Why I Started Taking Less Photos

Every Photo Used To Say A Story, But Now Photos In Story’s Say Nothing

I was sitting with one of my best friends while he was looking at Snapchat. He’s the type of guy that sent’s a snap every time he picks up his phone and sent’s everything without giving it another thought. He was also tapping away all the snaps sent to him from others, without giving each even a second of thought. I saw the same thing with my other friends as well, and it got me thinking about the value of each individual photo in this day and age of Snapchat’s and social media stories. I’m mainly referring to personal photos here.

Yes, sending pictures to convey what you’re doing is better than a simple text. But with social media, photos have become such a disposable media. You “Snap, Sent and Forget“. Snapchat, disappearing photos, one-time view photos etc. are, as the name suggests, one-time memories that are rarely remembered afterwards. It was inevitable I guess, with the rise in social media, everyone having a smartphone in their hands and the rise in technology. But don’t get me wrong, everyone having the ability to take instant great looking photos isn’t a bad thing, but it just got me thinking about how we view, and used to view photos in general.

I still have photos from my childhood, when taking a single photo was a big deal and as a result there’s only a handful from each occasion, but each carries a story with it that is invaluable. But nowadays, you take at least 4-5 photos just of that cute outfit you wore yesterday. I know I sound really old-fashioned, and maybe I am to some extent, but the phrase “Abundance Destroys Value” has never been truer. Imagine if a diamond was just another rock you found on the street. Will it still be expensive because it’s shinny? No, because there’s an abundance of it. The same thing applies here.

Another gripe I have is that people spent way too much time getting the perfect shot to remember that day, than actually living in the moment. I’ve been hearing this since the dawn of smartphones and social media from the old-timers and even though, I too chuckled when they first said it, I’m starting to agree with them more and more, even though not fully. I hate when people spent more time, taking a photo, editing it, posting in on their story and the worst crime, replying to people replying to your story and starting a conversation with them, all the while you’re still with the other person. I fucking hate this. It happens in my social circle too. You’re with your friends hanging out and suddenly, after taking some photos, you see each of them in a corner talking to someone they barely know.

I know, I sound crazy right now. I’m complaining that there are too many photos. Who even complains about these types of things, right? And I know I generalized a lot when I said “Photos lost its value”, and I’m probably wrong, and I might change my opinion in a few years, but for the time being these are just my personal opinions from my current personal experiences. But over the years I have started taking less photos, and in turn I have gotten some of my favorite photo’s with some great memories. How I go about it is, whenever I want to remember a moment, I take 1 or 2 photos, that’s it. I try to make it perfect the first time around, but even if it isn’t the best photo, I don’t mind becomes I’m not on any social media, so I’m not trying to show off anything to anyone. I just need those photos to act as a remainder of that moment and nothing more.