Many people believe that photography was created for paper and not for modern screens of computers and smartphones. The idea is simple — photography has never been as popular as it is now, but it is really hard to say that from the quality of art perspective, images have become better. This is the reason why even in the modern internet era, there are photographers who still prefer to use old cameras instead of cell phones or even big-budget digital cameras.
It is hard not to see how such a phenomenon, like social media, has dramatically impacted the quality of photos. Nowadays, many people are using software tools, like retouchme.com/app-to-make-forehead-smaller, in order to make their forehead look smaller or to enhance the overall look of the photo. Back in the days of paper images, it was hard to imagine that something like that would be available to use so easily. It is very important to look at how social media has impacted the whole idea of photos and why it is really important not to think that print photography has died.
The Psychological Aspect of Photos on Social Media:
By looking at print photos from the side, it is possible to think that they are a thing of the best. But why do people really think so? Because social media have impacted the way photos are appreciated by the masses. Psychologically it is hard to value digital pictures because there are just too many of them all over the internet. Such platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, are using media files as their main attractive point, but they devalue the whole meaning behind photos. They should look and feel unique and like they can be missed because there are not many of them. Social media make photos:
- Accessible from any device;
- Available for possible changes to the quality and their overall look;
- Devalued.
It is possible to achieve this only in the case of paper photos that were not digitized and can be viewed only via physical albums. Back in the day, it was really hard to find a camera that would allow me to make high-quality pictures. This is why every photo was valued as a family treasure and was passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, it is easy to find an iPhone and make a relatively good-looking photo that can be made even better thanks to the software tools such as RetouchMe. On a psychological level, due to such availability, it is difficult to value pictures that can be made within a couple of seconds and uploaded to social media for millions of users to see around the world.
Has Print Photography Really Died?
Print photography is definitely not dead because it has a whole community of people who are still buying cameras that allow them to make nice-looking pictures with the ability to print them on paper whenever there is going to be such a need. A good example of that is the Polaroid company which still produces a nice camera that can not only take great shots but also will immediately print them. This is the best old-school experience to get right now for any person who likes and cherishes photography as a cultural phenomenon. Modern smartphones take away the whole experience of making a nice picture from the first attempt because there are just not too many tries available. In the case of iPhones, it is possible to take hundreds of pictures within a minute, while on old cameras, people should value every shot.
How Did Social Media Impacted Photography?
Social media is widely present in our lives as we share important events. But also, it has become a man network for promoting business. But how has social media impacted photography?
Nowadays, more than 90% of internet users use at least one social media network. The popularity of visually driven networks such as Pinterest and Instagram impacted the photography industry.
However, the opinions on this topic are divided. Some believe that social media has negatively impacted the art of photography. Others firmly believe that social media helps artists promote their work.
The nature of social media allows artists to create an online portfolio for free and reach the target audience easily.
Nirmal Sarkar is a Biotechnologist from the city of Joy, Kolkata. He is the founder of this blog and covers a wide range of topics from Gadgets to Software to Latest Offers. You can get in touch with him via nirmal@hitricks.com
