Results speak for themselves. Our clients were thrilled when we switched
from film to digital capture. They gained three advantages from digital
photography: versatility, quality, and cost.
“Anything you can do,
I can do better!”
Irving Berlin had the
battle of the sexes in mind when he penned these lyrics for Annie Get
Your Gun, but they pretty well sum up the versatility
advantages of digital photography over film capture.
Just about everything
you can do with a photo, can be done better and easier if you start with a
digital file. With a digital file you’re just a few mouse clicks away from
superior images for your website, photos for a magazine or brochure, or
prints and enlargements for a display.
It’s also easier to keep
track of your digital images. No more shoe boxes, no more files—your
library of digital images can be right at your finger tips all the time.
And since every copy of a digital file is identical to the original, you
can share and store your images with confidence and without compromising
on quality.
The “wow” factor
After I switched to
digital capture, client visits became a lot more fun. Clients reacted with
enthusiasm to the improved quality of my work. It wasn’t that I
suddenly became a better photographer—I was just using a better tool.
Digital capture’s
instant feedback, whether on the back of the camera or on a tethered
computer, helps assure that every shot has nearly perfect composition and
exposure. Subtle changes can make a big difference. Digital capture
eliminates the guesswork inherent in film.
Digital cameras respond
more like the human eye to difficult lighting situations. Walk indoors on
a bright sunny day and your eyes will adjust automatically to the lower
light levels. A digital camera can mimic this behavior. Film can’t.
Have you ever been
surprised by a nasty green cast in a photo taken under fluorescent
lighting or an overwhelmingly orange hue in a photo taken under
incandescent lighting? Digital capture eliminates this problem. Like the
human eye, a digital camera can adjust to subtle changes in ambient light
color. Film can’t.
And the superiority of
digital over film doesn’t end when you click the shutter. Digital files
are much easier to refine post-capture. I use Adobe Photoshop to assure
that every image is the best that it can be.
The bottom line
Shooting digital
eliminates the cost of film and processing. This can be significant
on shoots that would require lots of film, special film (e.g. tungsten
balanced film), special processing (e.g. push processing), or Polaroid
proofs.
Since virtually every
use for a photo requires a digital file at some point, starting with
digital eliminates the time and expense of scanning film. Starting with
digital can help you adopt a more efficient workflow.
These cost savings can
actually aid the creative process. Human expressions are extremely fluid
and subtle—with digital capture you can take dozens of shots without
worrying about cost. It also encourages you to try more creative
alternatives. After all, it doesn’t cost anything to try! So, reducing
costs can actually increase quality. That’s the real bottom line.
A few caveats
Though I firmly believe
that digital capture offers superior results in most cases, there are a
few limitations.
Switching to a digital
workflow requires you to learn new ways of doing things. The articles in
this resource section of our website cover most of the basics. But as your
creative partner, I’m eager to collaborate in any way that can help you
make the most of our work.
The current generation
of reasonably affordable digital cameras has 6 megapixel sensors. This is
large enough to produce high quality 8.5x11 magazine covers or 8x10
photographic prints. If your primary purpose is large format prints, I’ll
capture your images with my medium format film system. With this system,
high quality prints up to 30x40 inches are possible.
