Being a rather traditional amateur photographer for the last number of years I have to admit that I wasn?t too thrilled when digital cameras came on the scene. Little did I know it but all of that was soon about to change.
Many of the earlier ones were clunky, sporting poor quality lenses. In general, early on, digital cameras just left a bad taste in my mouth. I initially use them to share pictures of merchandise I selling with other people around the globe.
Although I started to find digital cameras useful I still found them awkward and lacking the precision of a film camera. As time and technology marched on, however, my outlook on digital photography began to change. Digital camera models emerged with greater resolution in the high numbers of megapixels, which was initially unheard of. Needless to say, however, these fine instruments were priced well outside the reach of most any amateur photographer.
Let?s fast-forward to today. High megapixel models can be found for under $300 is absolutely amazing. I haven?t ventured out in purchased one of those models yet. Actually, I?m still toying around with my 1.2 megapixel digital camera that I bought some years ago for right around 500 dollars.
I originally purchased this 1.2 megapixel digital camera to use to take pictures of products I was selling and place those pictures on eBay. It?s very simple to use, and believe me even though it was somewhat cumbersome it was still a lot easier than using a scanner to digitize actual photographs of products taken.
One year while on vacation, I decided to take the digital camera along with my regular photography rig. I found it so convenient, and so easy to use, that I started to find myself getting hooked. I finally took a leap of faith and decided not to be a photography snob and give digital photography a fair shake. Before I knew it I was taking some pretty artistic photographs with my simple digital camera.
What happened next surprised even me. I loaded the files of the digital photos into my computer and then clicked on each one just to get a glimpse of what they look like. Even with my simple 1.2M pixel camera the pictures exploded on the screen, and I was then forever hooked on digital photography.
So if you?ve been fighting the urge to explore digital photography I?d suggest that you get off the fence and give it a try. You?ll be very glad that you did.
About the Author:
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DISADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER
If you have been a ‘film photographer’, the first and biggest disadvantage is the cost of new cameras, at least. If you are already computer literate, and have a good computer with some kind of imaging software, good. But if not…well, I sorry for you, eh! Add all that expense, too. And if you’ve been a medium format photographer as I was, you’re not only going to need new cameras, but new lenses, too! With computers and imaging software, even without printers, you have a large investment to look at.
On the up side of that startup expense is all the money you’re now going to save by not having to buy film and pay for processing and proofs.
There is the time element that comes with a “digital workflow”. You, or someone is going to have to upload your images to your computer to edit. Then color correct, retouch, and anything else you want done to your images. And especially at first, it is quite time consuming as you follow your learning curve.
In my humble opinion, these are the only aspects of digital photography that can be called disadvantages. And then there’s the argument that “Digital has taken away business from professional photographers”.
The argument goes that it is now so easy to take your own photographs, for whatever purpose and at such low cost, that companies are taking their own photographs for their advertising needs, and people are taking their own, or their friends family photos. And that this is taking business away from professionals.
There really can be no argument against the truth of this statement. It is easy to take pictures. And, really, it always has been since the invention of the “instamatic camera”! Anybody can aim and push the shutter release button. And that will make a picture. It’s been that easy with film cameras since the 1960s. So, what’s the difference now?
I don’t know this for certain, but I bet that when automatic film cameras first came out, there was a small dip in business for a variety of pro photographers. Why? Because it was so easy now for anybody to take a picture! And I’m equally sure that some people who got a camera actually got good at making photographs.
In reality, though, if you want professional quality photography, you need to have the photography done professionally! There’s a lot more to it than point and shoot. And I believe that eventually the novelty of ‘easy’ digital photography will wear off, and the more educated and critical people will take their photography jobs to professionals.
About the author: Stan P. Cox II runs a Portrait and Commercial photography studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has been a professional Hawaii photographer for 31 years. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
About the Author
About the author: Stan P. Cox II runs a Portrait and Commercial photography studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has been a professional Hawaii photographer for 31 years. His web address is: http://www.ParamountPhotography.com.
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