 |
| image courtesy of Divitale Photography |
|
| image courtesy of Divitale Photography |
These days, photographers have the "D" word on their minds, and they're not thinking about darkrooms. Digital technology is omnipresent in the photo world. Some shooters think it's the best thing to happen to photography this century. Others view the hype and enormous expense with suspicion. However, one thing just about everyone acknowledges is the fact that digital is here to stay. The challenge is to figure out what type of digital technology will complement each photographer's style, vision, and business.
Even though this type of cross-functionality has grown, not many Atlanta photographers have made the leap to high-end digital capture. Don Stephens, of Stephens Photography, Inc., estimates that 10 to 12 photographers in the area have cameras like his Kodak DCS 460. According to Louie Favorite, photographer for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution (AJC), the newspaper operation currently has only about five of the similar, less costly Kodaks, but three times that many are on order. Those using digital backs on their cameras, such as Ames and Jim Divitale, of Divitale Photography, Inc., are somewhat less rare, but digital capture still belongs to a very small percentage of the hundreds of Atlanta photographers.
Stephens says the professional photographers, here and nationally, who first chose to invest in digital cameras are those who shoot drugstore/grocery store newspaper supplements and news photographers. "Now, digital is having an impact on commercial photographers who shoot for catalogs, corporate literature, and advertising, as well as the volume portrait operations, like Olan Mills, and those who shoot events," he adds.
He made the decision to invest in a digital camera two years ago, after he had "lost enough business to people with digital cameras." He thought it was the only way he could "fight back" and increase his business. His first purchases were a PowerMac computer and Adobe Photoshop software. He took classes in Photoshop and began experimenting with images scanned from film. By mid-1996, after researching the various options, Stephens shelled out more than $20,000 for his digital camera.
"I got this model because of its instant capture color capability. Back then, the digital scanning backs were not instant capture, but required a number of seconds to several minutes to get an exposure, which was not suitable for shooting people. People can't hold still that long and any slight movements would throw the image out of register. I'm not primarily a people photographer, but I do enough that the register problem wouldn't do."
Stephens next added an Apple Powerbook laptop computer for use with his digital camera in the field. He says the system has a number of advantages. The camera's PC card, which is like a miniature hard drive, will hold about 26 pictures that can be brought up as a contact sheet on the laptop screen. While the set is in place, the client can look at enlarged images, eliminate those that don't work and make final approvals so Stephens can go on to the next shot. Once the shooting is over, he moves the images, from the camera's hard drive to his PowerMac's hard drive and manipulates them on the larger, higher resolution screen.
"One of the first things I found out was that the Zip drive I was using was not big enough to hold very many images - only about five, so it was hardly big enough for a batch of images from one shoot," he says. "Also, it wasn't a cross-platform device, meaning that the Mac could read and write to an IBM formatted Zip disk, but the reverse was not true. I should have bought a CD recorder in the first place. That's what I have now, and it holds a batch of photos from one job with no problem."
An added benefit of using the CD for image storage is that Stephens scans the client's logo and creates printed CD covers and labels with the images contained on the disk. "Clients go nuts over that," he says.
A scanner, an Epson Stylus Photo printer, an upgraded computer processor, additional RAM, and a second hard drive for the PowerMac sent Stephens' investment climbing into the $40,000 to $50,000 range. Has it been worth it?
Stephens gives an unequivocal "yes," citing the savings in time and film costs. "For my purposes, which are mostly print, some multimedia presentations, and some Web site applications, this is the camera to use. I can deliver files calibrated to the size and resolution my clients need, and they save anywhere from $30 to $75 per image on film scans. Even if you're talking about a small catalog of 100 pictures, that's still a substantial savings," he says.
 |
| image courtesy of Stephens Photography, Inc. |
To compensate for his investment, Stephens raised his fees, but the higher rate is comparable to jobs that included charges for film. He estimates that, in raw sales numbers, he recouped his investment during the second half of 1997.
"After shrinking for six years, my business grew by about 25 percent during 1997," he says. "My clients appreciate the speed, quality, and convenience of digital, and I have a lot of work that I would not have touched without a digital camera."
On the newspaper side, Favorite says the AJC uses Kodak digital cameras for everything. Most sports events last year were shot digitally. He says he shot the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta last Spring and, for the first time, didn't take film.
Favorite says one big advantage of the AJC's digital cameras is the ability to record sound. In the case of the Masters Tournament, he was able to whisper descriptions, names, etc. into the camera back, which recorded the sound on the PC card. Once an image was selected for print, the accompanying caption could be written from the photographer's audio description.
"The technology is great fun to play with," he says. "There's a small learning curve, but in some ways it's easier than shooting film, especially in low light situations."
Ames began working with digital imaging five years ago, and tested several different capture systems before choosing the Dicomed scanning back. His goal was very high quality, high-resolution still images, which he obtained with the Dicomed's single line of charge coupled devices (CCDs). This means the camera back scans the image one line at a time to deliver the highest resolution available in a still capture device. "There is absolutely no grain," he says. "The resolution is comparable to shooting with a 4x5 film camera. Each pixel has the same tone throughout, unlike a scan from conventional film which will not be uniform because of the grain structure of film."
Like Stephens, he began his digital adventure with a high powered Macintosh computer while renting scanning backs for about a year. He later added a scanner and two more computer workstations along with the Dicomed back. Last year, he added a high-end workstation with 300 megabytes of RAM and a Fuji Pictography 3000 printer. "The scanning back sells for about $22,000," he says, "and you need a lot of lighting. Without the computer, the entry costs are between $30,000 and $40,000. Of course, you can buy a digital camera for about $1,000, but it's Internet quality, not high enough quality for commercial photography."
