Photography in the Digital Age

In this day in age of digital cameras that seem to be everywhere, many people feel that they don't need professional photography. They will pull out their phone, take some photos with it and then figure it's good enough. While new smart phone and other small digital camera do an amazing job over the point and shoot cameras of just a few years ago. There are however, a number of things to consider when you decide whether or not to hire a professional.  

• Most point and shoot cameras and smart phone cameras do not allow for much creative control which can limit the ability to get the proper exposure and desired effect in the camera.
• The lens on these cameras and all of the smart phone and compact cameras are very small and can't match the quality of a dedicated lens of an DSLR camera. Even if the megapixel rating is the same, the quality of the images from the small lens built into these phones and point shoot cameras will not hold up compared to a DSLR or other professional camera. They may look good in the preview or even on the computer, but as you start to look closer, the difference is apparent.
• It's very difficult to hold a camera steady when holding away from your body which is what you must do with most Point and Shoot Cameras and all camera phones I've ever seen. If there is even the slightest movement of the camera, an image will look blurry or fuzzy if you zoom in enough. This can make final prints look less than desirable especially on larger images.
• The sensors that capture the images in these cameras are very small and do not have the ability to capture the detail of the larger cameras.

It's very easy to look at the preview of an image on the display and think it's good. Sometimes the problems do not become noticeable until the image is previewed in larger sizes or zoomed in on.