5 years ago people used to tote around a digital camera on their vacations and actually capture memories in decent quality. Now, the vast majority skip the extra 2 lb of shoulder luggage and just use their all-too-convenient iPhone.
While few will actually take the time to read this article, this trend is vastly important. Staggering numbers are now documenting the entirety of their life on their iPhone. Remember the days when we used to actually “record” (yes as in a videocamera) significant events or portions of our kids lives? Now we have a 10 second grainy clips that get catalogued into the thousands of other photos stored on our devices. These devices then get out-dated, upgraded or even discarded. Who actually prints or compiles iPhone selfies? Yeah. No one.
What happens when todays 2 year old is walking down the aisle at his graduation? Will there be any photos or video to remember his story? Or will they all still be on mom’s iPhone that got lost when it fell in the bathtub? Iphone photos are cheap. Cheap in quality and in the value we put on them. A little instant gratification, a few Facebook likes and that’s about it.
Call me crazy, but I predict that sooner or later (maybe 5 years) parents will realize that professional photos, actual recorded, fine art documentation of our lives is priceless. I don’t want to be that mom that has no video of my baby walking for the first time or laughing in the high-chair. I for one, will carry around my real camera, and record real moments, and print real photos. Because relationships of love are the building blocks of reality and I want to celebrate that on my walls, in albums of family memories and in my heart.
Thank you, Christa, for taking the time to remind us of the value and priceless treasure of our photo stories!
All too true!
I have been going through all my thousands of photos, stored in boxes of all sizes and shapes… they are truly precious!!! The one thing to remember is to DATE them… memories fade faster than the photos.
Good reminder Christa! I’ve been printing photobooks to document our favorite memories–a great way to sort through all the photos and share memories with my kids. And yes, I admit I use my phone for a lot of the photos 🙂
[…] {I wrote this after reading Christa-Taylor’s “Why the iPhone Has Made Photos More Valuable”} […]