I can remember back when I was in art school and how much it cost to get all my film developed every time my friends and I would go out on a photo shoot or I would take a trip. When the age of digital photography came into effect, I was flabbergasted and couldn't believe I could take as many photos as I wanted and not have to pay to get prints made. It changed
so many things for the artists and not just for their art but also for their promotions and sales. Now most of us have a smartphone with cameras built right in and we have apps that can change and help out those pictures. These phones are a great tool for the artist and can be of such great help in so many different ways for an artist. Below I will list some of the ways that the smartphone camera has helped me as an artist.
1. One never runs out of
film.
With SD cards now having so many gigabits of storage you can shoot thousands of images. The only thing you have to worry about is that your battery will hold up to all the pictures that you take.
2. Photo editing right on your phone or tablet
After you shoot your photos there are so many wonderful apps that can help you if you didn't get the exact image that you
hoped for. Websites like Instagram even let you edit right after you take the photo.
3. Always having a camera with you
If you carry a phone with you wherever you go then now you also have a camera. This is so convenient for the artist, one never knows when that one shot will appear where you need to capture the shot.
4. Sending images to friends and buyers and
posting to social media sites.
Being able to take photos of my work and then emailing them or posting them to social media sites is a huge benefit for the artist.
5. Getting good action shots
I paint a lot of city scenes and back when I would take shots of the city with my camera people would look away or try to get out of
the shot. These days I disguise my photo taking by pretending to be on the phone and aiming the phone directly at the people walking toward me. They never flinch and I get a shot of them walking naturally towards me, making for great action shots that look natural and not posed.
6. Video for when a still shot just doesn't work as well
Most of these smartphones also have a video camera
built right in.
If you are at a location where you feel like you would take thousands of shots in a single area, why not take a video of the area and later you can watch and go frame to frame and pick the perfect still photo.