It all started when I received my first iPhone (and the one I still have as of today) at the end of junior year of high school. The ease with which I could fish it out of my pocket, snap a picture, and share said snap with the world, was something that completely blew my mind. I began to take pictures of everything and everyone. My innate sentimentality combined with intense desire to hold onto memories was enough to send me a little off the deep end. Before I knew it, I was the photo-taking friend. With new albums posted every few months of school, each boasting hundreds of captures, I realized I had a running slideshow of nearly every important event that I had partaken in...not to mention several of the not so important. None of the other people I spend time with ever have their cameras out, so the onus usually falls on me to be the documentarian. Not that I complain, of course. I've come to embrace my role! And it certainly comes with its set of interesting features, including:
1) All the random Facebook friend requests
When you're the photo-taking friend, you're usually taking pictures of all your friends. And as social network etiquette dictates, said friends must be tagged. This means that on your pictures, you get comments from their great-aunt Trudy, along with friend requests from their assorted, usually older, family members. This has lead to a lot of really pleasant encounters via Facebook chat with moms who thank me profusely for sharing pictures that their son/daughter refuses to provide them with. I feel like I'm doing some sort of civic duty. Speaking of said friends...
2) Nearly all of your friends' profile pictures are taken by you
I have 20+ friends who either have or have had profile pictures taken by yours truly. Since I'm the photo-taking friend, I always have my phone out to capture those cute candid moments that make such quality social media material. It's quite rewarding to be glancing through your friends list and see all those cute memories flash up next to your besties' names. It's especially great when they give you photo creds in the caption. Not that I insist or anything...
3) The adding, captioning, and tagging process is remarkably soothing
After a long fun day of taking pictures, there's nothing more relaxing than plugging my phone into the computer and going to work. Reminiscing on the past day, organizing the pictures, picking out the best ones, captioning, and tagging are so great for me to process the day's events. And when I finally have a completed album, there's nothing quite as exciting as hitting that "Publish" button and waiting for the texts from my friends. These are usually along the lines of "Ally...I just got a notification that you tagged me in 47 pictures." Trust me, they're secretly pleased. As a matter of fact...
4) Your friends act annoyed with you, but secretly love it
Sure, they'll groan when you ask them to say cheese and act incredulous when they go on Facebook and see the notifications, but you know they appreciate it. Their profile picture says so. It's always one thing to post a picture of yourself, but as one person said to me once "getting tagged in pictures is like proof of friends." I'm more than happy to provide proof of friends, and get their mom off their back about posting pictures from college. Like I said, I'm performing a public service.
5) Your Instagram game is on point
Enough said.
6) Your walls feel like a gallery
I currently have over 60 photos hanging on ribbon on the walls in my dorm room. Pictures of scenery, family, and friends, etc, they really are the centerpiece of my decorations. When you're the photo-taking friend, you become so attached to them that you can never decide which few you want to print out and frame. Honestly, it's an amazing feeling to walk into my room and feel instantly surrounded by good times. And that's what photos are to me, memories and good feelings and plain happiness. I'm a thoroughly sentimental human, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's something I know about myself, and where I come from. Which leads me to my last realization...
7) You realize you picked up the habit from somewhere
I grew up with a refridgerator covered in pictures and art projects. My mom's closet is home to over 20 thick photo albums of my entire life, ones that I can leaf through and see my growth year to year. It's remarkable, and inspiring. When I go to her mother's house, there isn't a single bare wall in the entire place. You may think I'm exaggerating, but I assure you that's the absolute truth. Black and white photos decorate dressers, scrapbooks line the bookshelves, old Christmas cards hang in the cabinets, and frames of every color and size dominate all surfaces. It's so comforting, being surrounded by memories and histories, it's also powerful. I can sit on a carpeted floor for hours and turn the pages of photo albums, hearing my mom and grandmother laugh and tell the stories behind each faded picture. I realize I am continuing in that tradition, and while I'm doing it in a decidedly 21st century way, that spirit of sharing and remembering stays the same.
It's very easy to dismiss someone like me who always takes pictures as "not living in the moment." That's not some new idea to me, I've heard it plenty of times. However, I'm secure in my love of photo-taking. Nothing professional of course, I don't consider myself a photographer in the artistic sense by any means. For me, t's something personal and imperfect and silly. It's real and it's part of who I am. Being the photo-taking friend is an honest desire to not only live in the moment, but to take those moments with me as long as I can.
