One thing I discovered during my experience with digital photography is that it is very well suited for the portrait photographer. Why is it then that they are slower to switch to digital SLR cameras? Many commercial shooters have known about and mastered the use of digital in their business’s for far longer than the portrait photographer.
My guess is that maybe they’re 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.
The truth of the matter is all you really need is a 5MP digital 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 camera stores will just send your camera to the manufacturer and then charge you more than the flat repair rate that you would get from Sony, Canon or Nikon etc. 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. Some consumers do replace their own broken LCD screens and lenses, but many still leave that to a professional.
The real problem with finding good Canon digital camera repair for example is lack of knowledge. Unfortunately retail shops are not knowledgeable regarding repair and will tell you that repairing your broken digital camera will cost far more than just buying 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 Canon 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 answer is simple: It works.
Most of the time the average portrait photographer doesn’t need an extremely high resolution image to work with. If they have in the past, they’ve always degraded the image through retouching and other means. It’s kind of ironic don’t you think? You can still shoot in RAW mode if you wish, but it isn’t really needed.
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. Clients love it. Customers get the results instantly. The client is already in the studio ready to see the images, and ready to spend, so sales 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. Even when I decided to farm out all my retouching because I had had enough, it still took weeks or months, and 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 fantastic 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 created due to using a digital camera instead of film.
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.
Anyone remember when color film and paper was introduced as a mainstream commodity? 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.
I have always been a fan of photography and shot many rolls of film over the years. I never thought I would switch to digital, but once I gave it a try I was sold and haven’t looked back.
