Remember To Take Snapshots

Thank you Dan finally someone opened a forum about snapshots. Dan did you take that photo or is it you, perhaps your father. Photography is not all about the expensive camera equipment. There just happens to be many of a famous photo which was just that a snap shot. I had my camera stolen and all I relied on was a throw away camera and took many of my wonderful photos with just a throw a way.

A photographer mentor once talked to me and he was from England and pretty much spoke to me about the difference between just a photo and a snapshot. I used his technique and all of a sudden discovered the snapshot is all around us. And I to this til day when I look through the viewfinder I will say to myself, is this a photo or is this a snapshot.

A good question for everyone when have you used a throw away? Give it a try and see what you capture, you will be surprised. Is there more than one definition of snap shot? Yes, there is a difference, the snap shot or photo taken and then printed on paper. And then there is a digital snapshot it too can be just a snap shot and also be printed on paper. The name snapshot can be associated with the term being is it a quality photo or is it just a snap shot due to the subject or composition of the photo. (Revision: and or who took the photo was it a professional or a non professional)

Here is one of my photos taken at 10 years old. (Left) Its a snap shot but a quality (Revision: snap shot image taken at 10 years old, the quality is poor because the actual photo had deteriorated over the years and most important it was a fixed lens, most all cameras of that era were fixed lenses or if the household could afford a manual focus lens) because it does reveal a dramatic perspective, light and shadows...Yes the photo would classify as a vintage photo and is considered highly historic photo by local historians, because Mardi Gras floats no longer travel on the streets of the French Quarter.

(Revision: Yes, photos which are in all those leather bound photos are worthy to be displayed in museums because the era no longer exist but just the image on paper they are printed on. Are they of value? Yes, they are sought after by many historians world wide. The oldest of my family photos dates back to late 1800's)

A Time To Dine (Right) Taken in the late 80's when my camera was stolen I continued taking photos using just a throw-away. The amazing thing about the colored photo it was taken through a store front window using just available light. Besides film speed and what type of throw away you can capture some amazing photos. In fact someone was appalled I had the nerve to post a photo taken with a throw away. I stood my ground as a photographer and the photo still remains on the site. I consider it a snap shot but then also a form of advertising a photo of forks.

Good snapshots are worth their weight. I take photos EVERY day, of everything. Finding old photos of Gramps when he was a motorbike racer in the 20's. Nana and her sisters as debutantes in London. Me as a nipper lol. For everyone I think snapshots have a permanent place in our hearts. You don't have to be an artist every day. Yea.. One day others are interested where they aren't now

Ever seen something called "Facebook"? ;-)

I remember when, at least for me, snapshots were a thought-out process, because film and processing was expensive. Walking around with my little camera as a child, making friends and family pose for me, I had to be very careful to get it right. Maybe I can find a few in a box somewhere, because they are hilarious (at least to me, anyway). "Snapshots" today are a different thing entirely. I take dozens of family photos (digital) to get just the right one, whereas I used to take only one, and it had better be good.

I love that photo, Dan. Is that a relative? Old car snaps are fabulous!

snaps aren't always a bad thing, but it really depends what you compare them too. images from yesterday are only interesting because many didn't hold onto them or they are interesting because they are different. i'm always pressing - should i take it with the cars? with cars, it's a snap, but later on, those cars tell me an era. i'm colorizing rather old prints, things that could be considered a snap shot, dressed up right, often look interesting. still its not excuse to leave a strap in the shot, make it really crooked, or just make it very bland. like a picture of the ocean during mid day.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I do hundreds a month.

@Abbie you are so correct what it also enables us to view as artist and photographer the perspective of the image. When you see those photos in newspaper in the society page, all of those are pretty much snapshots, yet the photographer taking the photo dreads taking them on his photo assignment. They do hold their individual weight in value.


All my personal images since 10 years old are snapshots, some are better than others. I think about anything but look thru the viewfinder and snap.

There are snapshots and then there are quality snapshots. The photo I took last summer my first paid photo assignment were two businessmen in the photo talking. A typical snapshot, I consider it a nice paycheck also.


