Do People Really Care About Digital Photography?

I had an interesting experience recently.

I have been doing photography since high school. I began with a simple point-and-shoot film camera. But I really started enjoying it when I got my first digital SLR. Since then I have really learned the craft and have honed my photography skills. Most of that is because you can experiment with digital photos with no repercussions. When you are using film, the risk is much greater because of the entire process.

With that being said, the amount of photographers has exploded! And now that cellphone photography is amazing, it has exploded further. I’m not complaining, I think it’s a good thing. I love seeing the number of people enjoying the experience of photography.

BUT, what is frustrating is how others perceive photos. Since we are all inundated with advertising, social media, online news, and countless other digital content, when we see a beautiful photo, we might look at it for .25 seconds.

Our attention span is so short, that we don’t give art, especially photography a second look. We also don’t understand the amount of time put into a single photo, and as an artist, it’s disheartening when you show someone a photo that you’re so proud of, and you’re met with “that’s cool”. The end.

But that gets back to my interesting experience. I showed a group of friends a series of photos that I took on my current film camera after I had them processed from my phone screen. The reaction was the same as when I show people my digital photos from Instagram or any other digital media, “that’s cool”. However, days later after the lab sent me the digital files, I received the 4x6 prints in the mail. When I saw them again, I showed the same photos in print form the reaction was met with astoundment! Somehow having the printed photos in their hands changed their experience of viewing the photos. They enjoyed them so much that I gave them some of the 4x6s.

My takeaway is to print your photos! Whether you are a film or digital photographer print your photos and show them to your friends and family. Having that tangible experience in this digital world makes a huge difference.