Digital Photography vs. Film Why Should You Switch?

Feb 02

Digital Photography vs. Film Why Should You Switch?

One discovery I have made is that DSLRs are perfect for portrait photographers and wedding photographers. Why is it that they don’t jump on the digital band wagon? Many commercial shooters have known about and mastered the use of digital in their business’s for far longer than the portrait photographer.

My thought is that possibly they are afraid? Afraid of the learning curve and afraid that the quality just isn’t there unless they spend an ungodly amount of hard earned cash on some scary looking gigantic array of confusing and awkward, let alone “how am I going to learn how to use this stuff” equipment.

Truth is, you can easily get away with as little as a 5 megapixel camera. Digital SLR’s have the quality needed and I’ve seen many photographers with amazing results. Yes, even if you have only a 5 or 6 MP camera.

There are many reasons, here are 5 good ones.

1- Service

These days a real camera repair shop is very hard to fine and service for film cameras is evaporating even more rapidly. Most shops that say they will repair your camera will instead send it to the manufacturer and charge you for something that you could do yourself for less. yourself. If you look online you can still find a real camera repair shop including ones that specialize in digital SLR camera repair and charge much less than the $250-300 flat rate repairs that the manufacturers offer.

There are many repairs that the consumer can do themselves including replacing battery doors, memory card doors and parts like the zoom switch. There are plenty of people who want to repair their own camera and replace the LCD screen or lens, but many prefer to leave the repair to a professional service instead.

The real problem with finding good Sony digital camera repair for example is lack of knowledge. Most any store you go to and ask about repair will tell you to throw the camera in the garbage and buy a new one. A retail store has no idea that there are actual affordable camera repair options available, including parts for the do it yourselfer! A couple simple searches on Google will go a long way to help you find a reputable repair shop for your Sony digital camera repair.

2- Quality

The quality of images captured with a high quality lens, properly exposed and well posed is more than enough, even if you shoot JPEGS. Yes, I said JPEGS not RAW. More than 90% of the photos I take are shot in JPEG instead of RAW. Why would anyone in their right mind shoot in such a “low quality” mode? The reason is simply because it works.

Portrait photographers do not need to create the very sharpest, highest resolution images available. If they have in the past, they’ve always degraded the image through retouching and other means. It’s ironic if you think about it? Yes of course you can shoot in RAW if you prefer, but it’s not always required.

3- Control

People want their photos fast. We are living in a drive-through culture and every minute counts. Even a small studio can create a slide show of the clients session within half an hour of taking the pictures. Our customers love it. The client can see the result right away. If the customer is there waiting to view the shots from the shoot is already planning on spending money then sales will go up. Their is ample evidence that when you show the images sooner, and you create large projected images, which is a cinch with digital, sales go up. Digital gives the portrait photographer more control over the sales process, and ultimately it means more profits.

4- Retouching

Let’s face it, people want to look good. What used to take hours and whole lot of aggravation with spray booths, smelly and dangerous lacquers, is now possible with absolute ease. Farming out all retouching took weeks and sometimes months to get back and we incurred huge retouching bills.

Not to mention the loss of control I had over the retouching aspects. It was up to the subjective interpretation of the retouching artist to enhance the images the way I wanted them retouched. Now, with a few basic skills, and all those years of retouching experience all transferred over to the new darkroom, my computer, I can easily retouch to any degree I like. In mere minutes. With absolute astounding results. This ultimately translates to satisfying a basic need that needs to satisfied in our clients, their vanity. They want to look good, and they want it fast.

5- Innovation

I could go on for days when it comes to what new products, ideas, services, sales processes, packages, etc, etc. . . I have been able to create because of digital photography.

I am once again excited about photography and the new possibilities. When you apply the power of digital, and get a handle on it in your workflow, you can create new and exciting products like never before.
I’ve seen it and experience it every week in our busy little small-city studio. The proof boils down to the quality of the product, which is shown by your net profits?

After all, we are in business first, and creative artists second, right? We are in business to make money and survive. We need new and exciting angles, ways to stay afloat, so we can pay our bills, keep the bankers happy and provide for our families. We don't know how digital photography is going to change in the future, but my guess is that with it all the way.

Do you remember when color film was first released to consumers? I don’t, I was just a wee lad, but I heard stories about the many studio owners closing their doors and packing it in because they didn’t want to keep up with the demand and latest craze that color film and color paper had created.

Having grown up shooting film I didn’t think I would enjoy digital cameras. Now that I’ve spent some time shooting digital I won’t be going back to film, guaranteed.

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