The Experience of Sharing
— Why We Need Photo Narratives
It has always been hard finding a place to post and share photos I take with my DSLR. Of course, there’s Flickr, 500px and even Facebook, but none of them seem to do justice to the stories that accompany each photo album.
Physical photo albums are great, because when we share them, we sit together and provide anecdotes and stories behind the photos. The person sharing can set the scene and provide the context for the viewers. In this sense, the experience of sharing photos is a narrative one. It’s almost like telling a story.
When it comes to viewing digital photos, the concept of a photo album (like the ones on Flickr and Facebook), on the surface, appears similar to a physical photo album, but when we press the share button, the viewing experience lacks the context of a physical photo album. We don’t simply mail a copy of our photo albums to our family and friends. Why should we do so digitally?
What we really need is a place to share photos, and more importantly the stories behind the photos, in a beautiful way, where the viewing experience can be carefully crafted, where the album comes alive and is free’d from the deck-of-cards format.
Recently I found a platform product called Exposure, it is a new way of displaying photos online. As the copy on Exposure goes, “your photos and stories deserve better than hashtags and slideshows”. Exposure smartly mixes narrative with photography. On Exposure, you feel empowered to become a storyteller using the medium of text and imagery. It’s an experience well designed.
As a happy user, a feel it’s a big step in the right direction. Digital photography are ought to be consumed this way, full size, full screen and full of life.
However, as good as Exposure gets, I feel it has only scratched the surface of the kind of digital media sharing experiences that’s possible. As analog media dissipates, the kind of new experiences has yet to take its place. I feel there is a lot of potential in this field. Let me know your thoughts.
You can also check out my stories at tonyj.exposure.co.
