Pictures allow people to have visual depictions of moments and memories that can take individuals back to those times and evoke certain emotions—joy, fondness, sorrow, regret, pride, nostalgia, and plenty more.
Images also carry stories with them, and one picture can tell several different stories from various individual perspectives. The purpose for snapping pictures and holding onto them can be unique to the people who take them, as well.
“I like to capture the moment—a time and place and a feeling,” Houston-area resident Darla Hogaboom said.
Photography can also become a true passion for people. Dallas resident Damon Yousefy, who is an attorney in full-time career, has taken up photography as an unpaid side hobby simply for the joy of it and invested in a professional camera, lenses, and lighting gear.
“I love taking photos and making sure they are high-quality because I think we need to remember positive moments in our lives, whether it’s a get-together with friends or a beautiful sunset,” he said. “I love to see the joy it gives people when they have good photos of themselves, whether it’s a headshot or a group shot.”
Such a hobby can also be enjoyed with a smartphone when out and about in daily life. Dallas-area resident Mark Olateju said he enjoys capturing key moments that turn into future memories in his life and the lives of others. He also believes that pictures play a significant role in people’s lives today.
“It’s the very reason that boomers and other people of the older generation got on social media platforms in the first place—to see pictures of their kids and grandkids who may be several states or countries away,” Olateju said.
Olateju said pictures also play vital roles in online dating apps and in serving as visual evidence to help individuals track how they are doing in reaching their goals.
“People now want to see recent pictures and full-body pictures of potential mates so that they know what they are getting into,” he said. “And pictures play an important role for people trying to make lifestyle changes. They gauge their progress from ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.”
According to the USC Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, the average brain generates 48.6 thoughts per minute (which adds up to about 70,000 thoughts per day), so some recollections can get lost in the shuffle. Captured images, Yousefy said, can create value as people’s memories fade.
“They contain a lot of emotion,” he said. “Friends may move away, kids grow up, and vacations end, but good photos remind us of those moments and how we felt in them.”
For Hogaboom, photos are taken for various reasons for different individuals, whether those reasons are more sentimental or more focused on getting likes and comments on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and other outlets.
“The value comes from those reasons,” she said. “Family photos still hold value, but social media has weaponized photos—‘look at me and where I am,’ leading people to believe that validation comes from strangers’ envy or admiration.”
But Hogaboom enjoys storing pictures so that she can remember certain moments in her life and experience the emotions she felt at the time and the emotions those photos create in the present.
“I do look back at photos and enjoy the memories they evoke,” she said. “I will often have something cross my memory and then go and find a photo, and that expands my joy.”
Olateju said he looks back at pictures on a daily basis. He attributes doing so to the years from when he was 13 to almost 22 years old and didn’t take any pictures.
“I’m making up for lost memories,” he said. “I also enjoy reposting old pictures of my family and friends. Many of these pictures they don’t even remember taking.”
Like Hogaboom and Olateju, Yousefy said he also enjoys looking back at old photos and thinks he likely does so more often than other people do.
“I use Amazon Photos for photo backup, and it has an ‘On This Day’ feature that helps me remember photos going back even decades,” he said. “It’s nice to look back sometimes instead of always looking ahead.”
Not everyone is always inclined to take photos, and doing so is certainly a matter of individual preferences. Some individuals say they like to experience moments when they are in them and not focus on taking pictures and videos to document the memories. Yousefy said he thinks it’s important to take at least one photo to remember the event or experience, and Olateju said he believes that one can still be fully present while also capturing those moments with photos.
“Who says they have to be mutually exclusive?” Olateju said. “You can do both.”
Hogaboom, though, said she believes there are some situations when keeping the camera or phone tucked away is more beneficial.
“I think we should all be more mindful of the things we get to experience in person without taking a photo,” she said. “Some things are better to just have in your memory.”
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