Keeping Photography Simple

Photography tends to have the perception that it is more complicated than it actually is.  Sure there is a fair bit of technical knowledge behind it that certainly helps to know about, but photography as an art form has become increasing overcomplicated in recent times. 

There are many self confessed technophobes in the photography world, usually slightly older people that picked up the art in its analogue days when cameras were a lot simpler and more hands-on.  With an analogue camera, the focus was on understanding how light from the outside world interacts with the sensitive film on the inside, and how to control this process.  Nowadays digital cameras replicate this process by using a sensor instead of film, meaning there is a lot more going on behind the scenes in terms of how the sensor is functioning. 

This can mean that a lot of photographers when they start out get all wrapped up in the functionality of the camera itself rather focussing on the actual exercise: taking a good picture.  That is not to say that all the various settings on modern digital cameras are not useful, but there does come a point when spending to much time and effort focusing on how the camera is working hinders the process of taking stunning photographs.

Many photographers will claim that to get the perfect shot, the camera and ambient light must be unison when the picture is taken, but thanks to technology there are ways around this.  Post-production methods are accessible and affordable to the masses, and correcting images after they have been taking is now common practice.  Even the best photographers will most likely use some form of light and colour correction before they finalise their shots, meaning that getting the perfect settings in the field isn’t always necessary.