5 ms·

On one hand, I'm not a photographer, I don't want to be a photographer, and I don't want to spend 30 minutes trying to get everything lined up and everyone look

by lizard 4y ago

On one hand, I'm not a photographer, I don't want to be a photographer, and I don't want to spend 30 minutes trying to get everything lined up and everyone looking in the right direction and not blinking or sneezing or whatever. I just want a decent picture that captures people being happy doing a thing. On the other hand, maybe the world needs more reminders that most people are pretty mundane, hardly able to get more than 2 people looking in the same direction for long enough to snap a shutter, just trying to get through life.

KeplerBoy 4y ago
do you really need perfect photos? Does it add anything to the memory? imho there's value in capturing that someone had a weird expression on their face or blinked.
- corgihamlet 4y ago
  Yes, for my personal photos. But you have to remember that people aren't taking photos for their own collection, they are taking photos to shine on social media. Just look on Instagram. How could you compete with all those fit, beautiful and healthy people, if you don't heavily edit your photos. (To be totally honest, I think that some beauty filters aren't as bad, because most people don't know how to hold their camera and tend to distort their face with closeup lenses.)
- lizard 4y ago
  Yes, it does add something. To be vain about it, there's enough drama and messiness in day-to-day life. I don't want to be reminded of that when I look back; I want to see the good parts, that it was all worthwhile. But, more practically even, photographs capture history. You may not be thinking about it when you're just taking a personal photo, but a fair bit of history does come from personal collections. Especially less significant figures or events where those personal artifacts are the only things that even exist. Its difficult to gain much useful information when the images are blurry, distorted, or covered in shadow. You may appreciate the funny face, but can a historian or a great-great-grandchild confirm the person in the photo when they are covering half their face in a sneeze? That said, the pendulum definitely swings in the other direction, too. Despite all the information we gather these days, there may be less meaningful history for the next several decades because you simply can't trust any of it is actually genuine.

by lizard 4y ago

KeplerBoy 4y ago

do you really need perfect photos? Does it add anything to the memory? imho there's value in capturing that someone had a weird expression on their face or blinked.

corgihamlet 4y ago
Yes, for my personal photos. But you have to remember that people aren't taking photos for their own collection, they are taking photos to shine on social media. Just look on Instagram. How could you compete with all those fit, beautiful and healthy people, if you don't heavily edit your photos. (To be totally honest, I think that some beauty filters aren't as bad, because most people don't know how to hold their camera and tend to distort their face with closeup lenses.)
lizard 4y ago
Yes, it does add something. To be vain about it, there's enough drama and messiness in day-to-day life. I don't want to be reminded of that when I look back; I want to see the good parts, that it was all worthwhile. But, more practically even, photographs capture history. You may not be thinking about it when you're just taking a personal photo, but a fair bit of history does come from personal collections. Especially less significant figures or events where those personal artifacts are the only things that even exist. Its difficult to gain much useful information when the images are blurry, distorted, or covered in shadow. You may appreciate the funny face, but can a historian or a great-great-grandchild confirm the person in the photo when they are covering half their face in a sneeze? That said, the pendulum definitely swings in the other direction, too. Despite all the information we gather these days, there may be less meaningful history for the next several decades because you simply can't trust any of it is actually genuine.