Cameras Don't Take Pictures, People Take Pictures

Digital Photography and Mass Communication 

As we have described, the changes in technology have been exponential and rapid and digital photography has become very accessible to masses. Photography is no longer an art or science, available only to an elite group of people with a particular expertise and a lot of resources.  In fact, some predict that camera-phones will soon be the dominant platform for low end consumer digital imaging.  (Davis, et. Al., 2005)   This section of the project will focus on digital photography and mass communication. Up until  this point in the project, we have outlined the technological progress and the changes to the hardware and software associated with digital photography. However, it is at least equally as important to consider ‘why’ people take pictures.  After all, the way we use, or hope to use, the equipment, also drives the design and innovation.  

So how are people using photography? Despite the proliferation of digital cameras and photography in recent decades, there has been very little academic inquiry into the personal use of photographs. (Brunet, 2009; Gye, 2007)    In 2004, Van House (et, al.), proposed a set of categories that can help us to understand the reasons why people take pictures;

·         in order to construct personal and group memory;

·         in order to create and maintain social relationships;

·         for the purposes of self-expression

·         and self-presentation. 

Photos help to construct personal and group memory

When personal photographs were mainly produced on printed paper, people would often say that if their house was on fire, they would run back in to get their photos.  You may still say that if you don’t already have digital copies of your pictures on a web-based sharing service or a hard drive.  In any case, photos are important to us, and we use them to record a reminder of our individual and group experiences.  We also share experiences with others, such as using family photos to give children a sense of family history, or to document a family trip. Interestingly, this tendency has a long history. Gye (2007) includes some of Kodak -Eastman’s advertising slogans from the early 20th century, including:

·         (1903)  ‘A vacation without a Kodak is a vacation wasted.’

·         (1904)  ‘Where there’s a child, there should the Kodak be. As a means of keeping green the Christmas memories, or as a gift, it’s a holiday delight.’

·         (1905)  ‘Bring your Vacation Home in a Kodak.’

·         (1907)  ‘In every home there’s a story for the Kodak to record—not  merely a travel story and the story of summer holidays, but the story of Christmas, of the winter evening gathering and of the house party.’

How we take pictures isn't just about image quality, composition, depth, vantage point, colour, or other technical or artistic considerations. There is a strong emotional significance to this type of use of pictures.  

Photos help to create and maintain social relationships

      The documentation and sharing in social groups also helps to reinforce our bonds with other people. (Gye, 2007; Van House, et, al., 2005) The content of photos shows group membership, or who belongs. Photos are often given as gifts, which reinforces connections. Whether we post pictures of a holiday party on Facebook or Instagram, or mail wedding photos to distant family, it is a way of keeping in touch.  Telling stories about photos helps us to nurture relationships. Some research has indicated that people still prefer to story-tell about images face to face, but even in online tagging and commenting, there are conversations happening around the pictures. (Van House, et, al., 2005)

Photos for self-expression

            According to Van House, “Self-expression is about giving voice to one’s unique view of the world.”  Your average person wouldn't use the word “art” to describe their images, and yet he or she may simply value them for their aesthetic.  Again, the ease and low cost of imaging, and the spontaneity and perceived casualness of the camera phone creates room for people to  experiment. Even the device’s limitations can be an advantage to create expressive images.

Gye aptly writes, 

What do the photographs we take tell the world about who we are? Presumably, that our view of the world is unique and interesting and that, by virtue of this, so are we. At least that is what we hope.  And  that self expression is shifting away from ‘this is what I saw then’ to ‘this is what I see now.

 Van House et, al. (2005) argue:

Ready access to imaging encourages people to see the world “photographically”—as images, and to see beauty and interest in the everyday. And easy internet-based sharing creates an audience.

Photography for self-presentation

Self-presentation relates more to those photographs we take or display of ourselves, our family, our friends, our possessions, our pets, and so on. Photographs which are taken or used for self-presentation reflect the view of ourselves that we want to project out into the world. Consider how your own profile photos on LinkedIn or your desk at the office differ from those you share with your friends and family on informal social media sites.  One might argue that in all cases,  however we share photos or take photos,  we are selectively choosing what we share. So on some level, whether we are taking a picture, saving or the deleting it, or sharing it, there is always an element of “self-representation” at play.

To sum up

           There is no doubt that the technology we use is having an impact on the established ways in which we record and archive our personal and group memories, create and maintain social relationships and express and present ourselves to our friends, family and the world. As the technology improves and people become more comfortable sharing their photographs through electronic means, we will undoubtedly see many more changes to the ways in which we undertake these activities. However, we need more research to fully understand the dialectal relationship between us and the technology we use.