Welcome to a New Photo Decade
New Years being the annual festival of resolutions, this is the time of year I always commit to being “better” about managing my picture clutter and organization, right along with more exercise and eating healthy. In this mobile age, photos have become so integrated into our lifestyles that pictures have arguably replaced language as the method of choice to communicate, share experiences, and validate our relationships with other people and the world.
So, yes, my photos deserve a little respect and attention lest they become irrelevant through sheer volume. I need to delete all the digital Post-it’s and screenshots. Take time to pick the “keeper” from all the group shots and selfies that really matter. Create an album of my year’s best and purge all the pictures related to work that is done and gone months ago. All that.
But the dawn of 2020 has added something more.
Perspective.
You can’t think about a new decade without considering the old one.
Most years are pretty easy to summarize. A few milestones. Some travel. Hanging out. And, likely, at least one lifetime-worthy event. This stuff happened. Was it a year you’re glad to be done with or one that ranked in your “best of” list.
But looking at a whole decade is much different. Like a novel, you can see that a minor event from 8 years ago may have been the reason for what happened yesterday. Especially with family. A decade guarantees a change in how people look, dress, and act, and the world around them changes as well. Some people have achieved success that only years of progress can show. Others may be gone.
Patterns emerge. What looked like just a summer vacation at the beach one year becomes the annual family retreat when seen through the lens of a decade. The sailboat that started on the beach as a play pirate ship now offers days of real life voyages on local waters. The rope swing that’s still there to delight new generations.
This is our legacy at 72 pixels per inch. And like a good investment, our pictures, carefully tended, increase in value with age. Some become priceless. And the real task of photo organizing is figuring out which ones those will be, because the whole story only emerges with time.
The 2010’s are the first decade that we all lived with a camera in hand. For many, it was the first real experience with photography. So this new year / new decade is the perfect time to take a look back and see how you did. Find the good ones that tell your story and delete the clutter. Dump or move the “reminder” photos. Trim the sequences. Trash the extra bursts, cat downloads, and food porn. Then think about how the 2020’s might look to you in 10 years and apply your lessons learned.
In 2020 I’m going to start thinking about the larger story and longer view. I want to be more conscious of each photo I take. Sure, I will keep grabbing those quick snaps to enjoy and share. Visual touch points. But they’re disposable. When I look back on this decade in 2030, I want my photo library to show what happened, the things that inspired me, what I saw, and the people I loved.
For me, I think that a 10 year perspective will make me more selective about what I photograph and do fewer snapshots. The way I used to be when I was shooting film. I will be more critical when reviewing and culling out rejects. And I expect to be more attentive to the bigger stories in my life, the ones that really deserve to be captured, created over time, and shared.
New Year’s resolutions are really about reflection, after all. And photography is really about learning how to see the world. Our camera rolls show us what we value and how we perceive our surroundings. Our photos are both witness and art.
So as you start to build your photo library for the next decade, here are a few tips to help ease the process along:
Cull your photos regularly. Taking 5 minutes each day to clear out the junk is ideal, but even a weekly edit session will keep you on track for a well curated collection.
Use people tagging to check on your story flow for key family members.
As you identify themes, create story albums that you can add photos to as you go.
Consider shooting reminders, furniture, art, etc., directly into a notes app (Notes, Evernote, etc.) instead of into your general camera roll.
Save any attached photos (from text messages & email) into your photo library right away if they are “keepers.” Then delete them from email.
Remember that there are no “right” ways to take a photo. If you take variations, just cull down to the one you like best and delete the rest. It’s okay.
Finally, be sure to routinely back up your photos to a safe place, particularly if you have them only on your phone.
I hope that everyone takes this milestone to create their own 10 year retrospective, and begins to plan for their next one.
Happy New Photo Decade!