@Ed, I have noticed lately many individuals are going back to the photo scrap books and posting snapshots. Some of them are quite amazing people are now posting.

@Dan do you remember your first camera? The one thing I remember clearly is how frustrated I would get to put that long spool of film and load the camera. And the window to let you know what frame you were on, that alone would frustrated if I was outside sometimes could not see the number clearly. I would continue to take the images until I got to the end.

@Patricia, gosh how I remember doing that, and you are correct I am sure then processing was not all that cheap with the times being as hard as they were.

I agree whole heartedly! I try to remind myself of this everytime my wife and I take a road trip. And she reminds me even more often! :)

@Everyone, I am curious what were some of the brand cameras you used at a younger age? I always had a Kodak.

@Mike Savad, I have seen some of your black and whites colorized and they are very nice to look at.

@JC, when you take your snaps shots are they with film or digital and do you use the B/W setting on the camera when you taken them?

Very true, Dan!!

My iphone is always working. I never regret taking a photo. I regret not taking them.

I use my smartphone a lot for that. We have so many photo books that I still enjoy going through-looking at photos of my kids as babies, etc. When Mom passed away, Dad passed his time going through boxes, envelopes, books of photos then sorting them by family members so he could hand them out. Then when Dad passed away, it was up to us to do so. While my sister walked off with the majority of photos of Mom and Dad, I have a huge selection of grandparents, great-aunts and uncles and my mom and her family when she was a child and have been restoring them. When you grow up knowing your grandparents as old people, looking at these photos of them as young (20's) people is so fascinating.

Snaps are valuable. Maybe not to others, but to your family history.

One thing I tell all new expecting parents, digital is cheap, you can't have too many pictures of your kids. My daughter is getting married soon. My wife and I have been having a ball going through old photos. I wish we had more.

I was told recently by someone that they threw away boxes of old family photos because they didn't who was in them. I was appalled. At the very least the local historical society might have benefited and been able to make some identifications.

@Michael, I got into photography in HS, but shortly after got into the work world, got married, etc. No money for a "real" camera. For many years I used a Minolta Pocket camera that took 110 film. Later I got a 35mm P&S. I think it was a Yashica. I used that until I went digital in 2003.

"I love that photo, Dan. Is that a relative? Old car snaps are fabulous!"

Patricia, that's my dad, man about town, and what looks to be his 1949 Pontiac. This predates me by a few years :-)

How many of us (artists) had to learn this the hard way? I hesitate to raise my hand...! I was married while still in college, burning with artistic ambition. A few years later I noticed that our vacation pics -- and that includes my honeymoon photos -- contained very few photos of US. They were mostly serious art photo efforts: macros of water drops, sweeping panoramas, sunsets, arty river shots, architectural details, tourist Indians for gods sake. WTF was I thinking???

Fortunately that marriage ended after only 12 years, so today I don't have to hear about "what matters" every six minutes.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

I agree, Dan. I'm really glad you brought this topic up. I think I should take much more snapshots than I usually do.

+1 for Patricia. I don't think there's really any comparison between the "snapshots" of 30, 50 or 100 years ago when a "snapper" might only run through half-a-dozen rolls of film a year (with somewhere from 12 to 36 frames per film) and the sort of snapshots people take today, sometimes churning out as many in a day as their grandparents did in a year. The "snapshot" at the start of this thread is carefully composed and posed, and shot from a low angle to make the subject more imposing, with the sun behind the photographer on the left to avoid flare .... it's hardly fair to call it a snapshot at all!

Paul, you're right, that photo has some thought behind it. It competently records the moment. But I don't think it was intended to be "art."


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

I have to admit ... surprised myself more than anyone, I guess ... but I recently used an iphone pic of my puppy (MUCH tinkered with) in one of my newest artsy fartsy images here ... and personally, I think it turned out just fine. For good or evil, this encourages me to use the iphone more ... and ... take more snaps. : ))

Dan is that your first car? oops didn't see the answer above.

I ran across this one recently of my son skiing in Acadia National Park. Now he's on the high school team here in New Hampshire. When he was a baby I think I took more video than photos.

