If you are a social networker, then the chances are that you have seen more bad photographs than you would ever care to remember. People are more prone these days to take a photograph than they used to be, and the reason for this – or at least, the primary reason – is that they can take photographs and see them instantly without having to pay for them.
The invention of the camera phone was a pivotal moment for cell phone companies, who have been able to sell loads of phones on the strength of their multiple usability. It has also resulted in people being willing to take a lot more photographs than they used to be. Time was that you needed a camera, plenty of film and a lot of patience to take photographs.
You see, once you had used a frame of film, you couldn’t delete it and you were stuck with it. And when you had used the whole film you needed to carefully remove it from the camera so that it didn’t get light on it, and take it to be developed (either at a dedicated outlet or in your own dark room, if you had the facilities). The whole process would cost money.
Now, if the photo you take is bad, you can delete it – but many people don’t. A lot of online photo streams now have lots of blurry images of someone’s right knee because the photographer was drunk and using a phone to take the pictures. With progress, sometimes, you have to accept the bad with the good.
