—Just Make Sure the Flash is Off

Written By : Annalisa Frumento

Lately I’ve been taking pictures of everything, but doing so with intention. What started as a few pretty landscapes and sunsets has turned into much more. If my friends laugh, I want a picture. If my dog is sleeping, I want a picture. Am I using up all of my storage? Definitely. Am I going to be happy to capture everything though? Certainly. 

There is a definite rebuttal to my new hobby though. You may ask me “why don’t you just live in the moment?” And to that I say, why would I not want to relive it? Of course there are intimate moments in our lives that a phone is not welcome, and those lines are not crossed by me and I ensure that. The balance comes when I focus on capturing moments, not watching them through the screen. The bottom line is, our phones are not going anywhere anytime soon, and if I am going to be on it, I am going to make sure I use it in a way that is personal and fun for me. 

Not every picture is for instagram, or a facebook gallery, sometimes it is just about you. When I flip through my camera roll for any reason I don’t want it to be filled with screenshots of tweets, or pictures of math homework. I want my photos to be a culmination of memories, ones that were captured mainly in candid motion. This is my new philosophy.
So, stop and capture that hug, or that dog your friend is petting at the park. Remember the tiny things as well as the big moments. Just for the sake of everybody else, don’t forget to turn the flash off…