"Dan is that your first car?"

Ed, that would have been cool, but no. I bought a 1962 Dodge Custom 880 in 1972 for $250.00 -- from a dealer. That's how well that model held it's value! It was sort of a semi-shiny primer brown. But I could fit all my drums in the trunk and still have room for five friends. It wasn't the least bit attractive, as cars go, but it was smooth, powerful and always in need of repair.




Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

The boxes full of old family snapshots are amongst the most treasured things I inherited from my parents - I am discovering a lot about them that I never knew when they were alive. Priceless! Far far better than all the art that came my way.

I hated taking snapshots and always made sure I left my camera at home when my wife and I took a trip.

If I did have the camera, she'd suggest: "Take a shot of that..."

"I just did," was my usual reply. "It's embedded in my brain, right where I can always find it."

She soon after bought her own camera and snapped away like crazy.

Dan,

One of the things I gave a talk about, at our local library, was about snapshots and how to preserve them. BUT more importantly, is the information of what/who is in the snapshot. Looking at old photos if fun, but knowing WHO is in the photo is funner! That's why when ever my 86 year old mother visits, her assignment, is to look at photos and indentify who each person is and maybe the year and place. As these "historians" depart, the image's have less value as history and just become nice snapshots again...........

Rich

Here is a snapshot, I had by chance already in my "Copy/Paste" . For I posted it earlier in the "NYC in the 40s thread



I was not yet 13 when I took it, one cold gray day.

I have quite a few snapshots of my kids and family when they were small and I wish had more of my husbands family and when he was small but my brother in law grabbed them before we could get any and he's not sharing - long story - I find myself now trying NOT to take snapshots and I realize from this post, thank you Dan, that I am missing so many moments of the grandkids, my kids, the family now, and that is very stupid of me - it is not all about what will sell - it is about just having a good time and enjoying the moments whether on vacation, at family functions, or just for the hell of it!

Today's snapshot is tomorrow's historic document. It's not just the people they show, but the record of the places, too.

Dan, where was that taken? It looks a little like Fort Ord in my home territory, but it could be anywhere.

My father and his buddies used to have a makeshift darkroom that they worked in while stationed in Germany after the war. I have some great images that are all of 1" x 2" in size in my father's old album.

I did some work on this one back a couple of years ago and had it printed up for his memorial service in a 16" x 20". It is of significant importance to our family.



Great subject Dan. Yesterday's snapshots, and their degradation, have inspired lots of different software for today's new creations.

P.S. and another...

What a great thread and photograph, Dan.

I love anything to do with people's history. Snapshots are gifts left to us by the older generations.

I took apart my mother's and father's scrapbooks. When I have the time, I've been scanning the old photographs, documents and even autograph books.

Since I am friends with so many cousins on FB, I thought it would be nice to share these with them as well. Since last Spring, I've been posting them there. You would have thought I had given them gold. There were so many photos of their parents and our grandparents that no one had in their possession. Now they can download and print their own.

Since my my parent's generation has passed on, there are many unanswered questions. Many have no dates, names or locations. The vehicle images and clothing styles help narrow them down to certain years. It has been helpful when my older cousins share their memories.

Snapshots do get a bad name especially on art sites. I think they are more dear than an image of something with little to no meaning to the owner of that art. I would be apt to get rid of a piece of art that goes with my decor than part with something less brilliant but has more value to me.

I still take and print my snapshot, make scrapbooks for the family and back these up regularly.

Dan, thanks SO much for reminding us of this. I have almost no pics or snaps from the last two decades of family or friends. Think it's time to rectify that...which means it might be time to suck it up and get a cellphone!!

Dan, I have never respected you more than I do right now. What an awesome and meaningful subject for a thread.

I have tons of albums. I decided a long time ago that life and memories should be documented. Someday, when I'm 92 (hoping to get there lol) I will love to see photos of my youth, my wedding, my best friends, favorite pet, etc. It's these (not so) little things that should be treasured because life is short, and goes by too fast. It's a nice reminder that you have truly lived.

