Why You Should Take Less Pictures

It seems that nowadays everyone is always in search of that perfect Instagram worthy shot.  We photograph everything. Instagram is full of all sorts of pictures, such as beautiful places, awesome skiing shots, Jerry’s, cute dogs, fashion ideas, hell even our lunches seem to make it on there on the regular.  Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of all of the above, and it’s not a bad thing.

Photos are timeless.  They can capture the beauty of a moment, or remind us of the epicness that ensued that day.  They can inspire others.  They capture love, laughter, smiles and faces of the people and places that will always have a special place in our heart.  But, we’re now in an age where there’s a camera literally at our fingertips every waking moment of the day.  Most people’s phone albums, including my own, are filled with random, useless photos that will never serve any other purpose other than to clog up our storage.

I have come to realize that some of my favourite times are those that don’t have any photographic evidence.  It’s not because the moments were not insta-worthy, or because I didn’t have access to a camera.  It’s because I was too busy being present in those moments that I didn’t want to ruin them with scrambling to get my camera and get the perfect shot.  

Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn’s character in the Secret Life of Walter Mitty, who is a professional photographer for Life magazine) said it best:

‘If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.”

So I encourage you to every once in awhile to stay in it.  Stay in that moment that’s just right.  Don’t reach for the camera.  Just enjoy it.