Do we still value photos?
We take more photos now than ever before but do we value them?
We snap a series of photos from a given moment then scroll through our photo library to find the one that best represents our skill as a photographer. We then upload this photo to Instagram, making sure to select the perfect filter, the one that draws on our nostalgia. Then, scrolling along aimlessly we see the photos our friends and family have posted, or at least those The Algorithm wants us to see. We “like” a photo and occasionally leave a comment or emoji. And within a short 24 hours, we’re likely to never see these photos again, including our own. Thus concludes our interaction with our photos.
Trillions of photos
More than 1 trillion photos it’s estimated will be taken by the end of 2019. That’s 2,000,000,000,000 photos in 2019 alone.
There is certainly nothing inherently wrong with the ubiquity of photos, I love photos and take photos for a living after all. And thanks to smartphones we have constant access to quality cameras which allow us to capture everyday moments that would otherwise go undocumented.
The ease of taking a photo
Not only do we have access to cameras like never before it’s also far more convenient to take a photo. Prior to digital cameras we actually had to have a camera, and that camera required film. This requirement not only added a step between us wanting a photo and us actually having a photo, but it also limited the number of photos we could take. We can now snap away without concern for the number of photos we take. This alone makes our photos less valuable.
Beyond this, there is no need to run the film down to the local print shop to have developed. We now have instant processing right in our cameras. And even if we choose to have prints made we can simply upload the digital file from the convenience of our home and have them delivered to our doorstep.
The ease with which we can now take and actually have a photo was unimaginable to us just a decade ago. This has lead to the inevitable and understandable devaluation of our photos. We place a higher value on those things that are rarer after all.
How safe are your photos?
I am a member of the last generation who’s childhood hasn’t been digitized. My childhood photos are not secure on some hard drive, nor are they in the cloud. No, they exist in just a few family photo albums. They’re printed on mostly poor quality drugstore prints and Polaroids. These photos, along with those of my siblings will not last forever.
In contrast, my children are being raised in a time in which every photo we take of them is stored in the cloud. It’s not unreasonable to assume that these digital photos will be stored safely and be available forever.
Having our photos in such a permanently safe and secure storage system is a wonderful thing. This permanency, again, lends itself to being less valuable however. Our photos aren’t going anywhere so we don’t put much thought into keeping up with them.
Why are photos worth valuing
There is something about looking at old photos of our lives and those of the people we care about that draws out of us emotions that seem to equal those we experienced in the very moment photographed. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for one more moment with a loved one who has passed, and while the photos we have of them are far from equally that moment they are the best consolation we have and to me that makes these photos priceless.
When we’re viewing photos on social media we tend to constantly compare ourselves to the best version of everyone else. Anyone can see how damaging this tends to be. However, there are studies that show how seeing photos of ourselves, especially true in children, helps with our overall mental health. Having printed photos in our homes will go a long way in providing a sense of self worth.
How to bring value to your photos
We must begin printing our favorite and significant photos. This is first and foremost. Please allow me to repeat, we must print our photos. This can be done in several ways from printing at home to ordering photo albums and ranging in price and quality but available to everyone.
Digital Slideshow
A client of our studio recently shared with me that she uses her Apple TV to play a slideshow of family photos. I love this idea because it’s something we can all do with relative ease, most of us have a smart tv or some device that will allow us to play a slideshow on our tv.
These are just a few of the things I find to help remind me that our family photos are more a means to entertain or impress friends and strangers online, they have value and help to make my life more enjoyable.