A university study recently published in Psychological Science concluded that taking pictures may impede one’s memory. The press release is here.
A brief summary of this study: one group of people were asked to take some general pictures during an art museum tour. The next day, these people had difficulty remembering exactly what they had seen. A second group were asked to zoom in and photograph specific details of what they saw and to pay more attention to their photography. This group of people had a better memory of what they saw during their tour.
The researcher wrote, “In order to remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just amass them.” The study uses the silly phrase, “photo-taking impairment effect.”
First, photographers have known about this, and other related issues, for decades. Second, this is not isolated to photography.
Careful Observation Influences Memory
Contrary to popular belief, our brains do not multi-task. Our brains switch between tasks very quickly, unless distracted.
If you want to improve your museum tours, your photography, your writing, your painting, or your anything else, then simply concentrate on what you’re doing. The reason is that distractions tend to, uh, distract us from the task at hand. Every photographer knows that losing focus, both literally and figuratively, leads to bad pictures.
Good photos require concentration which includes carefully observing the subject matter. Better observation leads to better memory of the subject. Many people incorrectly assume that good photography requires only clicking a button.
Photo-taking does not impair memory. Not paying full attention impairs memory. It’s careful observation versus quick glance.
The researcher states more old news: “These results show how the ‘mind’s eye’ and the camera’s eye are not the same.”
As every photographer would reply, “D’uh!”
That last statement again shows that many people think that photography is about pushing a button. Photography requires understanding and controlling the camera’s eye so as to suitably influence the mind’s eye.
A possible corollary of this study is that it illustrates why it’s a bad idea for a business to have an employee shoot the company’s corporate photography. The employee will be distracted by their boss, co-workers, and even by the routine of their own job. The quality of the employee’s photography will suffer.
A professional photographer understands the difference between the camera’s eye and the mind’s eye. Plus, a professional is a third party to a corporate event and can pay full attention to the photography and produce memorable pictures.