Sadly, lately, I too have fallen in the bad habit of forgetting to get prints of my snaps to file in my albums, this thread has reminded me. That will be one of my next projects as I have fallen far behind.

This "snapshot" was taken probably around 1896 in New York City. The little girl in the front is my father's Aunt Pauline at about 2 years old. My grandmother, born in 1900, was not around yet. It is printed on a thick paper, almost cardboard and is the oldest "snapshot" the family has (well, I have now).

This and others I have been restoring digitally to print and place in a scrapbook. My biggest decision is, do I put all the images in chronological order, blending the two families (mom's and dad's) or do I split them then place them in time order. My preference is the former.

It doesn't matter how many snapshots you don't PRINT them.

We all think our snaps will be on our computer or Facebook forever.

We have these old photographs of loved ones because they HAD to be printed and then put in an album or a shoebox.

Digital will greatly reduce the number of memories future generations have.

John, what I'm doing is scanning the old photos, restoring them digitally, but the originals are in a fire proof/waterproof box (when doing that they have to be in a bag to reduce the likelihood of mold damage).

My friend does print all the photos he takes and puts them in albums. I find that tedious, but he does have a point or two in doing that. They're easily shared with everyone who visits without having to boot up anything; barring devastation, they will always be there. But admittedly, once our house went digital, the albums came to an end.

Snapshots are invaluable. I have taken to scanning many of the old photos and making books with them - for family - and I am also starting to make books out of digital photos that are meaningful - a memory of a trip or a gathering. Even some best of. I find that if I don't, the digital images stay that way and you can't just pick them up and sit and enjoy them.

@Dan there is no action like inner action when we all do our best to preserve and share snapshots. When friends come visit they are in awe of my historic collection of vintage snapshots. There is nothing like viewing the actual photo over a digital version of it. Isn't there conventions of just snapshots old photos. I have seen vendors sell vintage snapshots. Some have a story some do not, but we all enjoy viewing them.

@Roger, that is awesome, do you remember the camera you used. I gather that is the empire state building?

@Louise very nice restorations, I too have spent hours on end restoring family vintage photos. It does take time and precision. Of course it will not compare to the original but you have preserved the image for further generations to enjoy.

@Janice, I am pretty much like yourself and have scanned the older photos of elders no longer around, Like yourself and in the albums I have the person who created the album and wrote on the black paper in white ink and at least identified or indicate the year this does help. And the others I dislike posting unknown. I too post on my Facebook for other family members to retrieve and print out from their end. All the vintage photos were presented to me for safekeeping. With the original album what I have done was catalog and any personal information I am aware of the image dates or location and include the list within the album. Preservation does take time but rewarding in the long haul and hearing from other family members you thought you gave them gold.

@Inge there is nothing like holding a vintage snapshot in your hand. Its as if the images come alive right before your eyes. The important thing is the preservation of the old photos the best we can for future generations to enjoy. They all have a story to tell and we have the memory of viewing it.

@Chuck, you are so correct snapshots are of more valuable than most think. I advise everyone with old photos of family take a close look there just may be something of extreme value in the photo you may not have known about. When you come across an old photo take the time to look at it carefully there just may well be something else in the photo of historic value. Historians consider them extremely valuable because they are the only photographic record of that period of time. Just as the photos we take now are snapshots which will be of value in the future times. But then again maybe not because there are so many in existence and would be assessable.

I had in my possession a photo which was taken on the bow of the S.S. Celtic Circa 1913 when my grandfather came to America from Ireland aboard the S.S. Celtic just so happens to have been built prior to the Titanic by the same shipping line. Because the photographer had taken a photo aboard the boat at the bow with my grandfather and others dancing to a live orchestra above and behind them is the actual name of the boat.

