There are several reasons why photography is so important. And I intend to go over those reasons here. But one thing I want people who are NOT photographers to know: even if you don’t take hardly any pictures, please read through this so even you can understand why photography is so important, and should be in everyone’s lives.
1- PHOTOS THAT YOU TAKE, WILL SHOW WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT TO YOU:
If the only thing you take pictures of is your family, then you are creating memories of what is most important in your life. The family is what is the anchor to most of our lives. The children, even the teenagers are so important, but, if you have a spouse that you adore, then take pictures, and lots of them.
Those important times in your life, should be put on memory in your head, for sure, but, in something you can look back forever. Just do it. You will not regret it.
2- PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PART OF OUR LEGACY:
Do you like to hike? Do you like to play an instrument? Do you like to read? Do you like to play video games? What will people tell about you, and what proof do you have of what you like to do? If you are an outdoor person, it will be obvious what your legacy is by the photos you take.
If you love doing things with your hands, using tools, or building things, or creating a piece of art, you should get photos of that too.
3- PHOTOGRAPHS ALLOW US TO SHARE AND TO COMMUNICATE:
Images are much more than a simple record. Photography speaks to the best and most generous part of our human nature – the desire to share what we find beautiful and interesting with others.
You only have to look at the multitude of photo sharing sites to see this impulse at work, where millions of people share their personal, passionate, and sometimes quirky take on the world around them. One of the best places that I know of where people share their passions is Pinterest. Everyone there is just sharing things that they are passionate about.
4- PHOTOGRAPHY MAKES US ARTISTS:
I have made the comment many times through this blog: “photography is art” and photographers are all part of this great artistic community.
Photography allows us to express ourselves through an art form. We notice a beautiful landscape or an old man’s lined face and we want to capture it.
Each of us will have a different specific reason to take a photo, but we all want to create something.
However humdrum our nine-to-five lives may be, the creation of an image makes us an artist. It feels good.
5- PHOTOGRAPHY IS A COMPLEX LANGUAGE:
Our images can express joy and sorrow, wonder and sympathy. Every human emotion can find a place in photography.
For many years, I never valued my photographs of overcast landscapes, because I believed there was no beauty in a land with muted colors and a leaden sky. I wanted the land to be alive with color and vibrancy.
However, the lack of color in a landscape makes you search for other things that often go unnoticed in bright sunlight. This could be the symmetry of hills or a tree standing out from a forest of thousands.
I know a photographer who suffered a lot in depression, and now his photography has helped him find ways to get out of his depression. We have a miserably poor vocabulary for mental illness, but photography has allowed him to develop a visual language for his most difficult emotions.
6- PHOTOGRAPHY HAS THE POWER TO MOVE US:
On a more subtle level, photography teaches us lessons about a whole range of emotions. Grief has the power to wash away the brightness and color of our lives. There is no magic way to restore these. We have to be patient. But while waiting, we can search for the shapes and patterns that are still present in the grayness. They will lead us back to color eventually. During moments of great sorrow in my life, I have used images to express that hope of returning color.
