The Photos You’d Save
A made a thought-provoking comment on this post about photos:
“I look at my mom’s scrapbooks with photos and stories, and I love them, but they’re not comprehensive. It was a special occasion only thing, because film and development wasn’t free. I have a lot of great pictures of everyday things that are, to me, more valuable than my vacation pictures.”
It’s true — the candid, non-posed, I’m-so-glad-I-captured-that-moment mean more to me than the posed pictures taken at events. They may be blurry or off-center; people may be looking somewhere else or have their eyes closed in silent laughter. Some of those have happened on trips, and I can think of one that came at an event. (I snapped a picture of the twins dancing with each other at the end of their B’nai Mitzvah.) But for the most part, it’s the photos from everyday life I would miss more than the thousands I take so I don’t forget a trip or event that mean more to me.
What about you?
2 comments
I tend not to take photos of the every day. I just don’t think about it, unless there’s a great sunset, or a beautiful bird. And when I’m with people, I’m thinking about them, not about taking photos of them. Yes, I wish I had more photos of people together. But the act of taking photos of people changes them (unless they are sneaky – and then if they’re not perfect or “approved” by the subjects, I feel that that can be unkind and unfair), and I’d rather “be in the moment” with people, rather than places.
I once complemented a SIL for snapping people pics, and she very pointedly noted that “no-one wishes they had more travel photos when they’re old.” She’s not known for her tact. lol
Interesting topic.
Yes that’s so true actually. There’s a particular candid photo of my Mum with me and my siblings at the dinner table and we’re all just laughing naturally at something funny that was just said. I love that picture so much more than the posed pictures I have of us all standing awkwardly somewhere!