"Setting up a digital studio is a creative and a business decision. Now photographers are being thrust into a capital intensive business, using technology that will become obsolete eventually. It's not like buying a Haselblad and using it for 20 years."
Ames said his rates continue to increase, although now, he charges an all-encompassing creative fee. "It keeps the client from watching the clock and allows us to take the time necessary to provide the best image. The creative fee offers much better value for the client," he explains.
Jim Divitale is one of Atlanta's pioneers in digital capture, having been at it for about five years. He was forced to get started by a client who wanted to go digital and helped to finance his education and equipment. In addition to the required computer equipment, he purchased a Sinar/Leaf digital camera back that cost in the mid-$20,000's. This tri-color capture system essentially takes three pictures for every shot, creating great pixel depth. While traditional film cameras record 10 zones between pure black and pure white, Divitale's Leaf digital camera back captures 16,000 separate tones of gray between black and white. With this system, he can shoot still color and black and white images under any type of lighting and deliver excellent resolution. For his style of photography, in which he combines multiple layers of images, the Leaf back performs ideally.
Despite the size of his investment, Divitale says his digital camera paid for itself within a year and has continued to do so. "If I shoot film once a month now, it's rare," he adds. "My clientele has changed over the years, but things have been going gangbusters at the studio since more people began working with digital."
 |
| image courtesy of Ames Photographic Illustration, Inc. |
"A good percentage of my clients are from out of town," adds Divitale. "We can work together without them coming to the shoot by sending Internet files back and forth until the shot is approved. Or, the client may send one art director to the studio while the other decision makers stay in their office and preview the shot on a computer. In addition to saving time, it saves clients thousands of dollars in travel expenses."
Time also is saved in setting up each shot, since tiny details can be corrected in the computer. Leslie Line, of The Design Line, says working with a photographer who shoots digitally gives her a lot more freedom in art directing shots. "I don't have to spend hours getting something perfect on the set anymore. I don't worry about that speck of dirt, because I know the problem can be taken care of in Photoshop after the shooting is finished."
"The art directors participate in the process more than they do with film" says Stephens. "Once they have a good experience with digital, they never want to go back."
Digital capture is not without its limitations. A major drawback is the cost to set up a digital studio. But, as Divitale says, "You have to figure out a way to finance it. You have to decide what's important. For example, I don't drive a $35,000 Jeep like some photographers."
In addition to the cost, the technology is not suited for all photographic specialties. Sal Ficara, CopperHead Studios, worked with a Dicomed scanning back at another studio a couple of years ago. "I found it fast, but limited for the range of things I shoot," he says. "However, it's definitely the wave of the future, and the technology gets better each year. Restrictions on the type of lighting, resolution, and file size are changing quickly."
His partner, Kieron Ash, agrees. A high-end fashion shooter, Ash prefers to use conventional film and scan it. "Right now, digital is limited to product and catalog shots, but the technology is becoming more usable for other things. I think the limitations are something manufacturers will address, but I don't think digital capture will ever totally replace film."
Daemon Baizan, primarily a location editorial photographer, says that there will never be a camera, conventional or digital, that does it all. "In photography, in general, there is a lot of specialized equipment marketed to specific niches of the business," he notes. "Digital photography is in the beginning stages, so you have to figure out whether the digital camera covers the majority of the situations you shoot. If it does, it makes sense to get one."
 |
| The camera's PC card, which is like a minature hard drive, will hold about 26 pictures that can be brought up as a contact sheet on the laptop screen. |
B.A. Albert, of Match, Inc., says "It's a tool that has its place, but whether a photographer shoots digitally is not a huge selling point overall. Having a digital camera can't replace what the photographer can bring to the shot, which is talent."
Phil Scopp, of Creative R&D, Inc., agrees, "On the list of criteria for choosing a photographer, creativity is number one. Technology doesn't obviate the need for talent, forethought and vision, it's simply another tool." However, he adds that for shooting multiple layered images, digital capture has a definite advantage. "When the photographer is moving the film to different cameras, the art director needs to know what is happening so adjustments can be made and you don't wind up with errors. The ability to see the finished product before it happens is what I like about digital capture."
"The best photographers are the ones who make art directors look like geniuses," comments Chris Conerly, of Art Direction, Inc. "It's phenomenal to me to work with a photographer and be able to assemble, modify, and clean-up images, and put them into my layout on the spot. Otherwise, I would be waiting a day for film, then another day to get the film scanned, and then I'd have to go back to my office and work with the images in the layout. With digital shooting and manipulation, I can get to other things more quickly."
Conerly says that digital capture is not only preferable when deadlines are tight, but also is critical for high-end product shots where the correct color is imperative. "Shooting digitally, you can correct the color immediately, as you look at the product in your hand."
"We are fortunate to have some great resources here in Atlanta," says Divitale. Photographers can take digital classes at the Winona School, which is operated by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). "The Winona School has a digital lab and classes in PhotoShop, Live Picture, and 3-D rendering," he says. "While it's cheaper for PPA members, it is open to the public and will give you a great understanding of the software."
Once the computer and software are mastered, a would-be digital shooter should evaluate his or her creative vision and client needs when choosing a digital camera. Divitale recommends getting expert help in assembling the appropriate digital capture system. "Find someone who can advise you on what to buy, where to buy it, and who can oversee putting it all together. I use Professional Photo Resources (PPR), and if something goes wrong, they come to the studio and help me figure it out. I need good support because I'm not a computer wizard," he says.
Divitale, Ames, and Stephens say they are constantly learning new things to do with their digital cameras and software, the creative experimentation process never ends.
Photographers and their clients agree that professional shooters still have to master the age-old basics of lighting, composition, exposure, etc. Digital technology only makes a bad photo look worse. However, digital's advantages and possibilities are turning this into the most exciting time for photographers since George Eastman invented roll film and the Kodak camera in 1888.