How Has Technology Influenced Commercial Photography?

Photography has impacted society in many different ways since its inception, which can be traced back incredibly far. Photography has a longstanding place in most personal and professional settings, where people can capture iconic or highly personal moments, revisit them, share them and experience the euphoria of those moments over and over again.

Nowadays, there are many different types of photography, ranging from architecture and product photography to the conceptual, abstract nature of lifestyle photography, and everything in between. The term photography isn’t purely restricted to one isolated type, and, incredibly, in the 21st Century, there are so many categories of photography, each with its quirks, benefits and styles.

That said, it’s always important to take a step back and reflect on what spearheaded this widespread change and, dare I say, appreciation for photography. Its impact cannot be understated – with the development of digital photography specifically – changing the way businesses look at commercial photographers like myself.

The history of photography dates further back in time than many people would expect. Initially, cameras could only project a small inverted colour image onto a surface, without actually capturing it.

These small pinhole images were what people used from the 4th Century to the 16th Century, after which point brighter and sharper images became the norm. These were created by small portable boxes, then known as camera obscura, which inspired future film and digital camera models.

As technology developed, so did the quality of imagery. Early camera models required subjects to stay perfectly still, with any movement causing an image to go blurry. Furthermore, these cameras would only produce one photograph at a time, as negative images, which were prone to damage quickly if exposed to light.

At the time, due to the technical and intricate nature of processing images, photography was reserved for specific industries. This was until the lattermost years of the 20th Century where the industry saw a tremendous shift.

Moving Towards Digital Photography

From the early 1900s, photographers could capture multiple images on a single film reel and develop them much more quickly. The introduction of colour images also paved the way for more vibrant, striking and realistic images, with reduced exposure time.

Eventually, physical photo prints were replaced by developed film reels. That didn’t change the fact that they were still susceptible to damage, but the development of digital photography cameras solved this.

The first digital cameras were launched in the mid-1990s, allowing photographers to capture photos and view them without physical prints, film or negatives. These include DSLRs, mirrorless cameras and, eventually, smartphones that have built-in cameras. The advancement of photography over the last several decades has provided users flexibility and the benefit of sharing photos easily, despite image quality often lacking compared to a professional high-end digital camera.

While digital photography has made it easier to capture, share and utilise imagery – including in publications, websites, social media and so on – it has unfortunately meant that physical photographic prints have seen a drastic downfall. Digital formats have been preferred in favour of physical photo prints for years.

Photo Digitising and Storage

Digital photo scanning has become a popular service, allowing people to preserve original physical photos digitally. Physical images can now be scanned and converted to digital photographs, making them more readily accessible for anyone. This doesn’t just apply to physical prints – negative film reels, slides and many other types of photos can be scanned and converted.

Storing photos digitally also makes it easier for people to share digitised images with friends and family regardless of where they are located.

It might seem somewhat cruel in today’s digital age that an iconic, traditional way of preserving memories and telling stories has now fallen by the wayside. Digital photographers like myself have had to adapt many times throughout their careers. Still, while digital photos are the norms these days, there are ways to preserve those iconic physical ones. If you have some that you’d like to maintain, it’s entirely possible to make digital copies.

Need a Professional Commercial Photographer in Berkshire?

Hopefully, this short blog on photography’s history and impact has been helpful and interesting to you, and provided some insight on photography that you previously did not know about.

As I’ve mentioned, professional photography nowadays can refer to many things, and I’m proud to say that I am experienced in many aspects of professional photography. I primarily deal with B2B applications, such as PR and marketing materials, website photographs, and product photography for industries including tech, engineering, manufacturing and distribution, among others. I can also provide corporate business headshots, in-action shots and so on.

To book your next professional photo shoot, get in touch with me via my contact form below today.