Top 5 Reasons to go Digital vs. Film

Posted at February 9, 2010

One discovery I have made is that DSLRs are perfect for portrait photographers and wedding photographers. Why is it that they don't jump on the digital band wagon? Many commercial shooters have known about and mastered the use of digital in their business’s for far longer than the portrait photographer.

My thought is that possibly they are 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. The quality is there, I’ve proven it over and over and I know anyone can replicate the same 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 shops that say they will repair your camera will instead send it to the manufacturer and charge you for something that you could do yourself for less. 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.

Many digital repair parts are replaceable by the consumer such as battery doors, memory card doors and other body parts like zoom switches. There are plenty of people who want to repair their own camera and replace the LCD screen or lens, but many prefer to leave the repair to a professional service instead.

The real problem with finding good Sony 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, JPEGS. Over 90% of the more than 30-40,000 exposures I put through my camera every year is shot in JPEG mode. Why would a professional want to take pictures in "low quality" JPEG 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? Yes of course you can shoot in RAW if you prefer, but it's not always required.

3- Control

People want their photos fast. We are living in a drive-through culture and every minute counts. In our studio we create a slide presentation for our sessions and we show them to the clients within 20 minutes of every shoot. Our customers love it. They get to see the results instantly. If the customer is there waiting to view the shots from the shoot is already planning on spending money then sales will 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. Using a DSLR it gives portrait photographers greater control over the sales flow and this means and increase in 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. Farming out all retouching took weeks and sometimes months to get back and we incurred 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. All the time spent retouching photos in the past has been replaced with only minor Photoshop knowledge and much less time. In mere minutes. With absolute astounding results. This ultimately translates to satisfying a basic need that needs to satisfied in our clients, their vanity. Customers want to look good and they want to see the results right away.

5- Innovation

I could go on for days when it comes to what new products, ideas, services, sales processes, packages, etc, etc. . . I have been able to create because of digital photography.

Suffice it to say for now that I am excited and alive again with passion about my photography and about the 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. Your net profits will give you proof that clients like your product?

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. No one can predict how digital photography will ultimately evolve, but my bet is with it all the way.

Do you remember when color film was first released to consumers? 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.