| Digital photography has truly revolutionized | | | | 4. Reduced cost. When film was developed in a |
| photography for generations of people. Yes, it | | | | lab, photographers got prints of all their |
| seems as though everyone has a digital camera | | | | shots-even the ones with their thumbs in the |
| these days-from five-year-olds with their pink and | | | | frame or the blurry photos where the subject |
| blue point and shoots to grandmothers snapping | | | | was hardly recognizable. They paid for a roll of |
| pictures of their grandkids on the beach with their | | | | film, paid to get the film developed, and paid for |
| fancy SLRs (single lens reflex cameras). Consider | | | | the number of prints according to the number of |
| the many ways digital cameras have changed the | | | | exposures that were taken. There was no picking |
| role of photography. | | | | and choosing. Today with digital technology |
| 1. Instant gratification. Not since the introduction of | | | | photographers only pay to have prints made |
| the Polaroid have amateur photographers known | | | | from their best shots-and they don't even have |
| the kind of instant gratification digital cameras can | | | | to pay for film anymore. For anyone who takes a |
| deliver. And the quality is so much better! With | | | | lot of pictures, that's a significant cash savings |
| digital cameras today, there is absolutely no | | | | over a very short period of time. |
| waiting-not even for the picture to become visible. | | | | 5. Learn as you go. With traditional film cameras, |
| A quick glance at the LCD screen that comes | | | | you could experiment with different camera |
| standard on every digital camera-just a second | | | | settings and try new techniques, but you still had |
| after snapping the shot-provides an immediate | | | | to wait until the film was developed to see the |
| preview and a chance to see how beautiful the | | | | prints and judge the effect-and then you usually |
| photo will be. And minutes later, you can have the | | | | couldn't even remember what you fiddled with on |
| photos downloaded to your computer to view | | | | the camera to get that effect. Today's digital |
| them full size and printing out on a home photo | | | | technology lets you take one shot, change the |
| printer. | | | | aperture, exposure, f-stop, or preset camera |
| 2. Second chances. The other thing that instant | | | | mode, and then snap another shot, and you can |
| preview does is help amateur photographers | | | | compare the results immediately and even upload |
| ensure they got the shot they wanted. No more | | | | them to your computer to view them |
| waiting for film to be developed only to discover | | | | side-by-side. The digital files also contain all of your |
| someone's eyes were closed or a head was | | | | camera settings within them, so you can look at |
| turned. With a quick glance at the LCD screen, | | | | the camera data to see what you did to achieve |
| you can see it for yourself, make any corrections | | | | the effect you like the most-now or at any time |
| necessary by redirecting your subjects, and | | | | in the future. |
| retake the shot immediately. | | | | No doubt digital technology will continue to evolve |
| 3. Lots more pictures! As memory cards come | | | | and digital cameras will keep getting enhanced. In |
| down in price and grow in size, the capacity for | | | | recent years, the standard size pictures (in |
| more pictures continues to grow. No longer limited | | | | megapixels) most digital cameras can produce has |
| by 12, 24, or 36 exposure rolls of film, most | | | | doubled or tripled. But there is one thing that |
| cards now enable shooters to capture hundreds | | | | won't ever change: the effect of digital technology |
| of images (depending on the size of the files) | | | | on the field of photography is truly a wonder. |
| before needing to "reload." | | | | |