A few days ago I sat down with a group of people to watch one of my Christmas presents: The Dark Knight Rises on blu-ray. Now it’s a great film and although Dom and I had already seen it at the cinema I was looking forward to watching it again, and apparently so was everyone else, especially those who hadn’t seen it. It was therefore with some surprise that I looked around during the opening scene to find that mine was the only pair of eyes that had been on the TV screen; everyone else’s eyes had found other screens to rest their eyes upon, from laptops to iPhones to… well to be fair Paddington the small dog’s version of an iPad was staring vaguely in the direction of his own posterior, but at what point did one screen not become enough?
Now I appreciate this is a somewhat hypocritical argument as the TV is definitely on in the background as I write this article but honestly, with the crap Dom makes me watch it’s necessary, believe me! But how is it that even when it’s something we actively want to look at we still feel the need to pick up our mobiles and stare ceaselessly at our screens, pausing long enough only to complain that the resolution isn’t high enough or that we’ve been made to pause 4 seconds before accessing EVERY PIECE OF INFORMATION IN THE WORLD!!??
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Sorry, little aside there. Anyway this is becoming a genuinely worrying trend; in everything we do there’s always a screen right there to occasionally help but too often distract. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a technophobe, in fact I’ve spent most of my professional life making technology do what it’s supposed to and have enough gadgets to actually need specific gadget insurance, but even I’m starting to think this is getting ridiculous.
I’ve heard recently from Brides and Grooms who’ve been a little disappointed with their venues. They’ve told me that it didn’t really look like the pictures they’d seen and wasn’t what they expected. The fact is they had relied on information on the internet, pictures taken by a professional who is there to make the venue and everything in it look great. A good photographer makes the best of what’s around them, finds angles that flatter the couple and their surroundings. What you see in the photos isn’t artificial, but it is the best possible version of that wedding. Similarly dismissing a venue entirely based on photos from one wedding is never a good idea either; not every photographer is up to scratch.
So what I’m really trying to say is (and this is probably bad advice for a wedding blog to give but something I nonetheless believe in) is GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SCREEN AND GET YOURSELF DOWN THERE!!! We and our blogging compatriots will help you out as much as we can with ideas, advice and inspiration, but there is no substitute for seeing it with your own eyes. See things, meet people, talk to those that will be helping you on the day. Weddings are a lot about character, and whether you get on with those people will have an impact on how your feel about your day, and you don’t get to know someone’s personality in 140 characters or less.
So step out of the multiplex, turn your phone off for a bit and get back to reality… Oh ok, read a few more posts THEN get back to reality! 😉
Well said Matt. It’s funny but when I’m at my parents we joke sometimes that we are an internet cafe with Andrea and I on our laptops editing photos, my dad answering emails to his customers and my mum doing her Ocado shop. Before now I have literally stopped myself to look up and see us all interacting with the virtual world but with barely a spoken word between us. We do regularly have a sit down dinner and make time for conversation though so we are not all turning in to machines just yet!
There are a few things that keep us in reality, Andrea and I have realised that when we are really busy we need to make time for each other. We have ‘powercut’ days or evenings so that we have time just for each other as a couple.
Also one of our most favourite parts of our job is meeting new people and although it’s not always possible we try where we can to meet up with potential new customers, other photographers and generally cool like-minded people.
That being said they will most likely be people we have come in to contact with via the internet!
I guess it’s just making sure you make time to unplug and do something regularly to keep you in reality. We like old fashioned things like meeting new people, printing photos or using film cameras 😉
Cheers Michael, I love the idea of “powercut days” – sounds a great way of making sure you really do switch off for a bit! I do love getting to talk to people online, and obviously Bride Vs Groom wouldn’t exist without the amazing ability to share things online, but sometimes it can just go too far. I have days where I realise I have purely stared at a screen all day, sometimes two screens, and afterwards just find it slightly bizarre! I tried writing a letter by hand the other day and realised I could barely do it… I don’t write anymore, I only type! Modern technology’s fantastic, but we rely on it so much that a lot of us (myself included) need to actually re-learn how to get on with things without it!