I attended an incredible wedding last weekend – perfect couple, perfect setting, perfect fall weather. Great photographer – and great guest photographers using an Instagram hashtag.
The couple encouraged their guests to take pictures with their smartphones and upload them to Instagram using a specific wedding hashtag. The collage of images is amazing! Guests were able to capture so man more scenes than the single [paid] photographer. Whereas a wedding photographer may focus on what the bride and groom observe, guest photography may bring out special human connections from a loved one’s point of view.
Before smartphones and Instagram, some couples distributed disposable cameras at each table to capture special moments. Remember that?
However, not all couples appreciate the social posting. Celebrities have enforced an Internet blackout (Michael Jordan and Kim Kardashian) and the trend continues. Many couples have requested wedding guests to be in-the-moment and device-free. There’s even a Pinterest board dedicated to the unplugged wedding trend with ideas on how to creatively pull this off.
What does this mean for emerging media?
As emerging mediums become mainstream and lose their novelty, people are self-selecting their usage. With so many platforms and brands not adopting a sound strategy, social media usage is declining and people are unplugging for special events, like weddings. “We wanted our guests to be present with us in this special moment in our lives, and to just put their phones and cameras down and enjoy it,” one bride said in this New York Daily News article. It’s all about choice – to unplug or maximize sharing – it’s the neo-emerging media phenomenon.
I wish Instagram had existed a few years ago when we got married…
SoLoMo - what? 
I have a photographer friend who hates Instagram because she says it’s literally “killing” her profession. It seems she isn’t the only one that believes that. Not only are smartphones and Instagram killing the art (and careers) of photography, it has also been said to render our memories of life’s greatest moments.
I agree that Instagram is a great way to have guests share their moments with a couple and for marketers, it’s a great way to have an event shared by it’s customers. There is no doubt that Instagram does a lot of good for marketers. But, is it changing the way we perceive real life experiences?
According to Stuart Jeffries of “The Guardian,” psychologists are calling this new age of photo taking an ” impairment effect” which means we’re less likely to remember an experience, if we’re too busy trying to take a photo of it. According to Jeffries psychologist Linda Henkel of Fairfield University says “When people rely on technology to remember for them, counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves – it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences.” One of my greatest regrets is bothering with my camera during the one and only time I saw a moose grazing on the side of the road while traveling through Vermont. I remember bits of the experience, but I was so busy fiddling with my camera phone that I barely remember the moose himself. It’s an experience I may never get back.
I love the idea of Instagram, especially when it comes to its sharing capabilities, but I do fear the outcome of photographers and missing out on real life’s memories and experiences by once again, focusing on technology and media.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/13/death-of-photography-camera-phones
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Hi Lia, thanks for your reply. I can appreciate your comment and Jeffries take about cameras getting in the way of our memory doing its job. So often I see people snapping photos rather than enjoying the moment; in these times, I try to remind myself to pause and take in my environment – the scene, the colors, the smells. Cameras (even with Instagram’s fancy filters) can’t do justice to incredible landscapes, the feeling of humanity, and of course, weddings.
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