Things that were (unintentionally) better in the olden days, #1 (probably of 1!)

If you are old, like us, you will remember the excitement of getting your summer holiday photos back in the post from Truprint (or equivalent). The joy when it turned out they were in focus. The pleasure of reminiscing on lazy days in the sun, through sun-bleached prints. (And the occasional shot with a thumb over the lens.)

Now, with digital photographs, we don’t have to wait. And this might not always be such a good thing…

“Not only could the change in perspective increase self-presentation anxiety but, according to research, it could also dampen emotional aspects of the experience”

— Alixandra Barasch, NYU

When we do something - go on holiday, perform a song, have a night out - we experience it. Which might seem blindingly obvious. But from that experience, we create our narrative around it and develop a memory based on that. (Your memory, I hate to tell you, is not a reliable record of what happened. It’s a story created by your brain, textured with emotion and lies you tell yourself!)

And it turns out that immediate feedback affects memory formation…

This New York Times article, about a video of the author’s daughter performing, summarises things nicely. And it got us to thinking about photography, and our professional photography.

Because viewing yourself doing something changes your perception of how you did it, there are good reasons for not looking at your photos and videos straight away. Beyond the fact that we seem to spend so much of our time recording events instead of enjoying them, gathering around a tiny phone in the immediate aftermath to watch again could be damaging.

So try this: by all means record a performance. But, when finished, put your phone away and don’t watch - and definitely don’t let the performer watch - it again for a few days, weeks or months.

Where does that leave us? In a good place, we think. Our main focus is on giving our families and amazing photography experience - our sessions are fun (we have proof here and here!). Crucially, after our session you won’t get to see the photos for a week or two, by which time you have created your memories without external influence.

DKClarke Photography: bringing back the best things from your youth (that you didn’t know you were missing).

You’re welcome!