Not too long ago I was travelling down University Avenue in Toronto when I saw a group of young girls organizing themselves for a photograph. The last girl in the group set up the camera and ran over to her friends then they all waited for the camera to do its thing. When the flash went off, the bunch of them ran over to the camera and huddled around it to look at the photo that had just been taken. There was a tremendous amount of excitement between them as they were able to see immediately their outrageous poses and expressions.
This is the beauty of digital photography. The immediacy of the camera allowed them to elevate their excitement of the excursion. Before, they would have had to wait until they had their film developed and printed, and by then, the moment for them wold have passed. Sure they would find joy in looking at those photos (as they can again with the digital prints) when they get them back from the lab, but it won’t be the same as just after the photo was shot.
With that being said, there is a downside to digital photography for exactly the same reason. Photographers, being able to see what they shot, are less likely to examine the scene for other photos. Other angles, perspectives and compositions. Knowing they have captured a great shot of the scene, many now move on to then next scene.
If you mostly shoot to record events in time, family outings, trips with friends, holiday parties, then the kind of photography you are shooting doesn’t necessarily require the scene examination I spoke about as your photos reflect what is happening at the time, facial expressions and emotion. If you are shooting more of an (I hate to say it, artistic) type of photography, then you will want to examine your surroundings a little more. Either way, it is always a good idea to look around when shooting. You never know what might be lurking.