I spoke with the national historic collection curator of old photography after doing research on the photo and I made the connection of the boat my grandfather was on. I was informed it was one of the rarest photos, why because their is no known photo in existence with the name of the boat. All the known photos on record and photos on line are as the boat pulled away from port or was arriving into port but the name of the boat not visible. So the photo which was in my possession and now can not be located is a highly rare and extremely valuable snapshot because of the connection with the Titanic. And to think my grandfather may well have come across the ocean on the Titanic but for whatever reason did not until a year after the Titanic sank. .

just be sure that if anyone has old images - label them. if my grandparents didn't label who people were or the year, i would have had a pile of images that had nothing on them. they were able to mark about 60% of them, hundreds of images. but i have these group shots, snaps of others that i barely know who they are. so for future generations, mark them in. better than that is to scan them in at 1200-2400 dpi, mark and sort those, and place them on a thumb drive. so if you have a fire, you'll have a back up of all your family pix. i have most of mine, minus the ones in my closet i don't want to dig out. the first thing after a disaster people will ALWAYS say is-- i don't care about the stuff, i lost all my family photos.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Dan, first of all I wouldn't call that a snap shot. it was well done, and seems to have had some thought behind it. Maybe their are different categories for snap shots, don't know.
Nice image

Mike, I put most of my family pix on Flickr - it seems more durable than a thumb drive and my relatives can get them if they want to.

what a great snapshot - yes, that's what it is - a very good one. It was not set up to be a "professional" image, it was the Airman in uniform on the Air Force base with his, probably new, Pontiac. Given the man's posture and uniform - this is more like "street" photography - although probably taken by one of his buddies.

Roy, are all images either snapshots or professional

Kevin - what else would you call them? I do understand that I'm not a professional photographer - but I wouldn't exactly say that my images are just "snapshots" either - so what shall we call them? We tend to check the composition, the lighting, set it up so to speak, etc, etc - while others seemingly just try to catch that moment. And I've seen snapshots of the same 'scene' that are better than "professional" photographs.

I've always regarded photos as being good, bad or mediocre. It's not the photo that's a professional, it's the photographer - and professional photographers can take some truly awful pictures, just as amateurs can take exceptional ones. And that, happily, leaves us to make our own judgement of how good an image is without being guided by the what the photographer's job is. For example, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Karl Blossfeldt and Snowflake Bentley were all amateurs yet they did amazing work.

This is a dumb question - but what is the definition of a snapshot? If you're walking around the city with no particular shots in mind and taking handheld shots would those be considered snapshots? Does it pertain to the quality of the photo? Not considering the composition, exposure and all that?

Thanks for the reminder, Dan, so easy to take for granted. This I understand is why Steve Jobs made sure the camera button on an iPhone to be fast and easy to use.

@toby a snap shot is an unplanned, impromptu shot, that usually doesn't take in account: straight horizons, trees in a bad spot, things coming out of their head, odd framing, busy images, smack in the center images, or images where you don't quite know what the context is. if you have an artistic eye and your in the city, if you even spend a few seconds deciding where to stand, to maximize the look of the image, then it's not really a snapshot. if your out with your friends and the bus stops and you shoot a few random shots of a place as a memory keepsake. then it's snap shot. typically its a look. you can easily compare an image that has a polished clean look, compared to those who took it for the sake of taking it.

snap shots today generally aren't going to be an easy sell because there is better stuff to compare too. snaps from 80 years ago, there will be less to compare too, and it can be interesting. that said, age doesn't matter so much as the content of the image. the old car for example, people can relate too. i've been viewing thousands of old images, and while i can save some of them, not all of them are that interesting.

for snaps to be interesting in the future, be sure to get people and cars in a shot. a documentary shot, street photography (which borders on snap shots), and such is a good way to preserve the past. you don't notice the change as its changing, and the photo is the only record of that event.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

i don't trust flickr for many reasons.

1. i hate yahoo
2. its too easy to download things there
3. they can vanish and you'll have nothing at all. too many rely on the cloud in that way.

each family member has a master copy of the family stuff, i try to save it everywhere.


my grandfather took many shots of the war, i saved many, but many times it was a record shot, and focus wasn't a priority, nor was exposure. but it was harder in those days, since i can see right away if the image doesn't look right.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I have a photo of 3 of my friends playing music together in 2008. Everyone in the photo died tragically and too young in different ways.

My friend Gracie was there that day. She also is gone now. She took photos of everyone every day and sent copies. She was so sweet and loving of life and people. We have an expression to "put a little Gracie in your life." I do that in her honor by making sure there is a good photo of my people every day.

