It has been more than a century since photography made its appearance. Since its birth, photography as an art and as a science has fascinated anyone who came in touch with it. Today, photography forms the single-most important aspect of our lives. The power of photographs is so enormous that they last far more than your memories and we cannot imagine any event—no matter how big or small— without our cameras.

Naturally, as has been the case with almost all things in our lives, technology has improved the way photography is done and the way we share our memories. Digital photography, in its 10 years of existence, has increased the speed at which we capture, share and cherish the important moments of our life.

While digital cameras have virtually replaced film cameras, there are doubts and questions even owners of digital cameras have about the possibilities of using their trusted lightboxes! This book aims at setting you on the path to discovering photography and its countless opportunities. As with the light of the day, only your imagination can limit your photography.

1.1   Digital Versus Conventional Photography

The advantages digi- tal photography offers over conven- tional (or analogue photography as it is sometimes called), range from the obvi- ous to the obscure. Here are a few clear advantages of using a digital camera.

No Recurring Costs Thanks to the presence of an LCD screen, you can view your photos immediately and decide whether you like them and if you want to keep them or re-shoot. So there’s no uncertain waiting and no chance of any photo lab messing up the photos. Moreover, when it comes to printing the photos, you don’t have to print all of them. You can choose the good ones and print only those meaning you don’t pay for the bad ones. Chances are, though, that you’ll print all since the bad ones were deleted any- ways! But the value for money remains high! Also, imagine the time and energy saved when printing digital photos. There are ways of ordering digital prints online or just printing them at home.

Although you might feel that you are spending too much on a dig- ital camera, the amount of money you would save in the long run is definitely worth it.

Room For Experimenting

Digital cameras are a liberating tool. They allow you more room for experimentation. Even when you have nothing to do, you could simply pick up your digital camera and shoot away! Later, just delete them. No costs. Such dynamism allows you to perfect your photographic skills so you don’t go wrong again when you are taking the real shot. Think of it as rehearsing for the final take!

Functionality In A Small Package

While it’s a fact that SLRs (digital or conventional) generally offer better results than any compact camera, and while a digital cam- era is not a substitute for this, it can be a handy replacement if you really don’t need a large, bulky SLR with numerous lenses, flashes, tripods and bag of its own!

Today’s digital cameras are equipped enough to offer you the quality and creativity options that SLRs of yore offered. While SLRs themselves have evolved, digital cameras, having been the centre of attention over the last few years, have evolved faster than expected. The question when developing most new digital cameras is—how it can be made more SLR-like.

Digital cameras are smaller, normally offer an ISO range of 100- 400 in three steps (100, 200 and 400) and the lenses range from 35mm to 120mm and are reasonably fast (f/4). Consequently, this allows for quality photos in daylight and indoors (using the built- in flash) and acceptable photos in low-light conditions. Digital cameras also offer certain special functions such as Macro, Long Exposures, Fill-flash and some models also sync with external flash units. And no, you do not need to go buy attachments to do all this! These functions are built-in.

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. Simply put, it means the same lens is used for shooting and viewing the image prior to shooting as against most consumer film cameras that have two different lenses. More distinctively, these cameras have a wide range of features and can accept additional lenses that increase the photographers’ options.

LCD Eliminates Guesswork

One of the most important additions to a camera has been the LCD screen. It simply removes the guess- work from photography—including composition, exposure, zoom—so much so, that you need not know the terms we just mentioned!

Interestingly, having an LCD screen on your camera can also have another application—a  portable  photo album. How? Back of a digital camera with an LCD screen-Just load the photos you want to share with friends on to your memory card and you’re all set!

Durability

This is an arguable point, but it’s well known that various factors like dust, heat and moisture can destroy photographs with time. Digital pictures burnt on a good quality CD will stay well protect- ed for much longer. This is normally what happens when your cherished photographs collect dust. If you think you can make another print, all the best. By the way, where’s the negative?

 

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Even old prints can stand the test of time if they are stored properly. Avoid using plastic sleeves to store your photos. Use paper backgrounds as these are better when the climate changes every few months! You should also store your photos in a dry place and away from humidity—the worst enemy of prints. Even then, if your prints go bad, there are ways of restoring them digitally.

Scalability

You can use digital pictures in a lot more applications than just a photo album. You can make them into backgrounds for your com- puter desktop or even your cell phone. You can also use digital photos in a catalogue for your store or in a business presentation. The options are limited only by your imagination.

Sharing

The most highly-used feature of digital images is that they can be easily shared with your friends or relatives. Instead of going through the process of getting your negatives re-developed, you can simply e-mail your digital image to anyone who wants a copy.

Achieve Perfection

If there’s something missing in your picture, you can add it digitally on your home computer. Fix red eyes, correct the colors and just about do anything you want with it. Since you have the freedom to view your images before printing them, there is absolutely no holding back on the aspects you can manipulate in those images before printing them. On the flip side, we’d be lying if we said that film photography did- n’t have a few compelling advantages over its digital counterpart. Here’s looking at a few.

Battery Life

With film cameras, batteries are the least of your worries. Two standard alkaline AA batteries will last you for multiple rolls. Since everything inside a film camera is mainly mechanical, the battery’s main purpose is powering the flash.

Digital cameras, on the other hand, can suck the battery dry in less than an hour if you’re not careful, since it’s completely com-

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Many cameras use AA batteries. If yours does, and you’ll have access to an electrical outlet, consider getting a battery charger and rechargeable Ni-MH (nickel-metal hydride) batteries. Recharging saves you money and reduces environmental waste. But if you know you’ll constantly be on the go, get long-life batteries, such as the powerful Kodak or Uniross rechargeable Li- Ion (lithium-ion) batteries and a back-up set, so you don’t have to worry about running out of power. Even if your camera uses a special camera battery, carry a backup. It’s critical for taking pictures on a trip. A wide range of batteries is available today. Keep the LCD on and take all your pictures with flash and watch the battery meter go down faster than you can say ‘Recharge!’

Limited Memory

We mentioned earlier that you can always make extra space for a picture by deleting some not-so-great images from your memory card, however, the fact remains, you will feel the space crunch at some time. When you have a memory card full of great shots, you’ll have no choice but to pack that camera and call it a day. That’s why you’ll always find professional digital photographers lugging a laptop with them at all times.

Learning Curve

Not everyone knows or realises the optimum use of digital images. Many users suffer from a level of technophobia that prevents them from fixing some basic defects in their picture. The bundled soft- ware usually does have a level of learning curve before a user can utilise it to its fullest.

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Digital photography has a great advantage of costing nothing for repetitive shots. Same is the case when you are working with a software. Just apply every effect, filter or mode you can find. How does it hurt? Just remember to keep a copy of the original safely so you know where you started! In case you forget, just go to the ‘History’ palette and click on the ‘File Open’ line at the top. But like with any- thing else, the best way to get a hang of whatever software you are using is to experiment and prac- tise. Without trying out various things, you will never know what capabilities your software has.

Another positive rub-off this can have, is that it could give you some ideas when you are shooting. Think of it as an editor who is shooting… he knows what the possibilities of effects and presentation are and shoots accordingly. Finally, give yourself time. If you are new to photography, it can be frustrating to see a plethora of fabulous images but not shoot or create those. Over time, your photography will improve and eventually, you could also shoot the same quality. All you have to be is relentless in your pursuit of quality.