What you see is what you get?

'Visual surprises . . . suggest the world of difference between yesterday's snail cameras -- with their long lag time between snapping the shutter and seeing, not to mention being able to manipulate, what you get -- and today's digital cameras, with instant feedback within the camera's LCD monitor and then immediate availability in Photoshop by simply plugging camera or card reader into your computer," we wrote awhile back in homage to our precious Pentax Optio 450. This image of Tiny -- taken just a couple of minutes ago -- is an example of the instant-feedback phenomenon.

"Consumer-oriented cameras have crossed a threshold: they are good enough," writes Ryan of Wired Cola [via InstaPundit's Digital Camera Carnival], offering three rules of digital photography for amateurs:

1. When the marginal cost of taking a picture is so close to zero, you will take a lot of pictures:

Taking a lot of pictures is good for your skills and a good habit for any photographer aspiring to take better pictures. Sheer chance helps here, too: more photos equals a better shot at getting lucky.

2. Instant feedback equals instant learning.

3. Make your camera small enough that you carry it anywhere.

It took us about five shots of the Babe on the kitchen counter this evening, responding to our baby talk and offering of treats, to elicit this perfect pose of the extended paw.

Reading Ryan's post about the digital camera's freeing up of creativity, we googled our own Pajamas Media Profile to get a quote of our own to that effect, only to find that all links to PJM Profiles have disappeared into the ether. What gives? Anyhow, one of our own posts is in the Professor's carnival, too -- "homemade photo-Christmas Cards" -- lending us a refreshing InstaLanche after an all-too-extended dry spell.

Comments

[goomp]

The extended paw is one of the greats.

[Ryan Cousineau]

Thanks for your kind words! Your pictures here are perfect examples of what I'm talking about: when amateurs have access to quick feedback and cheap images, they act like pros: lots of pictures, check the work, fix the problems, get a good shot. The luxury of being able to throw away large numbers of pictures is glorious.

If I was to add anything to my essay, it would be a note about how image-fixing programs (everything from Photoshop to iPhoto) have democratized the darkroom. Now we can salvage a lot of photos, and the easy access to cropping and levels alone (not to mention digital red-eye reduction) has made a substantial difference in a lot of my pictures.

Share & Enjoy,