As a professional photographer for the past 31 years, I am
acutely aware of the magnitude of the effect that the digital
revolution has had on my profession. The vast majority of
professional photographers who have kept up with the technology
will agree that 'digital' is fantastic.
Of course, there are many professionals, while agreeing that
digital is great, will moan that "digital has caused the loss of
much business!" We'll get back to that in Part Two, but first
I'd like to say that the advent and development of computers and
programs like Photoshop, in my humble opinion, is cause enough
for celebration!
I probably should admit at this point that I am in no way a
computer "Geek," and that to me, Photoshop is magic! It amazes
me every time I use it. I can't praise the makers of Photoshop
enough. But I digress...
I have used film in my business for a long time. And I used
medium format film which gave me beautiful, crisp images I could
enlarge to 30x40 very nicely. I was in no hurry to "go digital"
until I saw with my own eyes, and my own images that digital
could produce the same quality I had been used to. I had never
seen a 'digital' print that could fool me into thinking it was
from film.
That day came in 2002. I saw what was being done with 6-mega
pixel capture, and Epson Stylus Pro printers and I became a
"believer."
ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
The obvious advantages, just about everybody knows: No film
cost, no processing and proof costs, no prints you don't want,
instant view-ability. Well, instant gratification and saving
money. What's not to love? For a pro, the savings in film,
processing and proofs is substantial. Also as a pro, instant
view-ability has a marked positive influence on sales.
Deeper advantages include having complete control of your images
with imaging software. (It's a given that you need to have a
good computer and good imaging software..) With those tools you
can correct color, add special effects, re-touch, crop, burn &
dodge, sandwich images, all kinds of things! It's as good or
better than having a chemical darkroom.
We'll take a look at the disadvantages in Part Two, and revisit
the "loss of business" issue.
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. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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