No matter where I go, I always have a camera. I never planned to become the designated photographer and take photos for my family and friends, it just seemed to happen. It doesn’t matter if I am going to the zoo, a birthday party, a hiking trip with the family, or a graduation, I love capturing the moment on my phone or camera.

Why We Need to Take Photos

I’ve heard some people cite studies that say that our generation is not going to remember the things in our life because we always have a phone in our hand taking pictures and forget to enjoy the moment.

While it is true that people occasionally get so involved in taking the perfect picture that they forget to look around and enjoy the actual moment, I think it is crucial to our future generations that we take pictures of the events in our lives. I don’t think that I miss events around me, or miss out on the moments with my children because I have a camera or phone in my hand.

Now granted, there are some moments that are not for the public. Recently my husband celebrated a birthday and I took pictures of the kids preparing his present. Sometimes when we’re out in the backyard enjoying the hammock or playing games at the picnic table, I might take pictures of me and the kids. The expressions and fun moments together are priceless. I love looking back at those pictures and reliving memories of how that moment felt. But those pictures and memories stay in our family.

Why do I think it’s important to document pictures and events?

Pictures give us proof of existence.

Now before you argue that we don’t need pictures to prove that we exist, let’s think about it. About five years ago I had a major realization. I started looking for pictures of me with my parents, or me with my children and I could not find any. I had plenty of pictures of my family but I was not in the pictures. I decided that needed to change! Now, no matter what event we are celebrating, we make sure and take pictures together with me in the picture. I don’t want my kids to grow up and not have any pictures of me being in their lives. Sure they will have the memories, but I want them to have pictures of us enjoying life together.

Pictures enforce memories.

Recently my mom was doing research for an article. She was digging deep into her memory bank to find details about events that happened in 1985. As we talked about the memory, I remembered a picture that had been taken on that vacation. Looking at the details in that picture we were able to come up with many more details of the event. Have you ever thought about something that happened when you were a child and tried to remember the details? Sometimes a simple picture from an old scrapbook will jog your memory and help you remember things that you were experiencing and feeling at that time in your life.

Pictures capture emotions.

When some people think about taking pictures at events they immediately think of big staged photo opportunities. But often that is not where you get the best shots. Recently we were at a family wedding and my 95 year old grandma was interacting with her son. I grabbed my phone and just started snapping pictures. The love between the mother and son was something you could just feel. I didn’t stop and ask for a photo shoot, I just grabbed my phone and snapped a series of pictures. Often the best shots are taken on the spur of the moment.

Do you think it’s important to take pictures of the events around you? I’d love to hear!