Just recently I wrote a news article about a new smartphone app that was released where users can only take photos of others (friends/family/colleagues/etc), and no selfies are permitted. Users can't even add post descriptions, hashtags, comments, use filters, or anything else that would or could contribute towards becoming yet another popularity contest-like photo-sharing app (like, Instagram).
The point of this app is to engage with other users by taking photos of people you spend time with instead of perfectly curated scenes, products, selfies, or anything else. Now, this got me thinking.
Why don't we shoot more photos of our friends? Is it because we're used to the, "Oh, no, I look like crap today" or "I'm not very photogenic?" Nowadays, we have to go through so many filters before we can even end with something to post.
First, we need to overcome any objection to even engage in this activity. Then, our friends will review if the photo is any good ("no, can you take another?"), then we'll spend time thinking about captions (why can't it just be something spontaneous?), and wondering who to tag, what location to set, have we got any products we want to tag? It's a whole process.
That's why, last time I went out photographing the streets with a friend of mine, I made sure that I take my kind of shots of him. In the moment, doing what he loves doing, abstract but with a total that's so him feeling attached.
Can't even see his face but he knows that's him, he knows that's his camera he's holding, the camera he's photographed UK cities, still life, streets in Europe, portraits. It's quintessentially him and it's quintessentially me, and he had no clue I took them.
Let's take more photos of people around us. Even if you don't shoot yourself, there's nothing holding you back from using your smartphone to shoot what matters - the experiences, the emotions, the good times.
It doesn't need to take you away from the experience, just 10 seconds and you're done. That's it.
No setups, just a quick composition, and you're done. Perfect.