A snapshot is an informal, spontaneous photograph. It is taken quickly, often without much thought about composition or lighting. It is a record of a moment, a person, or a place. Snapshots are not art, though some snapshots become art through accident or context. They are personal. They live in family albums and phone galleries. They are not meant for exhibition. They are meant for memory.

Snapshots have a bad reputation among serious photographers. They are seen as careless and unconsidered. But snapshots have value. They capture the texture of everyday life in a way that formal photographs often miss. They show people as they are, not as they want to be seen. They document the ordinary, which becomes extraordinary with time. A snapshot of a street corner in 1950 is now a historical document. A snapshot of a family dinner is a record of a moment that will never come again. Snapshots are not the opposite of good photography. They are a different kind of photography, with a different purpose.

Snapshot characteristics

• Spontaneous. Taken quickly, without planning.
• Personal. Usually of family, friends, or travel.
• Informal. No posing or direction.
• Everyday. Documents ordinary life.
• Nostalgic. Gains value over time.

A snapshot is not a failed photograph. It is a different kind of photograph, with a different job to do.