Viability Research - Modern Photo-taking

The desire to record images was the starting point for modern photography. The earliest example of a camera, known as the camera obscura, established the fundamental components for a camera which would remained unchanged; an optical lens, an image plane to project onto, and a method of recording from that plane. In the early 1800’s skilled drawers would trace projected images on the image place, but as early cameras developed, scientists searched for faster more convenient and accurate ways to preserve the cast images. Since then we have witnessed a period of rapid development which has resulted in fast high resolution recording cameras becoming prevalent in nearly the entire developed world, with an estimated 2.5 billion people owning a digital camera.

The industries development towards automation in the photo taking process, including the new levels of speed and versatility introduced with digital cameras, has caused significant changes to the way users take and view photos. New services and product designs have been developed off the back off some of these trends/habits, so it is important to consider how digital photography is utilised both to create and to consume images.

Image generation

Image quantity
Since the transition from film to digital as the default method of image capture[4], digital photography’s penetration into modern society has resulted in the majority of people having access to a fast automatic digital device capable of creating images, be it a dedicated camera or an embedded phone/tablet camera. Alongside this, close relations with the development of computers means camera owners now have computer based storage capacity capable of holding thousands of photos, providing users with new opportunities to photograph things which previously could not be justified. This has led to an explosion of photographs being taken, with the average UK adult taking 19 photos per week, contributing to an estimated 635 million photos taken per week in the UK alone (excluding special events such as holidays, and taking into account adults who do not take any photos at all). An satirical infographic below highlights some of the less meaningful types of photos users now take.

Image diversity

“I see photographs everywhere, like everyone else, nowadays; they come from the world to me, without my asking; they are only “images”, their mode of appearance is heterogeneous. Yet, among those which had been selected, approved, collected in albums … and which had been passed through the filter of culture… [some] were so indifferent to me that by dint of seeing them multiply, like some week, I felt a kind of aversion towards them, even irritation: sometimes I detest photographs.”

Digital imaging is a young yet fast maturing form of visual communication and as such anything can be captured or expressed. As highlighted in the extract above, even since the adoption of low cost film cameras there has increasingly been a divergence between photos that are treasures, taken for sentimental reasons, and photos taken purely to serve a fast practical function, taken for non-sentimental reasons. “Photography has become more of an archival process… record[ing] our everyday lives and social interactions.”[9] New digital services and smart phone applications such as Instagram and Snapchat capitalise on this ever rising wave of fast and practical low sentimental value imaging. Images are generated just like short messages, and consumed rapidly with no intent of the photo being used or looked at again in the distant future.

Above is a screenshot of the popular new smart phone app SnapChat. This application capitalises on the sharing of low value images, by allowing the user to define how long the image ‘lives’ for (upto 10 seconds on the screen) once opened by the recipient, before being automatically permanently deleted. The graph below shows the steep increase in use over a period of a year:

As evident from the pie chart above, quick consumable images shared through Snapchat account for a fairly large percentage, over 25%, of average daily photo uploads.

Habits of the digital generation

Regardless of the type of photo being taken, there are a number of common observable user habits which have become embedded into the modern photo taking process:

ChimpingThis is the process of taking a photo and then immediately reviewing it on the back of the camera. Professionals and amateurs alike do this often to check that they have taken the shot correctly, however the habit has also been taken up by consumers who use completely automatic cameras (and thus don’t have to worry about settings being incorrect) and do it to check what the photo looks like for a quick appraisal and for a hit of self-gratification[13].

Taking thousands of shotsMany photographers rely on quantity to guarantee them a good shot. The law of averages says that if you take enough photos, at least one will be the quality you desire, leading to people taking excessive amounts of ill-considered photos that they end up sifting through later to find photos of meaning and real value. This habit is referred to as “Spray and Pray”, adapted from a military phrase with similar meaning. Modern cameras provide burst modes in response to this habit, allowing for the user to take multiple photos of the same subject in quick succession. This is a feature adopted from sports photographers who require it to capture motion, yet it is commonly misused by consumers[14].

Living through the camera“Photography has become one of the principle devices for experiencing something, for giving appearance of participation”[15]. With the ubiquity of cameras in modern society, many normal and special interactions are photographed a-like. “It seems positively unnatural to travel for pleasure without taking a camera… [Taking a picture] gives shape to the experience: stop, take a photo, move on”[16]. As highlighted in this quote, it is a common habit exhibited by tourists, involving viewing the world mostly through the screen/viewfinder of the camera. So much attention goes onto the camera that the user often fails to interact or really appreciate the subject, effectively using the camera as their eyes instead of using their own.

Image consumption

Traditionally in the era of film photography, rolls of film would be taken to a processing lab to be treated to make prints. Now cameras have screens, users have the ability to instantly see their photos immediately after they are taken. Once home they can then do a range of things such as save them onto a computer, upload them to the web, or print them out themselves:

Uploading to social networks is a fast growing consumption method, with the majority of youth having access to their own online profiles. As seen in the statistics shown on the following page, interaction with your own and other peoples photos are the top activities taking place on the leading social networks Facebook and Google+. The abundance of photos being posted, 330 million per day on Facebook for example, reduces the individual value of each image, especially when both sentimental and non-sentimental photos are mixed together.