The art of shooting wedding photography, portrait photography, family photography, event photography, kids photography and so on using film has now been overtaken by digital photography.
Wedding photographers have no choice but to change over to digital photography! The evolution of new technology has created the new era in digital SLR cameras causing the shift from the classic art of film photography.
Today, digital photography is considered the most popular not only in the business industry but also for personal use. Professional wedding photographers needed to embrace the new technology and adapt to the new age of digital SLR cameras.
Wedding photography is now much easier to shoot as you have a viewfinder on the camera that will display the wedding photo immediately. This allows for more creativity, capturing candid wedding photos much easier and implementing quick changes to lighting conditions using the vast array of functions on your digital SLR camera.
Professional wedding photographers have embraced the new technology with many photographers still attached to the art of film. The switch is not easy! Wedding photographers have no choice as photography labs have shifted also away from film.
For all those who have shifted from film cameras, it is vital that you know the different terms related to digital photography.
Summary of Digital Photography Terms:
• LCD (liquid crystal display) – The purpose of LCD is for the photographer to be able to view the scene first before capturing the photo.
• JPEG (joint photographic experts group) – it correspond to the format for saving images in the digital camera.
• Pixel- means the tiniest part of the digital photo. A photo image is composed of combined millions of pixel.
• Mega pixel- a photo composed of three to four mega pixels will have a better quality that a photo with only one mega pixel.
• Dots Per Inch (DPI) – this term is used to describe quality of the computer monitor and printer. Specifically, laser printers have more dpi resolution than monitors. Hence, higher the DPI resolution means better quality.
• Resolution- the over all quantity of pixels in a photo. Increasing the resolution would make the image become sharper. Thus more pixels are needed to achieve a better photo image quality.
• Memory Card- this is where the digital files are stored. Memory cards consist of different sizes and capacity. A memory card with higher storage capacity would be more convenient to purchase.
Becoming a professional digital photographer really takes time. You just have to be resourceful and keep on trying new techniques. Start by learning the digital photography terms and tutorials because this will serve as a stepping stone for your future career growth.
Practice, practice and more practice will only help you develop your experience in digital photography either as an amateur or professional photographer. Career paths may lead you to wedding photography, event photography, family photography, kids photography, corporate photography, food photography and the list goes on!
Your ability to understand and shoot great photography doesn’t stop only in practicing. Having an expert as a mentor is essential if you are to expand your skills and improve yourself as a photographer. Other options include online forums and tutorial classes that are hosted by expert photographers relating to the niche of your particular field. At the end of a day understanding a digital camera and its functions and incorporating your knowledge of lighting, framing, depth of field, colours and contrasts will separate you from being an amateur to a professional photographer.