Since the dawn of the new digital age, photographers have wrestled with the question film vs digital. As a photographer who started to learn he craft before the digital age, I too struggled with the question, should I move over or shouldn't I? As digital technology has been here for some time now, a lot of you might snicker at this and not understand the dilemma. In truth, now that I am an all in digital photog, the dilemma seems like a lifetime ago to me as well. The truth is, as a composite artist, I have embraced all of the benefits of this new age with vigour, but I still miss a lot of the purity that came with film. Let me explain.
Let's start with the finish. Film has a look to it that cannot be reproduced by digital systems. It is the subtle grain that each image in film has that makes it pleasing without knowing why. It ads a depth to the image that, in my opinion, digital cannot reproduce.
This next point can be a positive or a negative. Shooting with purpose. In film, we paused, thought, composed and lit each image purposefully and uniquely. No one wanted to see 15 of the same image. That's not to say that the same consideration isn't given to the making of images today, but with the digital era, I have to ask, how much is given to chance. How much of that technical knowledge is lost or not learned as it used to be. If you didn't have that little screen at the back of your camera to rely on for instant proofing, how confident would you be in taking the picture, knowing you would have to pay for its development.... good or bad? It is easy to rely on the camera setting options such as auto, but are we losing the skills and knowledge of the makers of old? Now, the positive to this is that we DO have the ability to correct as we go. We aren't having to wait for film to be developed in order to know if everything was a success. That said, I challenge you to pretend your digital camera is in fact loaded with film. You have 36 images on your roll. Shoot on whichever setting you like, but other than changing the levels in post production, see how you do with lighting, composition, posing etc, knowing you cannot fix much of it in post production. How did those 36 unique images turn out? It's just a fun exercise.
Now let's move onto cost. With the demand for film lower than ever, a lot of the companies that produced this product have shut down or closed that division of production. Like I said at the beginning, I LOVE film, but I am a digital convert so it no longer makes sense to go the other route. Yes, digital cameras can be costly, even more so when you get up into the pro range bodies and glass, but the rising cost and inconvenience of developing film certainly does drive purchase reasoning.
I think the greatest loss, however, in the switch from film to digital, is how we value the photographer's work. THIS, more than anything, is what I want to speak to. The devaluation of time and artistic creation. One of the greatest misconceptions is that the cost should drop because the cost to make the imagery is nothing now. The "camera" takes great pictures and there is no cost but for the USB to transfer the 300 plus images onto. WRONG. This is what breaks my heart. This can be said about many industries. Technology can make things appear easier or more convenient, but the cost to obtain the skills to properly utilize this or to complete processes cannot be equated to the hard cost of one aspect of that process. The hours of education to perfect the craft, the thousands of dollars of new software, hardware and equipment that is now required to take a raw file and transform it to a piece of art ready to be hung on the gallery walls of your home, cannot be overstated. So the days of having a good camera, a few rolls of film and maybe some off camera lights and calling that enough, are well and truly behind us. The truth is, digital photography takes more time than days of old. People are savvy and know what this new world is capable of offering. I have lost count of the times people have asked me to alter something about their body, remove someone from the image or add in a feature... why? Because people know we can. The time and cost of products required to keep up with this constantly evolving technology is incredible. So film may be more costly to buy, but digital images are far more costly to make.
The last point I want to speak to is prints vs digital files. Once again, I resisted going into the market of digital files. If I am honest, I truly do not like this option and I wish we could go back to the days of print ordering. And before anyone feels this is simply from a "make more money" viewpoint, it isn't. It is speaking from a quality and valuation position. I NEVER offer all my images on a USB to my clients and I never will. This world has come to believe that quantity is somehow better than quality. I hate to be the one to tell you, but IT ISN'T! Quality is paramount. Why would you want 300 images, three quarters of which may all be similar to each other and I will argue the 300 images are not edited. They are pictures taken with that camera "that takes great pictures" but are those images "stand on their own great?" Or do you care? It's a genuine question. It simply asks you to be honest and place your value on one or the other. Do you feel you are getting a better value by receiving lots of images or do you perceive value by the quality of each image even if the image count is maybe 10 vs 300? So you have made your choice, whichever one you chose, but now what? You have a USB of images which are great to have but will you print them all? Will you print all 300 or a select few? Who will print them for you? Will they be professionally printed or at a kiosk? Have you spent the money on an photographic artist who has given you the 10 amazing images you were after, but you have few options for printers so the work you have paid for is now degraded because of the type and quality of printing you have chosen. Maybe pause for a quick moment and look at why you opted for your photoshoot. Was it for that amazing one of a kind piece that you want on your family wall? Great. Then maybe it's time we start to step back from just the digital technology and start to once again appreciate the art. Maybe you choose one or two images and order them directly from the photographer because most professional photographers have access to pro labs with world class printing options. Sure, go for the digital files if they are available, but maybe we start to compliment this with a few print options. Back in the day, there was nothing better than receiving my client's orders from the lab. I would open the packaging and smile wildly at the beautiful enlargements on the stunning archival paper. That feeling is amazing!!!
WOW! this has been a lengthy old blog hasn't it? Who would have thought I had so much to say on this topic? If you want jump in with your own thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear them.
I hope you have found this interesting if nothing else, and as always, I thank you all for taking the time to read my ramblings.
Much light and love
Claire
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