今日關於日常生活的照片和影像非常普及。數位相片以及照相手機的出現等，已經使一般大眾所拍攝的快照(Snapshot)成為攝影中一種重要的美學類型。快照的流行，或許可以解釋為什麼在近十年中，出現大量的針對此議題的研究和展覽。更早之前，根據藝術攝影的標準，因為快照缺乏藝術性表現和創造力，所以在攝影史的發展裡不被視作一項重要的類型。但是，快照也時常被指稱做另一種掌握瞬間時刻的攝影，例如拍下跳起的運動員，或是災難發生時的重要瞬間，且可能不是由業餘者所拍攝。人們是如此地經常使用快照一詞，但是經常忽略事實上這個詞彙存在著不明確與含糊的多種用法。
因此有必要重新著手關於快照的根本矛盾。原先，快照一詞是指狩獵時的快速隨意射擊，爾後是John Herschel 在1860年用來描述快速曝光下拍得的照片。快照攝影的希冀之一，便是將連續動作解構成一張張的靜止照片。不過，另外一種依使用者定義下的快照，卻未必強調在照片中提供任何的凝止動態。本研究將討論快照的演變，且將檢視不同定義下產生的快照圖像表現，以釐清這個普及使用卻充滿矛盾的詞彙。
第一章：快照的誕生和演變，將首先探討快照的歷史背景和演變，尤其是參與轉變過程的使用者與其態度。我也會檢視Herschel的意圖、他的科學背景，與其發明視覺器械的目的。本章的另一部分，將會討論這個詞語的不同用法。當柯達公司1888年起提供的嶄新相機與服務，使得攝影從專業與科學轉變到一群幾乎不知道任何攝影科技的業餘者(amateur)手中。
第二章：在專業攝影中的瞬間性與射擊/拍照(shooting)，將會討論快照是如何運用在戰爭攝影與狗仔隊(paparazzi)照片中。因為這兩種攝影類型，都意圖捕捉連續性的事件，且急速凍結在一張照片裡。而且這兩類攝影者，不懈地追逐可能有版面價值的照片，毫不遲疑地瞄準目標，也都體現了攝影作為一種射擊的隱喻。
第三章：快照的公式，聚焦於業餘者的快照格式，尤其是因為缺少技巧而意外造成的錯誤。而專業攝影師如Nan Goldin和Larry Sultan的作品也會受到關注，以便觀察他們作品裡和快照、日常生活相關的主題與美學表現。

Today, images and photographic accounts of everyday life are ubiquitous. Digital photography, as well as the presence of cameras in our cell phones, has turned the snapshot taken by ordinary people casually into an important aesthetic category of photography. The prevalence of snapshots may explain why increasing research and snapshot exhibitions have erupted over the last decade. Just a few decades ago, snapshots were not discussed as a serious category in the history of photography because, according to the standards of “artistic” photography, they lacked any artistic ambition and creativity. But the term snapshot is also applied to another sort of photography which catches the instantaneous moment and might not be made by amateurs, such as the representation of a sportsman jumping or the decisive moment when a catastrophe occurs. The term is commonly used but actually contains different meaning, and the ambiguous issue of diverse usage is often neglected.
It is thus necessary to readdress the fundamental contradictions related to snapshot photography. Originally, a snapshot was related to hunting and defined a quick and casual gunshot. It was later used by John Herschel in 1860 to describe a kind of photographic image based on quick exposure. One of the original goals of snapshot photography was to deconstruct continuous movements into still photographs. Another defining characteristic of snapshot photography by its users is not necessary related to the representation of frozen movement in photography. This thesis will discuss the evolution of the snapshot and the diversity of its representations according to different definitions, to clarify a common-used and ambiguous term. I would like to highlight that it will be necessary to understand the historical context in order to fully examine the evolution of the snapshot.
The first chapter, The Birth and the Evolution of Snapshot, details the historical context and the evolution of snapshot, especially the photographers, and their attitudes which involve the transformation. Herschel’s intention, his scientific background, and the invention of a new visual apparatus able to make animated snapshots will also be examined. The second part of the chapter addresses the different uses of the term, when the Kodak Company provided cameras with an innovative service in 1888 and freed the practice of photography from experts and scientists to put it within the hands of amateurs who almost knew nothing about photographic technology.
Chapter 2, Instantaneity and Shooting in Professional Photography, will discuss how the snapshot is used in war and paparazzi photography, two categories that capture continuous events and freeze them with an instantaneous image. The photographers of the two categories would chase tirelessly for worthy pictures and aim the targets without any hesitation. It also embodies that gunshot is a metaphor of taking photography.
Chapter 3, The Formulization of Snapshot, will focus on the concrete images of amateur snapshots, especially the accidental mistakes made by the unskillful amateurs. The works of photographers Nan Goldin and Larry Sultan will also be taken into account in order to observe how their topics of daily life and aesthetic are relevant to snapshots.

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