TheByte

Michael

With the coming of digital techonolgy, photoshop, and digital printing, do you believe that photography has gotten easier or harder? You can be presented with the ease of taking so many pictures and actually being able to review them to see if they are over or under exposed. In film this wasn't the case so much. Film maybe more expensive? However, the point here is to distinguish between the coming age of photography in film and photography in digital. In digital you can alter the image so much, that one does not know if the quality of the photograher is measured by his skill in photography or his proficiency in photoshop?

So, has photography become harder or easier?

NevadaJack

A good photograph is not dependent on the recording medium. A good photograph is dependent on the ability of the photographer to capture and interpret what he sees in a way (sometime artistic) that the viewer will enjoy the image presented. A good image always begins with great composition and proper exposure. After that, whether darkroom skills with film or Photoshop skills with digital, the photographer has the ability to tweak his pictures to convey what he thinks it should look like. There are those people who have an "eye" and those people are the gifted ones who produce the best photographs...on film, digital disks or video tape.

Alfie

Different I'd say. The digitalisation has brought alot of aids to photography. You can immediatly review your picture, see if you should change settings or not, take more pictures which increases the chance of taking a good photo. If you take 1500 photos from an event, at least 20 ought to be pretty good. Through that we get a sensation of photographers being better than they might actually be. With film one couldn't take this many photographs, without becoming broke.

Images could be slightly edited in the dark room as well but I guess not to that extent they can now. Everyone didn't have access to a dark room in the old days either. Most had to rely on the developing, not done by them. Anyone can't edit photos in photoshop either. But it is cheaper and more accesible than a dark room. Bringing editing opportunities to more people, once they learn the program. Different photographers are differently skilled at this program as well, skilled artists will most likely make pictures look better than unedited.

Editing skills do have a major part in photography today so alot of it lies in that. But there will always be photographers who find more interesting angles and ways to set up their photos, they will always stand out. The old days favoured the rich while modern ways favoure the creative, but good PS skills can be very helpful!

Michael

Jack I agree with you on the notion that that is what photographers think and should be saying, however, there are many people that were not 'photographers' per se which are good just because of their photoshop skills. I think it goes hand in hand really.

Some photographers, like you for example, can tweak images, but don't depend on photoshop to save them. Others do.

I think that for most, photography has become easier, whether or not they have an "eye" for taking pictures or not.

NevadaJack

I guess the question is the problem...you cannot answer a multiple part question with a Yes or No. Pose the question "Has photography become easier with the advent of digital techniques." This you can answer Yes or No and support your answer. To this question and to your statement I would then answer Yes instead of No...it has become easier.

Michael

You are correct.