Last year alone the estimate is that people took 1.2 trillion photos. A lot of them were selfies. These are different from other photos. The ego is at stake in a selfie which is why there are so many touch up apps out there. Facetune2 is one example. It can smooth out complexion, change the size of your nose, and plump your lips.

Selfies tend to enlarge the nose just as a fish-eye or wide angle lens does to an object that is close. Other photo editors for both iOS and Android include PicsArt and Snapseed.

Photography and you

 Photo on left taken at 12 inches. Photo on right at five feet.

One study of college-aged women found that people who take selfies and post them tend to feel worse than people who do not take selfies.

Making Photos Of The World
According to Alixandra Barasch, a marketing professor at NYU, taking pictures can negatively impact memories of experiences that are not primarily visual like concerts or having a meal. And posting on social media introduces another element. Instead of focusing on the subject of the photo, we start to worry about what others will think of us, how we will be perceived on social media because of the photo we post.

So take photos for yourself in the present. Think about sharing the photos later. Taking photos can draw the photographer into the experience. I’ve often found that taking photos can be a nice and fun way to relate to other people and the world. Of course you have to be non-threatening, respectful and sensitive. Photography can be a rich and rewarding experience. To learn about organizing your photos, see How To Use Google Photos.

Professional photography is quite another thing. Pros look at the world entirely differently than amateur photographers. Pros spend more time looking before they bring out the camera. They think about the light and what would happen if the photograph were taken at dawn or dusk rather than at noon. They think about what they can leave out of the photograph to simplify it and give it more power. They think about depth of field and giving just one part of a photo sharp focus. And that’s just the beginning.