Mum Hannah Coleman, 42, takes thousands of photos of her pied French bulldog Frank and he already has 2,800 Instagram followers
STRIKE a pose, and another, and another... It is estimated that 1.2trillion photos were taken last year and more pictures are snapped every two minutes than worldwide in the entire 19th century.
On average, a baby has an image uploaded to social media within 57.9 minutes of being born and we are all guilty of happy snapping whether it be our nearest and dearest, food, fitness, feline friends or favourite landscapes.
CLAIRE DUNWELL speaks to four women who admit being addicted to their camera and asks why they document every moment.
IT is all about puppy love for Hannah Coleman, 42. She takes thousands of photos of her pied French bulldog Frank and has even set him up an Instagram account.
The mum-of-one uploads 49 pictures and videos a day to which has 2,800 followers.
Business owner Hannah, who lives in Grimsby with her daughter Olivia, 15, says: "We’ve had Frank for 18 months and he’s one of a kind. He has the funniest googly eyes and he was born with his tail missing.
"I’ve always loved taking photos, ever since I bought my first camera at ten.
"I studied photography at college so I’ve always lived my life through photos. Camera phones make it easier than ever.
"When Frank came to us I started taking photos of him in different sleeping positions and funny poses. I got hooked.
"A month on, I set up his Instagram account for fun and now he has followers from all over the world including Australia and America. I take hundreds of pictures of Frank in one go.
"Nothing is staged because with Frank, what you see is what you get.
"He doesn’t do a lot but a recent video I took of him fast asleep on my desk got 29,000 views in 24 hours, which was incredible.
"He has been sent a bow tie and neck scarf from a designer in New York and a love heart T-shirt from an Italian family. Everyone loves Frank, especially my dad Dennis. He’s in the photos and videos with him.
"I’ve never had negative comments or trolls on Frank’s Instagram. If it did happen, I’d just block them.
"My daughter Olivia thinks I’m a bit nuts but life is about having fun.
"And at least when Frankie is no longer with us, I’ll always have my photos to look back on."
OUTFITS are what dominate Nikki Nicola’s snapping habit. The mum-of-one, 44, of Sutton, Surrey, has thousands of photos of clothes on her phone.
Composer Nikki, who lives with her husband Steve, an app developer, and daughter Mia, seven, says: "It’s like having my entire wardrobe on my mobile phone. When I’m stuck deciding which outfit to put on one day, I can look back at my favourites.
"When I turned 40 I was a size 16 and wore nothing but the colour black to cover up my body. I loved clothes but didn’t have the confidence to wear anything bright or figure-hugging.
"Within a year I lost 3st and my love of fashion came back. I became much more adventurous with my outfits. Some women think when they hit 40 they must wear a mum uniform. They shouldn’t feel that way.
"I started taking photos of my outfits two years ago and began posting them on my Instagram page . I wanted to inspire other women to try clothes they wouldn’t usually wear.
"Women message me saying I’ve given them the confidence to buy clothes they’ve seen me wearing, which is fantastic.
"I get up to 100 new followers a day and have currently got more than 25,000. I take between two and five shots before I have a photo I’m happy to share.
Some women think when they hit 40 they must wear a mum uniform. They shouldn’t feel that way
Nikki Nicola
"Steve is OK about it unless we’re watching TV together and I’m looking at Instagram. That’s when he’ll throw my phone across the room. I’m really lucky because all the comments are positive. I’ve had a couple of trolls who I instantly blocked.
"It might seem vain I take so many photos of myself. I want to show women we can all look and feel fantastic at any age."
MUM-of-two Ruth Panton, 36, has taken 4,500 photos in the past three months of her children Josh, ten, and Emma, nine.
Ruth, a PA, lives in Ossett, West Yorks, with her kids and husband John, also 36, an electrician.
She says: "Some people joke that my Facebook is the Josh and Emma page because there are hundreds of photos of them on there. They’re my life and I love sharing the times I spend with them.
"I’ve always enjoyed taking photos right back to the time of disposable cameras.
"I joined Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends and when I got married and had Josh and Emma, I started sharing photos. I take pictures when the kids get new haircuts or have sleepovers. I also post everyday snap shots of them having fun.
"I love seeing other people’s pictures and I hope they enjoy mine, too. If we’re on a family day out, my phone is never far away.
"Emma loves dancing and I’ve won her tickets to exhibitions through Facebook, just by entering her photo.
"I post a photo on social media at least once a day and I love it when old pictures of the kids pop up on my timeline. They’re full of lovely, happy memories.
"Josh doesn’t like his picture being taken as much as Emma does, so I respect that. I’d never force him to be in a photo or try to change his mind.
"I had to swap to a phone with a bigger memory in April because it was always full. Since then, I’ve gone a bit photo crazy. It’s addictive.
"I can’t see anything negative in taking so many photos. Some people will think I’m showing off but that’s not my intention.
"I even wish I’d taken more photos. I have very few of the children with my late grandma.
"I hope Josh and Emma will be glad to have so many photos to look back on later."
KEEPING track of her weight loss made Rebecca Cross, 21, start taking photos of her meals from August 2016.
She uploads some to Instagram and has taken 4,000 snaps in six months.
The sales rep, has 2,500 followers and lives in Portsmouth with Nathan, 22, a salesman.
She says: "Taking so many photos is an addiction but I think we’re all becoming a bit obsessed with pictures.
"It’s a lot of fun. I was 14st 7lb and a size 16 when I started losing weight and taking photos of everything I ate kept me on track.
"When I saw other girls with Instagram accounts sharing photos they’d taken of their food, I jumped on the bandwagon. It stopped me cheating as I knew I’d be motivating others to eat healthily.
"Within 14 months, I lost just over 5st and gained 2,000 followers.
"I get up at 6am to prep my food for breakfast and lunch and take 30 to 40 photos of my food a day. I take ages over the presentation and sometimes I’ll take 20 photos before deciding which to share.
"I post the ingredients and how to prepare the meals as I want to help my followers.
"I used to be shy about taking photos of my food in public. It’s now a bit of a joke with family and friends. I also post when I make bad food choices.
";It’s all about getting the balance right."
