(c) 2025 David j Dilworth — InspiringLandscapes.com
Your photo makes a nice capture of a memorable moment in seconds. And you wonder why it takes me so long to get you a picture I made of you at a party.
Well, I don’t take Smartphone pictures(1) as the generally poor quality annoys me. Instead, you might have noticed how my photographs are higher quality than normal smartphone pics.
I take pictures with a dedicated professional camera (no phone in it), that takes some expert time and equipment and several more steps. Since that process is typically obscure to Smartphone users, here’s an outline for you of what I do before you get a photograph from me.
1. Backup – I have to copy the images to TWO backup drives BEFORE I even look at them, to make sure I don’t lose or damage them. That is rarely less than a half hour process; typically more.
2.Throwing out the Stinkers – You won’t see any embarrassing pictures of you as I then select only 2 or 3 out of a hundred that seem worthwhile for developing. Yes, that’s the same ratio that Ansel Adams found worthwhile for his many images. For example – on a model shoot I may take 300-500 images. If everything works well, we might get 10 really good shots from that.
3. Your Smartphone camera takes JPEGs. Nice, but low quality and the color might be awful – especially in poor light.
My camera takes RAW images, meaning it saves a LOT more image information than your Smartphone. Primarily it saves higher resolution, better color, and details in the dark / shadow areas and the brightest areas like clouds and white clothes. That’s why RAW images need sometimes 10 to 20 times more detail than JPegs. And that takes much more storage space.
Developing RAW images requires using expensive and difficult apps / software and a powerful computer to reveal those higher resolution areas of dark and bright and to get rid of Smartphone image Noise. I use a separate computer; dedicated and air-gapped (no internet, no email). (Maybe there’s a good reason Galleries sell my photographs for thousands of dollars.)
Due to family duties, its been years before Covid since I’ve had access to all my specialized computer and software to develop images, so there are thousands of images waiting my newly energized attention.
4. I develop the pictures individually and export them. Takes about 5 to 10 minutes each. How much time do you spend developing your pictures?
5. I squeeze the images to a size small enough that they won’t overpower or overload your phone when you get them. Many friends send me HUGE pictures that take forever to transfer and take up large amounts of storage space.
6. The squeezed images are transferred to a computer with email or yes, a smartphone. This usually requires hooking up cables to both.
7. Where I email them or sometimes I text them to you.
8. And you get a very high quality “snapshot” with correct color, detail in the shadows and highlights with no noise.
*** And that’s why it takes me quite a bit of time and effort to get you an image that “pops” when you see it. And if everything works – an image you are proud of and will remember for a long time.
And typically I get Zero acknowledgement from 3 of every 4 friends to whom I send high quality images. None. Zero, Zip.
So it would be respectful of the effort I do put into them, if you to send a note back to merely acknowledge that you received the image that I used my expertise and expensive equipment especially for you.
Notes:
(1) Extremely rarely, I do take a photo with my Smartphone. But to protect my Smartphone data from invasive privacy violators (like Gaargle and FacePlant), that requires its own multi-step time consuming process.
I do know there are smartphone only photo competitions and some smartphone pictures are wonderful. But smartphones don’t generally do very well in poor light; anything lacking bright sunshine.