The main differences between amateur and professional digital photography is the quality and price of the equipment, the quality of the results and the dedication of the person taking the pictures. Those working in professional digital photography today have seen a lot of changes in the photography industry in the past few short years. Some argue there is less expense involved while other say the time they save is worth the extra cost of some equipment.

There are still others using mainly traditional film cameras, who are slow to embrace the new technology. Their contention of the quality of prints is what is holding them back from switching to professional digital photography. Just a couple of years ago this may have been a valid claim, but today’s cameras have high-resolution capabilities, which allow for photo quality prints to be produced from digital images.

There is no more up-front cost of film before going to a photography job as well the cost and time of processing the film and producing proofs from which the customer chooses the finished picture. With professional digital photography, there are fewer missed opportunities to capture a once-in-a-lifetime image because someone closed their eyes or looked the other way. Being able to review the shot as soon as it is taken allows the chance to take the picture again immediately.

Professional Processors No Longer In The Dark

Many photographers and darkroom technicians used to spend hours in the darkroom processing film and prints and with professional digital photography few even work with a darkroom. Pictures can be downloaded onto their computer, cropped and color-corrected and then sent to their printers where the finished product is produced. All in normal lighting.

Additionally, with today’s professional digital photography the pictures can also be stored on compact disks or other digital storage media where they can easily be displayed on a computer screen or television monitor and even emailed to others, making sharing the pictures easier and cheaper. Wedding pictures, for example are usually limited to certain prints for the immediate family. With digital distribution capabilities, every person involved with the wedding can have a copy of the entire album on disk at minimal cost.

From the first professional camera of 1.4 mega-pixel to today’s cameras with 12 or more mega-pixel and all the capabilities of older style cameras, more and more photographers are turning to professional digital photography for their livelihood.