The debate around technology versus skill in photographic storytelling carries on unabated, let us try and decipher the issue thus far and the role it played in the evolution of the art-form.
According to 3D Insider, a leading technology publication covering the latest emerging news in topics such as 3D printing, drones, and virtual reality, camera sale enjoyed a steady year-to-year increase from the year 1950s to 2010. The year 2010 was however a watershed with the camera industry hitting its peak at around 121 million cameras being shipped annually all across the globe. Post this ‘golden hour’, smartphones and digital technologies started gaining ground rapidly. Today, there is a sharp drop in the sales of cameras as the newly introduced gadgets have stirred a ‘virtual’ storm in the field of photography.
Out of the 1.2 trillion digital photos captured in the year 2017, 85% were captured via smartphones. Just 19 million new cameras were shipped at the end of the year 2019, about an 84% drop from the sales figures of 2010.
There is a sizable school of thought that believes that in the contemporary era, the real essence of photography has been lost due to the digital photography revolution. The single roll of film used in the past has virtually become extinct. Meanwhile, the introduction of photo editing software, digital marketing and upgrades happening in the hardware front have transformed the art and skill of photography into a much simpler task especially given the practically infinite number of photos that can be clicked and reviewed in real time.
“With the rise of smartphones and the introduction of photo editing software, digital marketing and upgrades, digital images have become an inseparable part of our life and photography” says Mr. Arvind Parulekar, author of numerous reputed books on photography techniques.
Mr. Arvind Parulekar
“In the current era, due to the presence of smartphones and its highly optimized camera quality, everybody calls themself a skilled photographer. This is because learners have a wrong notion regarding photography. They are fascinated with gadgets and not the technique behind it.”
– Mr. Arvind Parulekar
Mr. Parulekar believes that the pre-set features spoon feed everything and amateur photographers fail to develop an eye for the ‘Art of Seeing & Technique of Execution’ in the field of photography. A camera cannot understand subject, lighting, emotions, composition, decisive moments and many more areas which a well-trained practicing photographer does. “Making a picture is a more appropriate term than taking a picture. A camera just records what is in front of it but the photographer is the one who decides what the camera should see” according to Mr. Parulekar.
Digital photography on the other hand has it’s own set of advantages ranging from instant review of each shot, to the ease and relative cost effective storage and non deterioration of image quality over time.
The debate between traditional and digital photography has been going on ever since the dawn of digital photography and editing technologies. An end to this wrangle does not appear to be in the near future. However, what cannot be debated is the fact that with the advent of digital photography and social media platforms the art of capturing a visual story has become mainstream.
One can only hope that just like any other art, the nascent field of digital photography continues to evolves and someday a consensus between the ‘old school photographers’ and the ‘new age’ digital creators nourishes and enriches the field of photographic story telling.
tured in the year 2017, 85% were captured via smartphones. Just 19 million new cameras were shipped at the end of the year 2019, about an 84% drop from the sales figures of 2010.
in the past has virtually become extinct. Meanwhile, the introduction of photo editing software, digital marketing and upgrades happening in the hardware front have transformed the art and skill of photography into a much simpler task especially given the practically infinite number of photos that can be clicked and reviewed in real time.
