Everyone is a photographer

When you shoot photographs, be careful to pay attention to ways of preserving images.

Now that just about everyone has a camera in their pocket or purse, everyone is a photographer these days.

I couldn’t help but notice this at the wedding I photographed this weekend. I was the hired photographer, but countless people kept pulling out their cell phones and snapping photos. How do I, as the hired photographer, feel about this? Frankly I’m totally fine with it.

I’ve heard the saying lately that “everyone is a photographer.” Or maybe everyone thinks they are a photographer. Everyone is using their smart phone these days to take pictures, and honestly that’s why cameras are put into smart phones — so people can take pictures. Smart phone pictures can take some great photos. There are even classes on smart phone photography.

I believe completely, however, that smart phone cameras can’t replace the cameras used by professional photographers. A few months ago I was at an event and I really wanted to take some great photos. I grabbed my camera and went to the event only to realize later I had grabbed the Sony camera rather than the Canon camera. Usually this would be fine, but when all my lenses were Canon lenses there was no way I was going to get the photos I wanted. So what did I do? I pulled out my iPhone and started taking photos. The photos look good, but the problem with this is I was unable to do anything to make the photos look professional. They looked like a photo anyone there with a smart phone could have taken. There is no way to zoom in or out, get tight or wide shots, or alter the depth of field, which changes the look of the background in a photo.

I certainly take photos with my smart phone. It’s the easiest way to make photos. And while my smart phone photos can look cute, even good, they are not great. They are not what I consider truly professional photos.

So back to my weekend wedding. People were pulling out their smart phones to take photos at the wedding. I’m OK with that. I even had someone come up behind me as I was shooting the cake cutting with a digital SLR camera to shoot photos. Again, I’m OK with that. I know the couple hired me to be their photographer and they are relying on me to provide their photos. While some photographers don’t allow other photographers, I have no problem with that. If people want to take photos for whatever reason, I say go right ahead.

As some might say, everyone is a photographer these days. But that doesn’t mean they’re a professional photographer. No one with a smart phone camera will ever replace the professional.