Digital Photogaphy: Putting Software In Its Place
Digital Photogaphy: Putting Software In Its Place
Digital photography has seen some amazing advances in
technology in just a few short years. But the camera, not
the computer, is still the essential tool of a good
photographer.
In recent times I have spoken to a few very disgruntled
beginners, who had signed up and paid good money to attend
a course in 'digital photography.
class, they were told to put their cameras away - they
would not be needing them. This was not actually a course
in photography; it was a course in photo editing. So
instead of being taught how to take better photos, they
were being taught how to fix up their mistakes.
I would have asked for my money back, for this course was
not delivering what it promised.
Was this a case of blatant false advertising? From the
customer's point of view, it certainly was. But believe it
or not, the teacher may not have seen it that way. It is an
alarming truth that some people see software, not the
camera, as the cornerstone of photography.
When the digital photography revolution began, it excited
two groups of people. There were the photographers, who
could see the enormous cost and convenience benefits. For
them, it was a chance to do what they had always done, but
to do it in a format more suited to the modern age.
Then there were the computer types, who perhaps didn't know
much about photography and weren't very good at it. For
these people, photography had entered their world in a big
way. They may not have been artists, they may not have
known much about photography, but they sure knew a lot
about software. In this world, they were way ahead of
traditional photographers who had grown up with SLR
cameras, film and the darkroom.
So, does being good with software make you a good
photographer? Of course not.
With software, you can achieve amazing things. You can do
everything from tweaking the contrast in an image to moving
objects around and making your photo look like it was a
painting. But there are also plenty of things - essential
things - that you can't do. You can't make an out-of-focus
subject in focus. You can't un-blur a moving subject that
was blurred because the photographer used the wrong shutter
speed.
Technical issues aside, there it also the great sense of
honest satisfaction a photographer feels when they are able
to capture a perfect image 'in camera.'
I met a man who told me about his visit to Sea World. He
took a bunch of photos of his wife, but he wasn't happy
with them because the skies were grey and there were lots
of tourists around. So he set to work on a computer, and
over three days he transformed the sky in every photo to
blue, and removed all those pesky tourists. He had
successfully manufactured a 'memory' of a day that never
actually happened.
To each his own, I guess. To me it was just creepy.
If you are in an industry like advertising, it may be your
job to produce an image; how you do it is irrelevant, as
long as you produce the result. But for the regular man on
the street, photography is about capturing moments in a
life, preserving memories to be revisited and perhaps
shared with others in the future.
I am not suggesting software has no place in photography.
In fact, even devoted digital fans recognize that most
images need a little tweaking of saturation and contrast to
bring them up to print quality.
The point is, software is no substitute for camera skills.
It is great, perhaps even essential, to know how to work on
a photo after the event. But that cannot take the place of
learning how to use a camera, how to appreciate light and
how to compose a great image.
Beginners beware; there are people out there who will hold
you back by telling you that notions of aperture, shutter
speed and ISO are outdated relics of film photography. In
fact, by learning these photography essentials, you will
develop skills that will reduce your reliance on computers
to fix your mistakes.
The benefits? Well, first there is the satisfaction of
knowing your picture was captured with your own skill and
is a true reflection of the moment as it happened.
Need something more practical? Think about this. To produce
a good image from a poorly taken photo can take hours
sitting in front of a computer. How long does it take to
get it right in the first place? About 1/500th sec.
About the Author:
Andrew Goodall believes that with a small amount of
guidance, anyone can become a better photographer, no
matter what sort of camera they have. Andrew's ebook
"Photography in Plain English" is a perfect place to start.
Check it out at http://www.naturesi
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