The Practical Application of Digital Photography
In its earliest stages, digital photography use was limited to professionals, large scale industry, and government agencies. Until 1994, digital cameras were unavailable to the regular consumer. Despite still being relatively new technology, over the past two decades, digital photography has dramatically improved the efficiency of activities in various different fields. Beyond the streamlining of camera technology to create user-friendly devices for basic consumers, digital cameras and photography serve many official and professional purposes as well, including areas like:
Policing & Crime
Investigations are more effectively executed with the ability to upload and widely distribute important images of suspects and missing persons. Digital photography makes it possible for civil and government agencies to transmit image material in a matter of seconds; a task that used to take days or even weeks to reach recipients. Digital cameras and imaging also contribute to the successful resolution of national and international investigations and help expose dangerous people and illegal activity without delay.
Commercial & Retail Industries
Images of products are easily shared, business to business and business to customer. Today, digital photography provides the means for widespread commercial broadcasting over mass media channels. The efficiency of digital technology has allowed for dramatic growth in corporations' advertisement capabilities and facilitated expansion of marketing efforts. Combining photos with product descriptions on company websites creates the ideal venue for consumers to shop in the comfort of their own home. Advertisers and retailers are not the only ones benefiting from the application of digital imaging. Now, consumers as well as businesses are able to post images of items and complete person-to-person transactions through online sales intermediaries like eBay and Amazon.com.
Architecture
Digital technology has facilitated the growth of achtecture by speeding up the processes involved in building planning. This is also the case in the fields of interior decorating and design. The use of digital imaging provides a way of simulating different structures and scenarios, and of instantaneously modifying or manipulating those images.
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is one of the most important channels through which people around the world exchange information and ideas. The introduction of digital photography, as oppposed to film, has revolutionized the way images are captured and shared in TV news reports, magazine articles, and newspapers around the world. Digital camera technology allows photographers to collect large numbers of archived images in a very short amount of time. The ability to instantly view images captured by a digital camera -- and to discard unwanted images -- greatly improves the efficiency of photojournalism and saves time that was once spent on reshooting and film development.
Check out Time magazine's collection of photo essays covering global events and unique personalities.