Last week I took a shot of my roomer on his new electric scooter. He is waving and smiling. He only rode it once. He went all over town. He fell very ill the next day. He is in hospice care now. The last photo of him smiling and waving is on his FB page.

technically when my grandfather shot this, he used as an example of what was going on, it was a snap shot, but pretty well done. he used to send notes on the back of these and mail them back to the states. from there i colorize that to make it into a thing of art. i might have chosen a better angle to maximize the shot.

i made the agreement that i would digitize everything, but i can sell what i thought was interesting looking. and this is my payment. the family stuff is cleaner in contrast, but the defects are still there.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

A timely topic...
I just spent 3 full days sorting, labeling and listening to the stories about over 1,000 snapshots belonging to my mother in love.
She is 96 and has the mind of a steep trap. The oldest pic was 95 of her as a baby. The best were of her older sister. By the time we finished, I felt like I knew this marvelous woman.
The experience was very powerful. Having the back story makes our ancestors come alive with just a snapshot ;)

I am the photo keeper of my family. I'm so fortunate to have so many family photos dating back 126 years from Russia and Romania, some of which I have here on FAA. My parents escaped from Romania in 1948. My grandparents left a few years later legally and went to Israel, but the communist regime forbade people from bringing photos with them. Somehow most of their photos were sent to family abroad so I treasure them! As a child I was fascinated with them and I'm sure my interest in photography was sparked by those family albums.

Here are my grandmother on the right, her sister Lena and Lena's husband in Eastern Europe circa 1929. processed from B&W

