In today’s world, we’re constantly bombarded with photography. The perfectly curated, Instagram-ready images that tell a story in a single frame. But one of the most important things I’ve realized in the last few years is just how significant it is to take photos of the people around you. Not the posed, carefully staged portraits we think of as “important” pictures, but the candid, everyday snapshots that capture the essence of who these people really are.
We often overlook the people we see regularly. Whether it’s family, close friends, or even coworkers, it’s easy to take them for granted. They’re always there, and the idea of taking a photo of them may seem unnecessary. After all, you don’t need a photo to remember the faces you encounter daily. You can see them whenever you want. Or maybe, in some cases, you feel like you see too much of them already. And a picture can wait.
But here’s the thing: it’s when they’re gone, whether by distance, life’s changes, or in more extreme cases, loss, that you realize the value of those moments you didn’t capture.
The beauty of everyday life is in its fleeting nature. Our routines, interactions, and the small nuances of our relationships are often so commonplace that we forget to immortalize them. The casual chats, the laughter, the simple moments that make up a person’s identity. These are things that fade with time, especially when the people we care about are no longer part of our daily lives. If you don’t capture them while you can, those memories may blur, and you may regret not having that one photo of a moment you shared together.
In my experience, the photos that hold the most sentimental value aren’t the grand, orchestrated ones, but the ones that happen by chance or the ones that capture the most mundane things. It could be a snap of a friend laughing over coffee, a parent engaged in a quiet moment of reflection, or a sibling caught in the middle of an impromptu conversation. These photos serve as little time capsules, preserving the feelings, the energy, and the context of a relationship.
The beauty of these unplanned photos is that they often reveal the essence of a person in ways that posed pictures can’t. There’s an authenticity to the captured moment, the unguarded expression, and the warmth of the connection. These are the kinds of photos that, years from now, will bring a smile to your face, even if the memory of the exact moment has faded. You’ll remember how that person made you feel, what you shared, and what they meant to you.
When you think about it, our time with the people around us is not infinite. Life is constantly evolving, and people change. There’s no guarantee that the people in your life now will always be around, and you never know when your next opportunity to take a photo might be the last. That’s why it’s so important to take those seemingly “random” photos of the people who matter to you.
It’s not about documenting every moment or creating an album of perfectly posed portraits. It’s about cherishing the everyday moments and realizing how much those tiny instances matter in the grand scheme of things. You never know what a simple photo of a moment in time might mean to you in the future.
Have you ever discovered photos of moments you had completely forgotten going through photo archives or boxes of photos inherited from the family? (note in passing: always backup your photos in print) Have you even found a photos unexpectedly and then gone through a rabbit hole of memories for hours and hours? Have you ever found photos of people you had not thought about for ages, then decided to contact them again? This would never happen if you only kept the “perfect” photos.
In the case of the photo at the top, I wanted to capture my grandfather in the activities I remember doing with him when I was a kid. He’s always been good at building things (he’s been a blacksmith, a locksmith, and various other vocations in his life; he’s built houses and made wrought iron gates for the village). But by the time I took that photo, he was well into his 90s and too frail to really build things.
When I was a kid, I would always go on holiday at my grandparents’. Nearly without fail. And I’d spend all my time with my grandfather making things. My father, unlike his father, isn’t good with his hands. So I wouldn’t get to do that at home. But on holiday, I’d constantly build things in wood, learn how to use a forge, or do masonry around the garden.
But I have very few photos of that because I didn’t really get into photography before the 2000s, and I was too busy doing stuff with him to record it.
So, take more photos of the people around you. Not because you’re trying to capture perfection, but because you’re capturing the beauty of real life, and the people who make it meaningful. Don’t wait until they’re gone to wish you had more pictures. Embrace the opportunity to preserve these moments while you can. It’s a small gesture that can mean the world in the years to come.
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