The Catholic Writers Guild

Why the One-Minute Photo Devotion?

By Lisa Livezey

For the past year I’ve posted on the CWG blog some one-minute photo devotions from my Olive Tree blog. For us writers, a one-minute photo devotion may seem truncated—even abrupt—so I will share what birthed the idea to produce these brief spiritual moments.

First: copyright limitations. My contract with a Christian publisher to which I contribute devotional pieces reads: “By signing below, you represent and warrant that:  a) the Works are Your original Work and have not been previously published in any form in any publication.”

“In any form in any publication” includes a blog. Given this restriction, I pondered creative ways to continue devotional blogging with content that wouldn’t cause copyright infringement. And the “photo devotion” was born.

Second: the “insta-culture.” The prefix “insta” brings to mind names like Instagram, Instacart, InstaPot, InstaCare…the list goes on. With recent studies showing the average person receives 100 – 200 emails daily, not including social media posts, no wonder we like things “insta.” The one-minute photo devotion isn’t meant to replace longer times spent with the Lord, but it can be a quick shot of spiritual sustenance and works well on varied social media platforms.

Reader testimonials support the “InstaDevo.”

“Lisa, I’m really enjoying your blog,” said Gina, a mom of three young children, in response to the photo devotion that joins her inbox every Thursday morning. “I don’t have a lot of time and the quick read shows me that I can fit in a morning devotion.”

Pam, the owner of a successful engineering company enthused about the one-minute photo devotions saying, “They’re so good… they’re so good.”

Another businesswoman told me recently. “I have begun shortening emails to my staff because people don’t read past the third paragraph.”

Third: photo value. The silent reading speed of adults averages 238 words per minute according to a meta-analysis of 190 studies. Add to that a picture (worth 1000 words) and we have a value of 1238-words. When viewed with a reflective mind, the one-minute devotion including a photo, scripture verse, prayer, short reflection and saint’s quote adds to the viewer’s day a perfunctory punch for pondering.

In summary, the one-minute photo devotion, aka InstaDevo, has its place because of copyright limitations, the insta-culture, and the value of a picture. Thanks for reading beyond the third paragraph, and viewing, this piece!

Check out this week’s one-minute photo devotion at lisalivezey.com/olivetree.

 

Feature image copyright by redgreystock on Freepick

In-text image: photo by Lisa Livezey

Copyright Lisa Livezey 2023