9 Benefits of Photography: Mental And Physical

5. Enhances Memory And Keeps Your Brain Healthy.

We are not getting younger and so are our brains. 

For example, a language is way easier to learn when you are younger because your brain starts to “relax” in time and needs to get constant exercise in order to avoid cognitive decline. 

Of course, people don’t usually feel it much until they become old. But it’s better to start exercising your brain as soon as possible.

According to Denise C. Park, professor of behavioral and brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, and her fellow researchers, photography is one of the hobbies with high-cognitive demand which elevates episodic memory for older people. 

Participants in their research had to learn new skills that would activate their working and episodic memory and reasoning.

One of the skills was… digital photography.

The results were positive. Participants have been practicing these skills for 3 months and after that period their memory function was enhanced and episodic memory improved.

Well, we can assume that doctors should really consider starting prescribing photography as a medicine.

6. Photography Gets You Outdoors And Makes You Exercise.

Sometimes we take pictures of our food at home. And it doesn’t require a lot of energy.

But most of the time photography pushes you to go out.

No matter if you are taking pictures of people walking in the city center, chasing down celebrities (this can be a great exercise for sure), capturing animals or landscapes – it burns your calories.

How?

It always puts you in motion.

Photography makes you climb a tree for a better shot, makes you duck, lay down, stand up again, approach the subject closer, then go further away again.

If it’s not enough, the CDC Organization highlights that similar physical activity can lower the risk of chronic diseases.

Next time you miss the gym session just grab your camera and go for a walk into a local forest and capture some eye-catching pictures.

7. It Makes You Enjoy What You Are Doing More.

Kristin Diehl, professor of marketing at USC Marshall School of Business found out that taking pictures of something makes you more pleased of it.

“What we find is you actually look at the world slightly differently, because you’re looking for things you want to capture, that you may want to hang onto,” Diehl says.

She adds that thinking about what you are going to take a photo of is making you more engaged. It’s what creates a more enjoyable experience.

When something attracts your attention and you decide to take a photo of it, it heightens the pleasure of the subject. 

And when the image is really good, it boosts your happiness even more.

8. Taking Pictures Can Help People Who Are Struggling With Depression.

A study by two researchers Y. Saito and H. Tada showcased that images can be used as positive mood stimulants and can decrease negative mood.

Another study called The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature highlighted that art therapy reduces stress hormone cortisol.

Some people find that photography is a tool that helps to find a way out of depression.

Here’s a real life example:

Photographer Tara Wray said that she always feels better after doing some photography.

She describes it as a therapeutic tool.

Even at these times when she doesn’t want to do it and forcing herself to do it, she feels better after doing it.

Photographer described camera being as a sort of protection and a reason to be somewhere. And “taking what you think is a good picture becomes kind of inner relaxation”.

Photography can also be used as a tool to see the world differently. For example, when you feel sorrowful and depressed, trying to take positive and valuable photos can help you stay motivated.

9. Photography Stimulates And Improves Your Creativity.

According to Forbes, taking a photo of the same object every day can improve your inner creativity. 

This method activates your brain and awakens creativity.

In addition, we start to think of what kind of emotion we want to express through the photo.

Photographer Steve Gosling states that photography “encourages us to look beyond the obvious” – to see things from a unique point of view.

He also adds that if you educate your curiosity and have the courage to experiment, you will result in eye-catching creative photographs.

Photography awakens our creativity. In most cases, we think of what kind of emotion we want to express through the photo and how to make it unique.