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Digital Photography
In a Networked World
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Digital photography involves photography using digital cameras. Digital cameras differ from their traditional film counterparts in many ways. They don’t require film, and instead use a memory storage chip or micro-drive to store images in a digital format. This means that purchasing film again and again is not required. Developing the images is also not required, as the results can be seen instantaneously, usually on the screen that almost all digital cameras are equipped with. Because of these two factors, digital photography is a lot cheaper than traditional film photography. Repeatability is also possible because several shots can be taken, and compared right at that moment. Most cameras today can store up to 300 high quality photos on their memory media. All of these factors allow anyone to take photographs without great expense. Advanced settings on the camera allow for a great degree of flexibility and experimentation.
Digital photography has become very popular with the availability of cheap cameras, and amateur photographers abound, with their work posted on blogs or gallery web-portals like DeviantArt and the availability of softwares like Adobe Photoshop, digitalAdobe photoshop, Opanda DigitalFilm, Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004, Paint Shop Pro, Deep Paint 2.0 and many other encourage youngsters to nourish their talents and the more they use them, the better they get at it which poses a threat to the professionals. Amateur galleries which offer prints for sale are usually located on portals that offer this service. A key question looked at in this essay is, how does the proliferation of digital photography affect professional photographers? A simple way to look at it would be to examine supply and demand. Since a greater supply of the service, that is photography, exists, it’s logical to assume that its value would go down. Consequently, this would affect professionals adversely. It cannot be denied that amateur photography is more popular now than ever before. Popular portals like flickr host millions of photographs available for all to see, and many photographs are up for sale as prints.
The traditional photographer would certainly be affected given these circumstances. But professional photographers have also evolved, and the quality of work has been driven up to survive in a more competitive market. People are more aware about photography, and to survive as a professional photographer, quality of one’s work is paramount. One other thing to consider is the number of amateurs who become professional photographers. The amount of talent realized is far greater now.
Professional work can usually be told apart, and most professional work also has a lot of post processing done. Post processing in case of film, is the color and contrast adjustment, or application of a color filter. This is done using certain chemicals on the film negative. The same can be done with digital photographs, using image processing software like Adobe Photoshop or Cinepar posteffects.
Then again, it would probably be a good idea to look at what an amateur photographer is. This is to distinguish from the professional photographer, or one who takes photos to earn a living. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines "amateur" this way:
1. Devotee, Admirer 2. One who engages in a pursuit, study, science or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession 3. One lacking in experience and competence in an art or science.
The second definition is the most fitting in this case. A photographer who is not actively seeking to earn a living from his or her work. Professional photographers usually strive to better their work since their living depends on it. Sure, using a computer to edit and publish images is a great effort saver and can produce images of a fair standard, but good professional level work is hard to match.
Some non-professional work might be as good as better than industry standard, and this does not affect professionals adversely, because many a time this kind of work is not on sale. It still takes work to develop decent skills, and a computer and a digital camera don’t instantly transform a person into a pro. Ken Rockwell(www.kenrockwell.com ) emphasizes this fact vehemently, and explains how skill is more important than the equipment used. Good tools just get out of the way and make the task easier, lesser tools take more work.
A compelling example is Ansel Adams, who took some amazing photographs over half a century ago. After all the technological innovation, his work is still considered superior and unmatched in many areas.
Professional photographs also generally tend to have more impact. They use larger print sizes, and higher resolutions. And professionals will take more photographs of the same scene to ensure getting atleast one good result. They will generally test various exposures and shutter speeds. Amateurs take one photo and move on.
Another important reason that amateur photography published over the internet doesn’t affect the professional is because of medium. The professional photographer still works at a fashion expo or sells images to a magazine or a newspaper. Amateurs can’t match that while using the internet as their sole medium. It doesn’t reach people who might spend money to buy a magazine or purchase a large photograph.
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words “every artist was first an amateur”. A great sink of professional talent is the National Geographic magazine. It publishes a distinct flavor of photographs, which are difficult to take sitting at home. It takes a serious photographer to chase down that elusive cover shot to the monthly publication. Amateurs offer no competition.
Another factor to consider is the quality of film versus the digital format. The 35mm consumer film is estimated to capture between 8 to 16 megapixels depending on the lighting and film used. Although it’s difficult to measure the exact number of pixels since, film is analog medium, Templeton does an exact measurement using different films and lighting conditions.
Then again, the medium and large format used by professionals can not be matched even by the highest end digital cameras. Medium format can be estimated to be about 200 megapixels(Williams, 1990). This disparity cannot be ignored, and most people can tell the difference between digital and analog prints.
The amateur photographer generally does not pursue a photograph actively. He/she does not travel a great distance solely to take photographs, and usually does not actively promote his or her photographs. Given this, and some of the other factors mentioned above, it’s safe to say that professionals are not threatened by high quality images produced by amateurs. When an objective comparison is drawn, amateur images may be beautiful, but they still lack the impact.
Those that discover a latent talent for photography may become professional photographers themselves. In an article of amateurs vs. professionals, Julian writes about how amateurs may be viewed as competition, and that they are indeed legitimate competition, that requires the professionals to outperform them to stay in business. The example cited, which resonates with me being an IT student, was of freeware authors viewed as scabs who hurt the industry. Since freeware is generally written by authors who write code for fun and give away the product for free, it’s hard to say that these people hurt the industry when they actually help improve the quality of software.
In conclusion, I think that professional photography is clearly differentiated from amateur photography in terms of quality, content and target market. Amateur photographers don’t offer a threat to professionals just because creating and propagating higher quality images is easier now than it was before. Aura - “I think that photography should be about enjoyment, expression, and creativity. It seems to me that the professional world is thinking inside the box. That is to say that the definition of photographic art is changing and what little competition amateurs are providing should not annoy, but inspire professionals to new heights of originality.”
References
Ansel Adams photography www.anseladams.com Retrieved 8th December 2006
Ken Rockwell’s Photography guide www.kenrockwell.com Retrieved 8th December 2006
“How many pixels are there in a frame of 35mm film?” Brad Templeton http://pic.templetons.com/brad/photo/pixels.html Retrieved 8 December 8, 2006.
"Image Clarity - High Resolution Photography" by John B. Williams, Focal Press 1990, ISBN 0-240-80033-8
Barbara London and John Upton, "Photography (8th Edition)," Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN 0-13-189609-1
Tom Ang, Dictionary of Photography and Digital Imaging, The Essential Reference for the Modern Photographer (Argentum 2001)
Julian Anderson http://www.somethinkodd.com/oddthinking/2006/10/26/amateurs-versus-professionals/ Retrieved 8th December 2006
Aura,http://67.43.164.180/FUDforum2/index.php?t=msg&goto=1691&rid=0&#page_top
Retrieved 8th December 2006
