If you’re like most of us, you have so many pictures on your phone that you’re beginning to worry about the memory space. You might think this means you should start taking fewer photos, but is that really the case? More likely, you should be taking more photos — and more intentional photos.

Pictures preserve the right memories

One criticism of the photograph has always been that it tends to capture us at our “best.” We’re usually smiling broadly, hanging out with our favorite people, and engaging in some fun activity. But this criticism is not entirely valid.

One of the keys to a happy life is remembering the good times while letting the hard times fade. We don’t want to forget everything about difficult times, because they help us stretch and grow, but we don’t need to cling to them with the same intensity that we recall our favorite memories.

Photos help to focus our memories on the times we want most to remember. Without pictures, we tend to more easily remember the bad times because of negativity bias. Photos are a way to combat this tendency.

Pictures persist when memories fade

If you get siblings together once they’re middle-aged, it’s amazing how differently they remember things that happened in childhood. Over time, our memories become less focused and clear, but with the newest photography technology that will never happen to our pictures.

If you’ve ever read an ibi review, you may know the value in storing and organizing your photos from any device. The product allows you to access all of them from anywhere and find the picture you’re looking for quickly. You can now keep your pictures as long as you want, and, unlike the photos your grandparents took, these will never fade, tear, or get lost forever after a move.

Pictures inspire our creativity

Once you start sharing your pictures with others, you’ll constantly notice how they could be better. It doesn’t take much effort to point your camera at something and press the button; but it does take skill to properly frame a great picture or recognize when there’s something unusual you should snap.

As you take more pictures, you’ll hone your ability to recognize what works and what doesn’t; what inspires and what’s mundane. Some people take a picture every day, searching for something different in the day. This kind of outlook on life breaks up the daily routine and helps you see the world with fresh eyes. 

Pictures can be great; but only with plenty of practice

A few decades ago, you had to hone your picture-taking skills carefully. Every photo had to be developed by hand, and every development cost money. If a picture revealed that you needed Invisalign to straighten your teeth, you didn’t know it until days or weeks later, and by that time it was far too late.

Today, that has all changed, and you can take almost as many pictures as you like and instantly view the results. There’s no need to be satisfied with a bad picture ever again. Instead, you can practice until you perfect your skills. Great photos need great framing, timing, and composition. The only way to get that is with practice.

Modern technology allows us to take almost as many pictures as we wish and store them to view whenever it’s convenient for us. Taking a lot of pictures haphazardly doesn’t really accomplish much other than filling up memory space. Doing it carefully can change everything, including ourselves.