Final Blog

Picture Taking

The Pros and (mostly) Cons

As I was thinking about the study that found people remember less about an object when they take a picture of it than they do just looking at it, I began to wonder if that's true for me too. I wouldn't consider myself to be someone who takes an extreme amount of pictures. But when I do take pictures, I usually take a lot. To get the right lighting, the right angle, and the right pose takes a lot of time. All my friends have a different "good side" so we end up taking way more pictures than necessary just so everyone is happy. On the contrary, wouldn't we all be happier just enjoying the moment? Instead of focusing on getting a picture good enough to post and to generate enough likes and comments, shouldn't we be focused on more important things? Even if we're taking the pictures to remember the moments, shouldn't we be living those moments instead? I have personally noticed my memory of an event not being as strong as it could have been had I been more mindful of the moment. For example, when I attend concerts I like to take as many pictures and videos as I can. But looking back on it now, what am I going to do with all those videos? The concert evoked such strong emotions from me I doubt I would ever forget seeing One Direction live. Yet I still took at least 15 videos and probably a hundred pictures. Why? I can't even answer that question. I can only learn from my misconceptions and become more mindful of each moment. As one of my favorite artist's Jason Mraz once said, "I'm living in the moment."