Photography Makes You Happy

Monday 18 December 2017, 15:51 by Michelle Peeters | 9,788 views | 12 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Taking photos makes you experience happy moments more intensely. But you shouldn't post them straight away on Instagram or WhatsApp.

Especially in summer, the urge to travel starts to stir again. After working hard for a long time, you mainly want to relax and have fun. Go on beautiful walks, climb mountains, swim, dive, ski, let your hair down in Ibiza... The message is to enjoy yourself silly.

The positive effect lasts a whole week!

But you haven't even arrived at your dream destination when another pressing thought flashes through your mind. Quickly take some photos to preserve this memory forever!

But at the same time, you feel guilty about it because you are only looking through your viewfinder or at your screen instead of really enjoying the moment.

A group of American scientists looked into this question and made this very welcome discovery for photographers: taking photos actually makes our wonderful experiences even better! More than two thousand participants spent some time taking photos with their device while they were allowed to take part in all kinds of fun activities.

Intense focus

Only half of the participants were allowed to take photos, while the other half were not. Afterwards, they had to use a questionnaire to indicate whether or not they had enjoyed the activity. The result came as a huge surprise: taking photos makes beautiful moments even better! Even though you would actually expect the opposite.

The people who took photos not only had more fun, they even became more involved in the activity. This intense focus on a situation seems to give your mood a huge boost. But were the photographers really more focused than the non-photographers?

Contact with the here and now

The research did indeed show that the photographers looked at certain subjects for longer and, proportionally, more often than the non-photographers.

The experience was more intense and the effect even lasted for a whole week. But what was this positive effect of taking photos based on? Not on actually pressing the shutter button, as it turned out.

The difference apparently lies in the thought that you are taking a photo. If you are strongly focused on an observation, because you are waiting for the perfect moment, for example, you automatically make much stronger contact with what you are experiencing here and now.

Strengthening negative experiences

Still, photographing everything is not always advisable. In situations where you have to actively do something, taking photos has no effect. If you have to do something creative, such as making something, you are already absorbed in your project and taking photos has no additional positive effect.

Having to select, assess and delete the photos you have taken also cancels out the positive effect of taking photos. Taking photos itself gives you a lot of pleasure, but as soon as you edit a photo or post it on WhatsApp or Instagram, this pleasure is apparently disrupted.

It is also better not to reach for your camera in unpleasant situations. A photo keeps you even more firmly in the negative moment. You will still enjoy a positive experience when it is strengthened by a photo. With a negative experience, this unpleasant feeling is also strengthened, and that is not always what you are waiting for.

Just keep doing it!

So if your holiday or day out turns out not to be a disappointment, keep your camera at the ready! There is also something to be said for the ban that pop artists often impose on their audience or fans, forbidding them to take photos.

The next time someone tells you that you should enjoy the moment more and not keep looking through that 'stupid lens' all the time, you will at least have your answer ready!

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About the author

Michelle Peeters is fotografe en oprichter van DeuxBleus Fotografie. Michelle herkent het bijzondere in het gewone en het gewone in het bijzondere. Ze heeft zich nooit willen specialiseren en is daardoor van alle markten thuis.

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12 comments

martinphili wrote on Monday 18 December 2017 at 17:10 | reply
Een vraagje: reisden de proefpersonen alleen of met een gezelschap?
Mijn vrouw stond altijd een beetje ongeduldig te wachten tot ik klaar was met alwéér een foto maken terwijl ik me haastte omdat mijn vrouw stond te wachten. Het resultaat was dat ik geen goeie foto's maakte en daar dus niet gelukkig van werd.
Sinds ik mijn camera thuis laat gaan we veel intenser samen op vakantie. Niet fotograferen maakt (ons) gelukkig.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Michelle Peeters wrote on Monday 18 December 2017 at 17:14 | reply
@Martin: ik neem aan alleen of met gelijkgezinden, anders werkt het inderdaad niet. Zeer herkenbaar wat je schetst!
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

geerjanssen wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 11:20 | reply
@Martinphili ik ken dat, totdat ik aan mijn vrouw vroeg: zou je niet zelf willen fotograferen i.p.v wachten op mij?
Sindsdien gaan we samen met onze tassen op pad.
Succes, wel blijven schieten hoor!
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

christa wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 11:37 | reply
Dit artikel sluit sterk aan bij mijn beleving van fotografie. Ik maak regelmatig wandelingen met Smartphone of fototoestel in de hand om mooie momenten of verrassende ontmoetingen met mensen vast te leggen. Ik ben ambassadeur van de actie "30 dagen zonder klagen" die start op 15/01/2018 (Blue Monday). Mijn opdracht die ik via de fb-pagina lanceer is mensen uitnodigen om ook mooie momenten vast te leggen. Graag heb ik meer informatie over het Amerikaans onderzoek waarnaar jullie verwijzen.

Groeten van Christa Claessens
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

wim van de meerendonk wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 12:55 | reply
tav dit: "Het verschil ligt blijkbaar bij de gedachte dat je een foto maakt."

ik denk dat het verschil niet zit in de gedachte maar in het veel beter kijken naar wat er om je heen gebeurt. Sinds ik fotografeer zie ik veel meer, en vaak dingen die ik nooit eerder heb gezien. Daar word ik altijd heel blij van, zeker in de natuur.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Michelle Peeters wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 12:55 | reply
@Christa: het onderzoek is gedaan door de University of Southern California
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Michelle Peeters wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 12:58 | reply
@Wim: je bent inderdaad meer gefocusseerd op wat je ziet als je fotografeert en daardoor beleef je het ook intenser. Het werkt inderdaad!
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Betty van Engelen wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 13:15 | reply
Heb je een link naar dat onderzoek voor mij?
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Willem wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 13:34 | reply
De correcte verwijzing naar het oorspronkelijke artikel is:
Diehl, K., Zauberman, G., & Barasch, A. (2016). How taking photos increases enjoyment of experiences. Journal of personality and social psychology, 111(2), 119. De onderzoekers k omen respectievelijk van University of Southern California, Yale University en de University of Pennsylvania.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Michelle Peeters wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 15:59 | reply
Hier het artikel van the American Psychological Association: Take a Picture, You'll Enjoy It More
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Marjoke wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 21:30 | reply
Zelf fotografeer ik graag, mijn man is gelukkig geduldig en geniet ook van mijn opnames. Terwijl ik bezig ben met fotograferen kijk hij om zich heen en ziet regelmatig een ander mooi onderwerp en wijst mij daarop. Met vakanties neemt hij een videocamera mee en maakt daar opnames mee. Eenmaal thuis voegt hij alles samen tot een voor ons mooi reisverslag.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Netty wrote on Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 23:39 | reply
Gelukkig heb ik een man die het wel fijn vindt, dat ik fotografeer. Kan hij even een shagje roken. En hij kan autorijden en ik niet, dus het is fijn om dan samen mooie plekjes op te zoeken en te fotograferen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

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