Digital photography could be discribed as a form of photography that utilizes digital technology to make digital images of subjects. It is indeed one of several forms of digital imaging. It has been adopted by many amateur snapshot photographers who take advantage of the convenience of the form when sending images by email, placing them on the internet or displaying them in digital picture frames. The technology was used in astronomy long before its use by the general public and had almost completely displaced the existense of photographic plates.

However, with the acceptable image quality and other advantages of digital photography the majority of professional news photographers have begun capturing their images with digital cameras. Some other commercial photographers and many amateurs have finally embraced digital photography because they believe that its flexibility and lower long term costs outweigh its initial price disadvantages.

Advantages of digital photography over traditional film includes, instant review of pictures with no wait for the film to be developed. If there is a problem with a picture, the photographer can immediately correct the problem and take another picture. Minimal on going costs for those wishing to capture hundreds of photographs for digital uses, such as computer storage and e-mailing but not printing. If one already owns a newer computer, permanent storage on digital media is considerably cheaper than film.

Photos may be copied from one digital medium to another without any degradation. Pictures do not need to be scanned before viewing them on a computerand the ability to print photos using a computer and consumer grade printer. Ability to embed metadata within the image file such as the time and date of the photograph, model of the camera, shutter speed, flash use and other similar items to aid in the reviewing and sorting of photographs.

Actually, the increasing popularity of products such as digital photo frames and canvas prints is as a result of the increasing popularity of digital photography. Moreover, some commercial photographers and amateurs interested in artistic photography, have been resistant to using digital rather than film cameras because they believe that the image quality available from a digital camera is still inferior to that available from a film camera and the quality of images taken on medium format film is near impossible to match at any price with a digital camera.

The film photography requires continuous expenditure of funds for supplies and developing, although the equipment itself does not outdate so fast and has a longer service life. To be honest and realistic, what is not commonly understood is that digital photography and photos that speak directly to the customer is a critical and absolutely part of print communication.

Indeed, film cameras have limited ability to handle meta data, though many film cameras can also imprint a date over a picture by exposing the film to an internal LED array or other device which displays the date. Film should be stored under archival conditions for maximum longevity. This should not be a problem for digital images as perfect copies can be made and stored elsewhere. Film images can also easily be converted to digital with some possible loss of quality.

Finally, the technology of digital photography has put the process of developing and processing pictures into the hands of the consumer. Almost all of the cost of digital photography is capital cost, meaning that the cost is for the equipment needed to store and copy the images and once purchased, it virtually requires no further expense. It is also very important to know that the differences between film and digital photography are far less significant than the differences between painting and film photography. Digital photography has finally come of age.

Obinna Heche. Los Angeles - California