Until the recent digital photography revolution, which has thoroughly taken hold in the last five years, film ruled the roost. And while film photography still has its aficionados it’s only really fine art photographers that still use film. Basicallly, digital photography has officially usurped the throne.
Of course, there are downsides with digital photography. Some argue you surrender a certain je ne sais quoi when comparing film to digital. Then again, software has become so refined that apparent limitations can be addressed, and some might say, eradicated. With CDs, for example, while they can’t match the dynamic depth of vinyl, they also don’t have scratching and static sounds.
Many photographers stayed loyal to film waiting for digital to equal the quality of film. Now, all but the dyed-in-the-wool film-lover will concede that for most kinds of photography, including contemporary wedding photography and commercial photography, digital has not only made its mark, but has trumped film.
For a decade digital has had an advantage over film with respect to convenience. With film, you have to process the film and afterwards if you want to enhance the pictures in Photoshop you must scan the negatives – a tedious process. With digital you take the pictures, upload them right away and get on with it. That alone is redefines workflow. Some of the best wedding photographers, for example, upload the ceremony and park pix onto their laptop for guests to view during the reception.
One notable negative to digital involves the power to take an almost unlimited quantity of images. Of course, this is a good thing, especially for candid wedding photography. However, it also means that some digital photographers get trigger-happy. This unconscious photography requires them to keep shooting so they don’t overlook anything – which not only makes them more intrusive, but funnily enough results in capturing a zillion shots, while somehow managing to miss the meaningful moments. As we all know, less if often more. Those photographers who started with film learned to spot those ‘moments’ and not shoot willy-nilly like there is a gun to their head. Of course, they also had to keep in mind that more pictures meant more film, which led to more processing and more cost. So, there was a self-limiting system at play, which perhaps created a more focused photographer. So, though digital offers the chance to get lots of shots, the evolved photographers always understand when to press the button.
At any rate, recent advances in digital camera technology that are rendering film photography purely niche (other than for rather narrow uses). Firstly, the image quality is now on par with film. Secondly, the low-light facility of the latest top-end cameras is astounding. The fastest film is 3200 ISO and it is extremely grainy. Only those purposely wanting this look use high-speed film. Of course, sometimes they have no option because they are hamstrung with a low-light situation without flash or lighting. It’s almost incomprehensible how good the latest digital cameras are in this regard. Top Nikon and Canon cameras can shoot up to 102,000 ISO. Ridiculous. Now, it’s insanely grainy at that top level, but what it means is that you will get worthwhile pix at even 12,000 ISO. This is a miracle, especially for photographers who shoot with natural light and often shoot in low-light. Remember when you had to compromise your settings just to make things work? – not any more.
When used properly and to its full potential, digital photography represents the new standard. Hail the new chief.
