Learn Digital Photography

No matter the craft, you will have that group of people who hold dear what they see as the fundamental rules and methods that have been in place since the beginning. The 'Purists' shun new technologies as being inferior and nothing more than a fad that should be replaced with traditional ways. These ideas have become quite the debate in the field of photography. Certainly there have been a number of advances in cameras and film over the years and the improvements in darkroom processing have been overwhelming, but the arrival of digital photography onto the scene has created a firestorm of argument over what is and is not the essence of a photograph. In photography, the purists believe in presenting a slice of life that exists through the photograph itself, while digital photography manipulates the photo into an idea prefabricated in the mind. Still in the future of photography, digital technologies are paving the way to endless potentials.

But there are some genuine reasons to at least incorporate digital technology into your professional photography game plan. These reasons are compelling enough that more and more we are seeing the big studios going all digital. So if you are running an independent photography business or if you are "just" a photography hobbyist (and thank God for the hobbyists), you may have to think through the value of moving to digital processing yourself. The amount of fuss and sheer "stuff" of doing a shoot digitally is dramatically less involved than using the older technologies. Witness how the digital revolution in photography has revolutionized the personal camera world. Now people can take as many pictures as they want and have them to review virtually instantaneously.

Probably the biggest leap forward in the use of digital photography is that you can do re-shoots quickly, easily and for virtually no cost. If you conduct a portrait session with a customer, you can have the "stills" of the session available almost as soon as the session is done. If a shot was good but not perfect, you can correct it and re-shoot immediately saving huge amounts of time and improving the chances you will get the portfolio you want and that the customer wants on the first session.

If it is the quality that you are worried about, digital photography can deliver. The end results are a photo that is many cases is better than if having used the prior technologies. With the cost saving benefiting both the customer and the photographer, professional photos are more readily sought after now than ever before. This convenience and saving will bring the consumer back more often as they are being provided a quality service at an obtainable price for any budget.

Not only in photography, the digital revolution has brought about radical changes in our home computers. Computers combined with the communication power of the internet, have brought pictures and photography into daily life. We can now send birthday portraits to grandma via e-mail or save 50th anniversary pictures for years to come by burning them to CD or DVD. The customer has a myrid of options in shots for practically no difference in cost and can deliver them to friend and relatives in a way that is easy to view and store.

Regardless of the old methods or the new technology, editing has always had some part in photography. The cropping and filtering that has taken place in the darkroom in the past is now only a simple click away on the computer along with a dazzling choice of other options. Sophisticated software programs such as Photoshop are available in stores that can create an endless variety of effects. But the most important function of this software is that it can easily correct the most simple of mistakes to the more complicated. This saves the integrity of the photograph making it acceptable through digital editing and touchup.

In virtually every way, digital photography, delivery and editing is superior to the way "the purists" would have us hold on to. It makes our lives as photographers easier, faster and more profitable. But above all, this is something our customers want us to use. They get to enjoy their pictures so much faster, at a more reasonable cost and the pictures can be emailed to friends and posted on their family web sites which is fun for everyone. So despite our desire to be "purists", every reason we need is there to convince us that digital photography is the way to go.