Weddings, Photography and Social Media Craze
Phone buzzing for the 100th time in the past 10 mins. Notifications tab overflowing with Insta posts, FB stories, Whatsapp chats, Twitter tweets..most of them are selfies, groupfies, so-called “candids”, nature photography- Oh boy! There are Photos, photos EVERYWHERE!
Sounds familiar, right? Yeah, that’s the life of almost every person on earth who has a smartphone and has access to the Internet. Guys and Gals, let’s give a big hand to the two latest Obsessions which have managed to master us all- Photography and Social Media.
Right from blushing newly-weds posing for romantic candids on their wedding day to the teenagers who just can’t stop clicking selfies to new moms posting incessant pics of their babies, it’s like we have this overpowering need to share every moment of our lives with others via the lens of a camera. And “others” are basically anyone and everyone in the world- thanks to Social Media!
Better and newer camera and image capture technology don’t hurt the cause either. Phones with latest high-resolution Camera and image processing capabilities(Filters, guys! ) sell like hotcakes and every person who has even a moderate interest in Photography has a high tech DSLR and they don’t mind shelling out huge sums of money for it!
Of all the places where Photography has risen to dominance, Weddings are undeniably among the top of the list. Remember our Parents’ Wedding albums? (Physical card photos! Nostalgic :D) Those grainy group photos in which everyone looks at the camera awkwardly and tries to smile and the number of pictures are just around a hundred, tops. Fast forward to now, we have so many Professional photography options offering a wide choice of wedding packs- Traditional stills, Candid stills, Traditional Videography, Wedding Cinematography( Yup! Seen your friends release their love story and wedding teaser on FB?) and you can get close to a thousand perfectly edited photos for the right price.
One may ask, What is wrong with having the ability to create better pictures and share them instantly? Isn’t it wonderful that we can capture, save and share the precious moments of our lives in a better way? The answer is No, There’s nothing wrong with that. Using better photography options and social media has great benefits. They have helped bring awareness to many causes across the world and brought joy to countless people on many important occasions in their life. In fact, many iconic photographs have been the cornerstone of successful revolutions and campaigns, inspiring so many people in this world.
But.. it starts getting bad when we go overboard and get crazy over them.
Think about it, when you pose for a gazillion photos with the expectation of getting right that one perfect photo for posting online, are you really happy? Are you doing it so you can capture your moment of bliss to relive it later or are you doing it to wow your friends on social media and get a ton of likes? If your honest answer is the former, then you are all good. If it’s the latter, then you need to step back and ponder over it.
Studies have proven that taking too many photos during any activity reduces our mind’s capability to actually remember and relive that experience later on. Taking at the moment with our own eyes and senses increases the quality of the experience in our mind and ultimately makes us happy for we would have actually seen, heard and felt everything better.
So the next time you’re in an important occasion in your life, sure, definitely click a few pics to cherish the moment later. But also remember to soak at the moment and live it with all your senses. After all, our eyes are the best lens and our mind, the best film. Isn’t it?