counted mine up, erm… none. Maybe it's not just the young who need educating. It’s good to have something tangible and permanent, something you can hold and easily share, I really should do more.

At the House of Photography, Fujifilm will very happily sell you a camera, from Instax to professional. But they also want to encourage and inspire you to take images. Hence the props, the huge living jungle wall, a London skyline, a midnight gallery full of stars that change colour, a studio space and exhibitions. The current exhibition is a set of fantastic photos of David Bowie taken by Markus Klinko. It’s worth going just for that.

Once you have taken your images in-store or just bought in your smartphone, as you wander around you are shown what you can do with these images. Print them in different sizes and styles, frame them, make a book, make a jigsaw, keyring, etc. It’s printing and having fun with it, for the Instagram generation. Personalised photo gifting as they say. One of Fujifilm’s straplines is ‘Don’t just take. Give.’ Clever these marketing types.

After the speeches and the tour, the delicious Japanese canapes came out, and the beautiful people appeared, not that I’m saying the press are ugly, but you can’t have an event, particularly aimed at a younger crowd without you inviting the digital influencers, the social networkers and some people off Love island. It’s all about making a splash on social media.

So, The House of Photography is definitely worth a look, it’s a cross between a store and an attraction, especially if you’re lucky enough to be the right side of 35, or if you’re just young at heart. I have a feeling it will be very popular coming up to Christmas.

To pick up your free camera, definitely an Instax but possibly a Fujifilm X-A7, it opens at 11am 3rd December. 8-9 Long Acre, WC2. I’ll see you in the queue.

Photographs: Martin Jordan.