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Praising of Photography of the Digital Age |
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Written by Dan Feildman
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Saturday, 03 May 2008 |
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In any discipline, you will have what many think of as "the purists". Purists are those who revere the way things have always been done and view new innovations in the field as upstarts and obviously of poorer quality than the tried and true methods. This is nowhere more true than photography. For decades the film and chemical processing method has undergone continual refinement to achieve higher and higher levels of sophistication and to find higher levels of quality. Small wonder that when the digital revolution came along, "the purists" were, to say the least, a bit snobby about the idea of professional photography moving in this direction.
by DanFeildman
In any discipline, you will have what many think of as "the purists". Purists are those who revere the way things have always been done and view new innovations in the field as upstarts and obviously of poorer quality than the tried and true methods. This is nowhere more true than photography. For decades the film and chemical processing method has undergone continual refinement to achieve higher and higher levels of sophistication and to find higher levels of quality. Small wonder that when the digital revolution came along, "the purists" were, to say the least, a bit snobby about the idea of professional photography moving in this direction.
Still, no matter where your fundamental belief lies in what is and is not cheating in photography, there are valid reasons to at least blend the digital revolution into your picture taking. Both the portrait studio and the movie makers are turning toward digital technologies to create their film. Both the professional and the amature have a whole new world of possibility opened to their art. The mere reduction in equipment required to capture a digital image is unbeleivable in comparison. Shoots are much less involved in a number of ways then the older methods and the results can be dramatically different.
The strongest points in favor of digital photography are usually time and cost. Re-shoots can be done quickly and there is the advantage of taking a multitude of shots at practically no expense in order to capture the right one. In a portrait session for example, the customer has the ability to view the images almost immediately, then knowing what to go back to correct. With traditional film, results are not discovered until after processing necessitating a return to the studio. Digital photography can provide the customer with instantaneous results and satisfaction while saving both time and money for the photographer.
Normally if it seems too good to be true it is, however digital photography is an exception in that quality is not compromised for convenience. In most instances the outcome of the photograph is at least as good and usually exceeds the quality of previous technologies. Factoring in the more simplistic methods and lower costs, digital photography can provide a favorable alternative to the traditional film based pictures. More and more customers seeking professional photography services and even the recreational photographer would agree.
As computers and internet technologies are advancing, digital photography has become part of this wave. Personal computers have become an ingrained part of our lives and with the combination of the internet superhighway, photographs have become common communication between people. With only a click of a button, photos can be delivered by e-mail, saved to a DVD or CD, or displayed in an online gallery. Customers then have a basis for ordering additional photos for the same cost and have more immediate delivery in a much more convienent way to view and store them.
Editing has similarly moved from the realm of the back room wizards to something any of us can do due to the sophisticated computer programs, such as Photoshop, that we can use to improve the pictures we take. It is really amazing the effects that can be imposed on a picture with this software. But more importantly we can so much more easily correct minor problems with a photograph so what might have been a lost session can be improved to become acceptable with some clever use of digital editing.
Although the 'purist' might not always agree, their are undeniable benefits to the use of digital photography that would win out even over the old ways. By working smarter, not harder, the digital revolution benefits the photographer in its simplicity, profitability and time involved. For the customer, it too creates a lower cost and provides an instant gratification in that the pictures are available almost instantly in a variety of forms such as e-mail. We can still respect and utilize the 'purist' view in photography, but the fact is undeniable that digital photography is here to stay due with overwhelming support.
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