The 'purist' is one who clings to the traditional methods as being tried and true. No matter the topic, you will have those that cling to this belief and reject the idea of new innovations and technologies. This is especially true in the field of digital photography. Although the processes within film itself and the darkroom have been refined throughout the years to reach higher quality, the advent of digital photography has once again redefined the picture. With the recent advances in digital technology having an impact on photography, 'purists' are finding the fault to be in the manipulation of the image.
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 amateur have a whole new world of possibility opened to their art. The mere reduction in equipment required to capture a digital image is unbelievable in comparison. Shoots are much less involved in a number of ways then the older methods and the results can be dramatically different.
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.
The impression we get when a technology delivers so much value to the public is that quality will go down. But, amazingly, this is not the case with digital photography. If anything, the quality of the photographs is as good or better than any we could do with prior technologies. And the cost both to you as the photographer and to your customer drops off so dramatically that the age old complaint the customer has had about professional photographs costing too much can be eliminated making the customer want to use your services more often.
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 convenient 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.
From the snap of the shutter to editing and delivery, digital photography has become a mainstream medium in photography. Although the 'purist' might argue, the benefits of digital technologies are undeniable. Customers are accepting of this method in the professional realm as they are familiar with digital in their own personal cameras. They get the enjoyment of their photos quicker, and at a much more reasonable cost. They have the instant gratification of being able to forward pictures to family through the internet with a simple click. Customer satisfaction combined with the fact that digital is easier, faster and much more profitable for the photographer provides a strong platform for digital photography to be here to stay.
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