Creative Careers in Photography: Making a Living With or Without a Camera by Michal Heron

Author:Michal Heron
Language: eng
Format: epub

Digital Photography

It’s safe to say that the use of digital techniques, in all aspects of the medium of photography—from shooting and manipulation of images to portfolio presentation and archival photo storage—are now, and will continue to be, central to photography. We don’t know what innovations are around the corner, but they will take our digital use forward, further away from film. You can’t exist in the world of photography without a high level of digital expertise—the higher the better.

SPEED OF CHANGE

We all acknowledge that, in many ways, the conversion to digital has happened faster than predicted. For those of us who have been in the business more than twenty years, the shock of these changes takes an adjustment. But it’s sometimes the homey little examples that carry the most impact.

Not long ago I was doing some casting at a preschool for a book project. Instead of using my digital camera to take headshots of each child, I had pulled out my old Polaroid. It seemed efficient to have instant prints that the teachers could label with child’s name and telephone number. Also, I thought to save time by avoiding downloading the images, then making prints. The kids were amazed and dazzled by these instant prints. It took a moment for me to realize that none of the children (ages three to five) had ever seen a Polaroid camera or a Polaroid print. Presumably the reason was because their parents used only digital cameras. The children were fascinated by the technology, new to them but already deeply retro in our world. I was reminded once again of the rapid change in the technology. The college-age readers of this book will not consider the speed of change worth remarking. But veterans of the business world, including those considering a switch from other fields into photography, will need to prepare for the reality that digital is integrated in every part of the photo world—and not standing still.

DIGITAL VERSUS FILM

This heading, “Digital versus Film,” won’t exist in the next edition of this book. There may be some who say it shouldn’t be included even now. At a time when there are hundreds of books on the subject of digital photography, just having a separate chapter may seem out of place. All of photography is digital. But perhaps in this era of late transition from film to digital, and while some people somewhere are still using film, it provides a bridge.

Where does that leave film? Will film survive beyond five years? There are divergent opinions, as you’ll see in the interviews. I had expected the conversion among professionals by now to be complete, or at least up to 80 percent, but that’s not so. There are a number of photographers that shoot both digital and film, depending on the nature of the assignment or their personal work. Some photographers love the texture and feel of images obtained from film and are determined to use it for the foreseeable future. Others shoot film, then scan the select photos and send the digital files to clients for printing or for gallery use.

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