That is such a great point Dan.

~~~~

Michael... OMG I LOVE those forks.

@Dan, I too am thrilled you opened this discussion. I can not say for sure I had ever seen another one or not on this topic. Thank you again!

@Jessica that is such a beautiful image and what makes the photo even more spectacular as all images is the history behind them all. Some of my family photos in my possession date back to late Circa 1870's possibly slightly earlier because of documention and taken by a professional camera person in Ireland.

@Ginette, as I was walking on world famous Royal Street with my throw a way it was a sight to behold not to mention the extraordinary price tag attached to the beautiful dining service and the box they were displayed in. They are genuine antique dinner service from Europe with mother of pearl handles. The quality of throw a ways and film has advanced. It is hard to believe but the image was taken through a antique store front window and the angle which I took the photo. The particular shop had an overhead awning which created diffused lighting and non-glare from the glass window. I only purchase Kodak ASA 400 speed throw a ways. Also, I slightly cropped because the photo was not quite centered, and something else to note its an odd number of forks displayed. Because of my personal relation with what ever camera equipment I use when I view through a camera eye piece or the image display on a digital camera I pretty much know if I have taken a snap shot or a quality photo.

As others have mentioned is it the camera being used or the person taking the camera. So many factors to consider the image, the person taking the photo and of course images of the past classified as the era at that particular time and equipment used. You have to remember those cameras all had fixed lenses. The other camera equipment which did have manual focused lens were used mainly by the professional camera person who could afford the equipment.

Michael Hoard Actor, Artist and Phtographer

Great postings. I think snapshots should be taken more seriously. Maybe next weekend I will get up to Seattle to visit this gallery:


http://www.theamericansnapshot.com/

@Dan, after carefully viewing that wonderful snapshot what appears to be a well thought out photo as others have mentioned may not be the case. From what you know of the photo is that the family home or your grandparents house? Did you have an older brother or sister or aunt or uncle? Were your parents married at the time? Could the buildings be barracks? Wow, I noticed in the photo something you do not see much these days are the metal vents rising above the roof line from the gas floor furnaces.

The photo may well have been taken by someone shorter an adult photographer would not have squatted down but someone younger and from their perspective would appear to be a well thought out photo because of the angle. Others had mentioned the photos of that time were taken from various angles etc, this was to include everything in the photo because the lens were fixed lens. And if you take a careful look at any old photo of that era and earlier the photographer is quite a distance from the subject. You can distinguish this by viewing photos taken from the very first photo known taken in 1826 and there after. These cameras with focused lenses were mainly used by professional photographers of the time. There was a hefty price I am sure which came along with owning photographic equipment because of the era who could afford cameras and most were bulky. They were not in every household until they were affordable and design changes made of the equipment.

Looking at the photo you can rule out a professional photographer took the photo but may well have been your mother who took the photo or a close family member? My observance and the pose he may have been asked by who ever took the photo. Someone who was a photo enthusiast had taken the photo. In most cases the camera person of the household of that era were mostly women our mothers and grandmothers. They were the pioneers who took the photos we actually see today of that era. I never once ever saw my father take a photo of family it was always my mother and or myself. My father never bothered, but my mother was fascinated and enjoyed taking photos..

You can detect quite a bit when you view the subjects in photos taken at that time and earlier by the body language. Historians who examine old photos can detect so much more than any of us. They can detect more by viewing the photos, the angles and so forth. The subject without their knowledge themselves reveal a lot with what they do with their hands or if they fold their arms or put their hands in there pockets or the actual pose beyond which is revealed in a snapshot did they have direction or was it intentional.

Something I still remember today as a child having photos taken by a professional or non professional photographer is the word Cheese or Smile? Does anyone tell their subjects to smile anymore or is it because as individuals today we smile or make an expression by instinct If you look at just about every photo taken in era's past the photos are taken quite a few feet from the subject. And because of the overall camera used and what type of lens. The camera was placed feet back to include everything in the picture which anyone with a camera it was placed the accordingly to include the overall subject matter most of them were on tripods the bulkier box cameras.

@Marlene you are correct a timely topic, but it is amazing when the actual story is revealed to the photo in question. As many of us, the research and identity of some of the images we will never know. But it is time consuming to sort through them and particularly restore them.

Michael Hoard Actor, Artist and Photographer

And....my Aunt gave me some great advice....actually put the camera down sometimes and actually look at the world with your eyes....take it in...

You're right, Dan. My father (or someone) took a snapshot 65 years ago and BAM! it's now my avatar!


Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

Our history is in snapshots. My grandfather as a teen on the left, his brother in the center, an unknown friend on the right. I "rescued" this snapshot in the nick of time. My grandfather was disappearing.

The best snapshot I've ever taken...about 30 minutes after my wife and I eloped in 1969.



Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

Dear Dan, What a wonderful thread!

I did something very strange ten years ago (for a creative person) My partner and I drove over 12,000 miles through the United States, and I decided to leave all the cameras at home. I told Ben it could be powerful to just see everything without recording it, and he agreed. I will admit right here and now, I could have had so many shots to upload on FAA now, but the truth is the pictures in my head have yielded much more inspiration long term because I was there watching and absorbing the moments without working.

