With the modern smartphone, photo-taking has now become incredibly commonplace. To take a picture, you can whip out your own personal handheld device and easily snap away. These photos can even be sent to other devices wirelessly through the internet. Because of this, it is possible to say that everyone is an amateur photographer, even if they have never picked up a full-fledged camera before. The recent technology of the front-facing camera even removes the need for an external party to take photographs for us. But what is it about photography that has us absolutely drawn to it? And what benefits can we actually reap from continuously taking different snapshots? Here are 2 benefits of photography and photo-taking.
Photo-taking makes any experience more enjoyable
Psychological studies have shown that people who take photos while experiencing an event or taking in scenery tend to find that their experience much more enjoyable. The study discovered that people who actively take photographs are able to actively focus on their experience, and therefore be reminded of the beautiful things in life that may often be taken for granted. This is known more professionally as ‘mindful photography’.
However, the researchers for this study also found that people who are already engaged in an experience didn’t feel more engaged when they started taking photographs. The study implies very much that photography helps to keep our mind engaged, and also sharpens our view of the world. It helps us to be aware of beauty all around us and encourage us to appreciate it. We should take note of this whenever we are taking photos – that photography actively helps us take in the beauty of all things on earth.
Selfies and Wefies can shift an individual’s self-esteem
Another more recent study conducted by Penn State University in the US discovered that the type of photos we post and consume on social media can affect our self-esteem differently. Consuming more selfies on social media can negatively affect one’s self-esteem and life satisfaction while consuming more group photos or wefies can positively affect one’s self-esteem and life satisfaction. The results seem to suggest that group photos can help promote a sense of bonding between friends, while selfies invite feelings of envy – envy of the selfie’s subject, and increase our need to gain popularity on social media via the amassing of likes and comments. As such, to increase one’s self-esteem, it may be more beneficial to view more group photos of friends instead of photos of individuals, who are famous on Instagram.
However, this effect seems to apply only to our consumption (viewing) of such photos. The study showed that there were no significant differences in the effects on our self-esteem when we are posting selfies versus group photos.
The moral of the story? View more group photos of your friends and loved ones and less of selfies! When we take photos ourselves with friends at Singapore’s instant photo booths, why not take the shots together with your buddies and family? It’s way more fun than taking the photo yourself; looks better, and you help boost the self-esteem of your friends on social media 😉
Conclusion
Being a significant part of our daily lives, photography can affect our emotions and the way we perceive the world. With the great benefits that come with taking photos and viewing group photos, we have no hesitation in asking you to take more photos and have photos of yourselves taken everywhere and anywhere!