photography

The Tool Is Only As Good As It’s User

Technology is at the forefront of everything these days, making things faster and more efficient as well as simplifying the process.   In photography we often hear the comment “your photos are amazing, you must have a good camera.”  Yes, I do have a good camera, in fact I have 2.  I have also heard people mention that eventually photographers might be out of work since everyone will be able to take high quality images with their phones.  I agree everyone will be able to capture high quality images, but a high quality image of crap is still crap.  We used to have saying in photography  “garbage in, garbage out” which roughly translates to if you have a crappy scene, you are going to capture a crappy scene.  Just because someone uses a good tool doesn’t mean they are going to get great results.

The tools are only as good as the users and in photography there is a lot more going on than just snapping the shutter.  I need to know where to place my subjects for composition, I need to know how the images will be used for marketing, I need to know where to put negative space for copy and graphics as well as I need to know how to properly light the scenario so specific elements in the image are brought to the viewers attention.  I also need to know how to direct my subjects in a situation that is constantly changing all the while keeping track of time for maximum efficiency.  The only way you will get the same image with a cellphone is if you manage all of the fore mentioned elements or shoot over my shoulder lol.    Photography technology has been advancing since the pinhole camera and will continue to advance but the fundamentals of good photography have not changed.