AmSnaps - Digital Photography Basics For Amateur Snappers

What is digital photography? Is It Better Than Film?


What is digital photography? Good Question! Are you thinking of taking up digital photography?

Maybe you want to improve your photography skills or take the step from analogue photography into digital photography.

I can help you learn all about your new hobby so you'll know the answer to the question, "What is digital photography?" and offer you lots of tips and advice from my experiences.


Digital photography uses a camera with a memory card inside it to capture your pictures instead of a film.

The basic technique of taking a photograph remains the same except that the image is stored as a data file instead of an impression on a film.

Once you have your photograph in a digital form, you can do lots of different things with it.

You can view and save it on your PC. Email it to a friend. You can print it at home or take your memory card to somewhere that prints your photos for you.

Most shopping malls have photo-printing booths that are simple to use. Another thing you can do with your digital images is display them on the internet on your own website like this one.

Now you too can feel confident if someone asks you the question, "What Is Digital Photography?" No!..OK. Let's break it down a little bit.

What is digital photography - books and magazines

What is digital photography?

It’s the process of capturing and manipulating digital photographs. You can produce these photographs in a number of ways which include: using a digital camera, using a single frame from a digital video camera or scanning a photograph taken with a film camera.

After you have captured the digital image you can use various software programs to enhance your image. The software can remove redeye, crop your picture, erase unwanted objects, etc.

Now you can print your picture or send it by email or even publish it on the internet in your own gallery. Does that answer the question, "What is Digital Photography?"

I don’t think so…not fully anyway!

Let’s have another go...what is digital photography?

Digital photography requires no processing chemicals, no expensive film and no darkroom facilities.

Light pulses are stored on a memory card as electronic charges.

Instead of film, we have a sensor in our cameras. The sensor is made up of tiny pixels in rows and columns. When a picture is taken, the light hitting the sensor is changed into a binary code of 0’s and 1’s.

When this is processed as a computer file, it displays the picture that you took.

How's that...I think we have definately got to the bottom of, "What is digital photography?"

Let's move on...

Entering the Digital Age

The new age of digital technology has made it easier for people to enjoy taking part in new activities such as photography. The art of photography many years ago was limited and confined to the professionals and enthusiasts who invested large amounts of money to buy cameras and gear.

Most camera owners used them for their line of work or they were just wealthy enough to make it a hobby. The difference in the quality between a compact camera and professional cameras years ago was very evident in the pictures they took.

Compact cameras tended to have less quality when compared to professional SLR cameras used by top photographers. During this time, there was a very clear defining line between who took the pictures for fun and who took the pictures for work.

The advancement in technology has made a great impact on the art of photography. Through improvements in technology, the development of a digital camera has been possible. Aside from that, technology has blurred the separating line between professionals and enthusiasts.

Because of the amazing advancements in technology, it is possible for compact digital cameras to have a picture quality that is close to what professional DSLR cameras can do.

Technology has also widened the creativity that one can do with their digital cameras. In our generation today, you really don’t have to be a graduate of photography just to produce amazing pictures.

You can take beautiful shots just by learning all about what your camera can do. You will be amazed that there are different kinds of settings and techniques that you can apply depending on the kind of picture you want to take.

For one, you can use your digital camera to capture some exciting digital sports photography.

What Is Digital Photography And What Are The Advantages?

Many people are put off digital photography because they think the quality isn’t as good as film. With continuous advances in technology, digital images are as good as, and often better than film images.

Digital photography offers many advantages over traditional film photography.
  • Going digital saves you money over time as you don't have to buy rolls of film and pay for their development and printing.

  • Digital-Camera
  • Digital cameras instantly show you how your pictures look. No more disappointments when your film is developed.

  • If you take a bad photo, you can see it right away and delete it if you don’t like it. You can even take a number of shots of the same scene until you get the perfect snap.

  • Digital photography doesn't use toxic chemicals for processing.

  • No more waiting to finish a film roll before having it processed.

  • Many digital cameras are able to capture sound and video as well as still photographs.

  • You can be more creative...experiment with your photos on your PC using editing software. You can crop them, remove red-eye, change colours or contrast.
One of the major benefits is that it is more economical. You only get the photos printed that you like and also you can use the memory card over and over again. You can store 1000’s of photos on a CD or DVD.

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David Coote
Wedding Photographer
Northern Ireland