When you ask people what they will rescue from a burning house, the standard reply is not jewelry, clothes, or trophies. The answers are photo books, pictures, and their laptop with all the digital photo files. This shows that people place a lot of value in their memories more than their material things. This compulsion to save pictures exhibits how significant photography is in people’s lives because of its power to preserve beautiful moments of quality time spent with loved ones. Here are some reasons why pictures matter and why you should continue taking them:

Photos Exhibit What is Valuable to You

People often like to show photos in their homes. You may even have them in your place in a picture frame or placed in mounting boards to highlight your favorite prints. Often, these pics document the important people and events in your lives from holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and the like. They can show your first house and your child’s move to college. When you travel, it is never complete if you don’t snap a photo. The massive amount of images in your possession tells the story of your life and the wonderful people who have become a part of it.

Photos are a Precious Part of Your Legacy 

It is common for pictures to outlive their subjects. It is a sad concept, but that is a real fact of life. The idea of your loved ones going before you is unthinkable, but it can happen. Continue taking a lot of photos because this helps in capturing their spirit and character. You can easily freeze a moment in time with photos. In fact, you may never have met some family members, but you are aware of who they are because of their photos mounted at your relatives’ homes. Without knowing it, photos become a precious part of your legacy as the days go by.

Photos can Bring You to a Place or Moment in Time

Photos allow you to see the beauty of the world. Even if you have never been there before, you can easily enjoy the photos of other people who have captured that amazing corner of the earth. This can help inspire you to travel, so you can see its beauty for yourself. Photos can also capture a particular moment in time that may be special for you. Always bring your camera because you’ll never know when a great opportunity will strike.

Photos Pave the Path for Sharing and Communicating

Images become so much more than simple recordings of your most important moments. Photos can actually be used to express yourself in the big wide world. With all the apps that support digital images like FB, Flickr, Pinterest, and Instagram, it is evident how the concept of photo sharing matters to people. What you show on these sites reveal a lot about your character, your choices, and your values. This paves way for conversations with people who share the same outlook as yours. Nowadays, it is so easy to react and show appreciation for other people’s photos because you can like, share, and comment on them easily.

Photos Can Tap your Artistic Side

Photography is actually an art form. When taken seriously, you focus on things such as composition, lights and shadows, depth of field, focal point, and the like. When you see a panoramic landscape, you are compelled to capture it right away. The desire to create is there when inspiration strikes, and this usually happens when you see interesting sights or people that spark something within you.

Photos are a Language

A picture paints a thousand words and it is a kind of visual language that carries a message. Sometimes there are things than cannot be said with words. They are better shown. A photograph is one of the best ways to make this happen because they can easily express a wealth of emotion from joy, sorrow, wonder, and more. To illustrate, the concept of mental illness is hard to explain in words. But a series of photos highlighting the plight of the subjects have done wonders to help many understand what this complex disease is all about.

Photos are Powerful

Photos have the power to grab your attention and keep you hooked. This is the reason why many trade shows rely on mounted photos to grab their target clientele’s attention. The fine art of photography is so powerful that it can persuade people, evoke emotion, convey ideas, connect you to the past, and preserve important moments. Without these images, life will certainly be very sad and empty.  And remember, it doesn’t matter if your photos are not professional looking.  What matters most is you take that shot!