One more thought...Two months before my mom passed in 2012, I traveled to Texas to see her. She said, "Kelley, go through the house and take everything you want while you're here." All I took was a handful of pictures of her, nothing else. Funny though, every thought or moment of light regarding her comes from other memories other than those pictures...

"We have an expression to "put a little Gracie in your life." I do that in her honor by making sure there is a good photo of my people every day."

Bradford, that's a beautiful sentiment, and the gist of this discussion. It's really proof of "We're here! Look what we're doing! Can you believe this?"

Jessica, that's a gorgeous photo. We're looking into the past at them, and in a sense they're looking into the future at us.
"You ladies stand over there."
"Fine. We will. You stay over there."


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

I'll add a distinction. Sometimes a snapshot is just a snapshot, and sometimes it is an incredible snapshot.
Here's my wife's favorite snapshot of my grandson, and so far as I'm concerned, it's an outstanding candid portrait, as well.
Other snapshots may fit other artistic categories. The fact that it's a snap shotdoes NOT exclude the possibility for it to also be fine art.
This may not quite be fine art, but it is a highly expressive portrait, particularly if you know the guy:

I have popsicle Bwahahahaha!

Great thread! Old photos have history and lots of memories attached to them. Even some were done with good cameras, others casual or inexpensive cameras. My dad had a good camera of the time, I cannot remember the name or make and he took some good quality, but mainly snapshot photos. It was only a hobby for him. All treasured! When I was very young he bought me a Kodak Brownie, I still have it. I took many, many photos of family, animals on the farm, etc., but photography was not my calling. Painting and drawing was. Still I would not trade those snapshots for anything else.

I'm back from Phoenix and the madness surrounding the Superbowl and the Phoenix Open.

My favorite commentary shared when going through a gazillion photos was, " Uncle Sam took that picture of cousins Martha and Gary at Denise's wedding. He took two steps back and dropped dead." Mother in love is almost 97...there is no one else left alive that knows it happened. It had to be documented or lost forever.
Please, label your photos...go through them now with older relatives if you are lucky enough to still have them around.
You just can't get that kind of back story everyday....

@Wow, what a tragic story for something like that occurring at a wedding. I had always enjoyed sitting down with my grandmother and her sister and the story's they would tell from the albums of vintage photos they could not identify. In some you could see the resemblance in the family

The photographer is often, at heart, one of the last true hunters. The notion of a grabbed shot should have it's own saying. It's not Carpe Diem, but rather Carpe Momentum.
(If my non-latin word roots succeed in guessing at the phrase. Grab the moment. And some grabs are outstanding. I personally wouldn't mind dying while shooting the happiness of my loved ones. And I would hope they would have the sense keep my moving on to the biggest party every from interfering with their own party on earth. Die doing what you love with the ones you love? That's a great way to go, and I hope the wedding couple were able to see it as part of their celebration, rather than a detraction. Grab the moment, treat it like it's the last one you may ever be able to experience. It could be just that.

Memory issues, but somebody above said this:
It doesn't matter how many snapshots you don't PRINT them.

I don't quite agree with that. I think that we are at a point where some things will live forever on the cloud, somewhere. Replace print with "print or publicly publish" and I think you may have it. I'll almost certainly be dead and 20 years, and I can tell you from experience that family photos have about 1 level of inheritance, usually. Beyond that, and things tend to be lost in the fog of time. Well documented archives (say from lightroom) can be exported and put on the internet, and maintained in a low cost family archive. This is a well timed and non-maximized market niche, by the way. If I don't capitalize on the opportunity, and you do, buy one of my prints in a large size as a thank you for giving out the idea. Online family photo archives, hierarchical sharing, and fee splitting. Or revenue from the associated ads, or whatever.

Yes, label photos! Get someone in the family who's still around to validate as many as possible. We have a lot of old photos that even the oldest one's in the family don't know who's in many of the them.

I agree, Chuck. In our family's old albums, we have photos of folks going back 3 to 5 generations, maybe, but the farther back we go, the less idea we have about what's what, and who's who.
One of my not-quite-ancestors died while working on the panama canal, and we have lots of documentation from his life, but I don't think that we can identify him in any photos, for example.
He caught malaria. Mostly controlling mosquitoes was why Teddy Roosevelt was able to finish the Panama canal when maybe 3 other countries tried to build it and failed. DDT was the reason we succeeded in building it. My relative was a Mill Wright, the kind of person who would do industrial work like setting up machine shops, and such. Of course, building locks and other large facilities on the canal was probably much of his work, since the technology involved would be similar. And I'm sure they had plenty of machine shops to keep their equipment in repair as they built it. I sure wish HE was a photographer!

A family story, which may or may not be true, which circulated after she died, was that she was in her hallway, of a Sunday, in college, in her boarding house, when gentlemen were visiting right down the hall in the parlor. The parlor/hall door was open, and when they spotted her standing on a chair rubbing a bar of soap on her bedroom door, they asked why. She explained that her door was sticky. Says Coral in explanation: "Don't you soap your drawers when they get sticky?" Whereupon she vanished, red-faced into her room, not to be seen for quite some time. I think my grandfather must have been in the parlor with another girl, because it was reputed to be him that told the tale. Perhaps the humor of it piqued his interest in her? Now, who knows? Anyway, a snapshot, combined with stories of the people represented, can increase the value of you photo collection by orders of magnitude, for sentimental value, anyway.