The Movement of Photography from Film to Digital
September 7, 2008
Simply put, photography is the taking of photographs. In a more technical sense, photography is a process wherein pictures are taken by capturing light on film or electronic sensor.
Photography can be beneficial both for financial gain or personal pleasure. Those who do photography as a hobby find that it can be very fulfilling, while those who do it for a living can find that the better their photography is the more financially rewarding it can be.
Over the years the technology behind photography has advanced quite a bit. While advances were made during the film era, they were slow. Now, in the digital era, rapid advances have made the digital camera very popular.
“Once the 35mm film SLR camera was the camera to own but now, there are digital SLR cameras like the Canon Rebel Xti that give the photographer great results with less frustration than their film counterparts” says Minneapolis photographer Bob Dale.
There are three main types of photography: black-and-white photography, color photography and digital photography.
Black-and-white photography is often referred to as monochrome photography. Black-and-white photography is not just the original photography style; it has remained an artistic photography style. Though color photography has been around for many decades, the special contrasts created by black-and-white photography continued to be used for their artistic appeal. “Today Black-and-white photography is associated with “fine art” photography, as in the style of Ansel Adams landscape photos or the George Hurrell style of Hollywood portraits” says professional digital photographer Bob Dale.
It should be noted, however, that monochrome photos are not always strictly black and white; there are other hues as well based on the processed used. For instance, the Cyanotype process is used in monochrome photography that results in blue and white images, instead of black and white.
By the middle of the 19th century, a strong push was being made to develop color photography. Early color photographs maintained their color for only a brief time. In 1861 James Clerk Maxwell, a physicist, was able to take the first ever color photograph that held its color. However, it took the combined efforts of three cameras with three different lens colors to make the one color photograph.
More than 40 years later, in 1907, Autochrome color photography became possible for professional photographers. It was 1932 when Agfacolor film came out. Modern color film came out with the 1935 Kodachrome film. Another big moment in color photography was the introduction of ‘instant’ color film by Polaroid in 1963.
Digital photography uses digital technology to capture and create images. Unlike film photography, digital photography does not use photographic film for creating images. Images are instead stored in electronic media, such as a memory card in the camera.
These digital photos can be easily handled, manipulated, shared, displayed, or printed. Simply hooking the digital storage device up to a computer or a printer will allow the photographs to be quickly printed out at as high quality prints.
Wedding photographers and portrait photographers find digital SLR cameras to be particularly indispensable. Photographs can be quickly printed out as proofs for customers to look over and make quick decisions about which photographs they wish to purchase.
Most wedding photographers now use digital SLRs in their wedding photography business because these cameras enable them to take pictures of the wedding ceremony discretely, without using flash. At the wedding reception, they can take high quality photos of the bride’s wedding dress, the wedding cake, and wedding guests with a digital SLR that has a zoom lens.
Digital cameras have become very affordable. The prices of simple digital cameras have been continually dropping due to increased competition and decreasing electronic component prices. For less than $100, you can purchase a digital camera that will take good pictures of your family and friends without requiring much technical knowledge or skill in photography.
When you find that digital photography is fun, but your camera doesn’t do as much as you want to do, it is time for a digital SLR camera that can deliver professional quality photography. You may even find yourself a digital photography professional before long.
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