Monday, January 25, 2010

AS AMERICANS CUT BACK, THEIR MEMORIES ARE IN DANGER

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT: Michele Render, 253-922-4242

AS AMERICANS CUT BACK, THEIR MEMORIES ARE IN DANGER
Many Americans are taking a good look at their budgets right now and when that scrutinizing comes to action, desperate times can call for desperate measures. The problem is, those desperate measures can have bad results on future generations.
“Too many Americans are choosing to cut professional photography from their household budgets,” said Michele Render, of Render's Photograph, in Tacoma, WA. “Thatʼs really putting future generations at risk because they arenʼt going to have any photographs to remember these times.”
Millions of Americans now own digital cameras and cell phones with cameras, but those consumer-grade products often donʼt have the adequate technology to create images that will stand the test of time. Most consumers donʼt know that images taken with cell phones can only be printed a little larger than a postage stamp without becoming blurry. And more often than not, they fail to set their personal digital cameras correctly, thereby photographing at the wrong resolution or losing images altogether.
“As easy as digital camera are,” said Michele, “they are equally as dangerous. Most people think you can take it out of the box, put in the batteries and just begin to photograph. What will happen is that when it comes time to actually make prints, youʼre probably going to realize that the files you have arenʼt capable of being printed.”
Thatʼs why, Michele says, professional photographers should be called upon for those occasions when you canʼt put those images at risk.
“Weddings, graduations, baby portraits, family portraits,” she said. “These are those milestone photographs that weʼve had throughout generations and this is no time to trust those to just anyone with a camera. You just canʼt go back and recreate an event once youʼve missed it.”
The majority of professional photographers guarantee their work and have been trained to understand digital capture and resolution, as well as enhancement and other techniques of todayʼs ever-expanding digital market. Todayʼs cameraʼs - from the high end to the camera phones - all have limitations and ranges that must be compensated for when prints are made. Lighting also has become a critical factor in todayʼs digital world as poor lighting conditions can create ʻnoiseʼ and make an image appear out of focus or pixelated.
“As professional photographers, we are always updating our studios with the latest in technology and education,” said Michele. “You just canʼt afford to take a chance in this day and age because you never know what youʼre going to get. And that right there is putting yourself at risk.
“Few people would allow just some guy with a calculator to do their taxes, or some person with a bandage to care for their children. So why do we put our history, our personal records in
the hands of just anybody with a camera?”
Michele adds that she is seeing more requests to “correct” peopleʼs photographic mistakes than ever before.
“There are just some things that canʼt be fixed,” said Michele. “I know that everyone believes what they see on television, but you really shouldnʼt. We canʼt miraculously bring a photograph into a file where there just isnʼt anything. We canʼt bring things into sharp focus that were taken out of focus. It just cannot be done in real life.”
For more information on digital and professional photography, contact Michele Render
at 253-922-4242 or visit her website at www.RendersPhotography.com

2 comments:

McKenna Video said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
McKenna Video said...

Well said, Michele. I find the same in my video business too. Just because you spent $X on a nice camera doesn't make you a professional. Training, experience and then equipment is what makes a professional a professional.

Chris McKenna
McKenna Video
http://www.mckennavideo.com