The end game
There is one thing that almost no one ever thinks about when they choose a wedding photographer. And that one thing is “What is the end game? End game, what’s that?
The end game, in this instance is what do you want the final results of your wedding photography to be? An album, small prints, large prints, very large prints? On what types of materials, glossy, matte, canvas?
In general, the larger the end print the more megapixels you need to maintain a finely detailed image. And not only that. Asking the photographer to shoot in “RAW” becomes vital when you expect to receive large prints. I am ignoring the viewing distance in this example. Just about any digital SLR will produce excellent prints up to 16×20; the reason that camera manufacturers keep introducing cameras with up to 50 megapixels is to attempt to persuade the photographers that newer is better.They don’t make any money if people don’t continue to buy.
In truth, it doesn’t make a hill of beans difference to the end result. For example, I have a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic. If you give him the crappiest tools, he will do an excellent job. If you give me the finest tools, I will ruin the motorcycle. Giving someone the finest paint brush, does not make a Rembrandt.
Let’s talk about RAW files for a moment. Digital SLR camera can record digital data in several ways. Point and shoot cameras cannot. Point and shoot cameras process the image recorded on their tiny optical sensors and produce a jpg file which you are all familiar with. The problem with that, as well as their SLR cousins is that the cameras discard much of the data recorded to produce a file to the jpg specifications. It’s like buying a map of the country and then throwing away all but Georgia, thinking that’s all you need. Just don’t drive to Florida.
RAW files, however, are the closest representation to what the camera sensor can produce. The file sizes are much larger, just like the map. The RAW files are copied to the computer and then processed with infinitely more powerful software and computer hardware to produce an much better result. The good photographers shoot RAW to get the finest result they can for their clients. In addition, as software technology is leaping forward RAW files produced a few years ago can be reprocessed to create potentially, much better results.
So what should you take from this post? Just that if you don’t want to produce photographs of over 16×20 inches then the megapixels is not that significant, but do ask for RAW images. Today’s digital SLR cameras will produce great work, no matter what the generation. It’s the photographer that makes the difference.
Related posts:
- State of the art
- Some thoughts about cameras
- I do something that no other photographer does (that I know of), and why
- The truth about wedding photography
- Turning day into night
Tags: photography, Wedding photography