you weren't supposed to shake the picture. you've been miss-informed. the picture is fully developed when you take it. but when the film is ejected from the camera it presses the layers of the film together to activate the chemical reaction that allows you to see the picture. One of the coolest things about instant photography, watching the image slowly come together, is caused by this final chemical reaction. The image is already fully developed underneath, but the opacifiers clearing up creates the illusion that it is forming right before your eyes http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/instant-film1.htm polaroid says not to shake it, http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/17/polaroid.warns.reut/index.html