Personal value of imagery comes from the emotions and
sentimental motivations behind the taking of the photo.
An image which shows an air of truth or reality is easier to identify with, and
adds meaning to the photo for the individual who took it as it becomes a clear
and accurate representation of how they saw the scene. Embedding emotional
value into images is difficult and fast becoming a rarity thanks to the habits
and trends of modern photography.
This post looks into these factors and determine if there are any
opportunities to design a product which could help the user add value back into
their images to make them more precious.
A key influencing factor in determining the personal and
social value of ones photos is the presence of subconscious social
manipulation. As previously identified, sharing via social media networks is
one of the top methods of image consumption, especially among youth. Uploading
to social networks allow users to display photos not only for personal
consumption but also for consumption by their family, friends and acquaintances.
During the film era when the public couldn’t afford to take an excess of
photos, people would only share photos from major personal events such as
holidays or family celebrations through presentation and viewing of physical
photo albums. Now however, as has been noticed during primary research,
and confirmed in the quote “the use of online platforms for intimate self-expression
has become a key component of the overall social environment for many” from a social network study, without film and printing costs to restrict photo
consumption the general public are sharing more and more photos covering events
such as what they are doing at work, evenings out with colleagues or friends,
and even what individuals eat. As such, with this rise of ‘social photography’
many users take photos primarily to form an online social diary.
Unusual photos documenting people’s lives are not uncommon on social profiles anymore.
On these networks, valued content is ensured to be more
prominently presented to viewers due to popularity algorithms utilised by the
network operators to bump popular photos to the top of viewers ‘feeds’. This is usually based on the number of comments or up-votes received on each
photo; for example ‘likes’ on Facebook. This helps to track popularity and
relevant value of user’s photos, helping to fuel a psychological desire for
self-gratification; a psychological instinct inside all of us brought out by
the side effects of social photography. To gain more satisfaction, users find
themselves subconsciously starting to be selective about the photos they take
and upload, “enact[ing] behaviours that enhance their self-worth within their
particular contingent domains.”
Here you can see a photo at the top of a
Facebook feed,
placed there because it has received a number of ‘likes’.
placed there because it has received a number of ‘likes’.
With a heightened awareness of how socially valuable their
photos are, users are starting to exercise a process of selective truth telling.
By selecting only certain photos or taking photos deliberately in a certain way,
they often subtly distort reality to make themselves look more interesting.
This is to say that the user doesn’t necessarily lie about their lifestyle, but
the process of uploading and seeing how popular their photos are has caused
them to unknowingly choose which parts of their lifestyle they wish to show off
publicly, in the hope that a selective representation will garner more
popularity. The most popular photos seem to correlate with social expectations
and trends for the user’s age range, as “correlations reveal that younger
participants reported being more focused on appearance and competition CSW
(contingency self-worth), while those with larger social support networks
identifies more closely with family and virtue-related CSW”.
Consequently photo pools online contain millions of very similar looking photos
which the social body of users have unwittingly decided are the most socially
valuable, through their up-votes affecting algorithms. This process of mass
repetition damages the value their photos by reducing individuality and
personality.
While completely satirical, this list produced by ‘mylife’ helps
back up the academic research referenced
in a visual way, highlighting the most common photos posted to social networking
sites while showing clear social trends and the common intentions behind
posting. This is an example of selective truth, helping the user to project an
idealistic perception of their lifestyle into the public eye, conforming to social
expectations within their network.
A new trend in social photography is the use of basic image
editing software to add value to images. One of the biggest applications in
this market is called Instagram. Having been bought out by Facebook, it now has
150 million active monthly users,
makings it highly influential. Designed as a smart phone application, it is
used by camera phone users who benefit from the convenience of always having a
camera in their pocket. As people build social diaries online, people who use
services such as Instagram find themselves taking an excessive amount of photos
that fit into the non-sentimental category. These photos could be considered
boring, and not really worth sharing with others. However, the use of basic
filters attempts to add interest, nostalgia, or other atmospheric values back
into the photo. This is in effect substituting true emotional value with a
false veil of sentimentality. This has the potential to devalue other photos
taken for true sentimental motivations purely because these photos now get
mixed and uploaded/shared together.
Instagram provides an array of filters to alter the appearance and atmosphere of the photo.
Section conclusion
The ability for a photo to manipulate the thoughts or
opinions of a populous of people is an image quality which dictates the photos
socio-political impact. The amount a photo impacts upon people is closely
related to how it relates to accepted social opinions at a local, national, and
global level. A strong impact can cause emotions and even alterations in the way
the viewer thinks about or perceives the subject. Following a design path from
this strand of research could be difficult, as the trends identified which
provide development opportunities are tied to social issues which could be
difficult or even impossible to change.
- On the large scale, photos are carefully created by experts. In advertising, every aspect of a photo is premeditated to ensure it sends the correct business message. In photojournalism, careful selection allows for the picking and choosing of message they wish to communicate.
- Technical cameras and equipment, as well as unchangeable commercial and political motivations for creating each photo means there is little scope for design development.
- On the small local scale, the general public unknowingly use photos to manipulate how other people around them such as friends and family perceive them. This is evident in the rise of a new online niche: social photography.
- Social photography is creating social conformity among users, who use photography as a consumable tool to top up a sense of self-worth and popularity by creating the illusion that they have the same socially generic yet acceptable lifestyle as everyone else.
- Ultimately, a camera is a tool that allows the mind to believe. Regardless of the subject of the photo, when we view it back we want to re-conjure a belief we had/have about the subject at the time it was taken, be it a true or a false reality.
- If socio-political expectations, anxiety and pressures can be stripped away from the photo taking process there would be less distortion of reality and potentially a better chance of the photo having greater natural meaning.
- Stopping the cycle of generic photo creation to satisfy basic psychological needs would require a new product to subtly change users’ habits. However, this would need to be carefully considered as design opportunities such as this go against social trends.
