You Can’t Go Back

Intro by Skip Cohen

Suzette Allen shared today’s post approximately three years ago, and it’s perfect for all of us to pay attention to the ever-moving role technology plays in our lives. And she closed her comments talking about video. Now, three years later she’s recognized as the “Queen of Hybrid,” regularly sharing tips on combining still images, video and great music to create mini-stories for her clients, events and even her own life as an artist.

Technology has given all of us the ability to be filmmakers. It’s given us the ability to expand our storytelling skills and go to a level of creativity that seemed impossible with only one camera just a few years ago.

So, to Suzette’s point – we really can go back, but why would anybody want to? You’ve got the greatest selection of creative tools in the 175+ year history of photography. But here’s where you can never go back – You can never stop learning and experimenting with new technology. Your success as a professional artist is dependent on your never-ending education.

So, what new skill set are you going to tackle next?

By Suzette Allen

When I was in high school, I took a typing class and we used the white strips to “erase” mistakes and type over. Using a typewriter was great (better than writing), but now that I use a computer and word processor, I would never go back! And now that we have our cell phones and rely so heavily on them, could we ever go back to the old wall phones, tethered by a stretchy coil to those 12 push buttons – or worse yet, that rotary dial? Stepping forward into new and better tools or technology has huge benefits and once you adopt (we all resist change and anything new) you can’t even imagine going back.

I always have said about my tripod, which has a joystick head, and now a ball head, – once you have one, you can never go back to the 3-handle tripod head. Ick! I feel impaired just thinking about it!

Then there was digital vs film or RAW vs JPEG – or Lightroom vs Photoshop for global adjustments, or USB3 vs serial ports, DVD’s vs floppy disks, the list goes on and on. Technology keeps changing and getting better!

And recently I’ve heard myself saying “I’ll never go back to a DSLR now that I’ve switched to a mirrorless camera!” Why?

DSLR’s are pretty awesome – so why would I never go back? Because I’ve adapted to better ways of doing things. Aside from the obvious, [Smaller, Lighter, Cheaper] aspects which we all love, there are some serious advantages!

Like, seeing what you are shooting – before, during and immediately after you shoot is awesome! A totally different visual and creative experience. I get to SEE in the viewfinder the actual exposure (with Constant Preview) and see my changes in real time as I adjust the dials – but better than that, I get to see my crop –square, 4×3, 2×3, 16×9 – and color, contrast, B&W, artsy, etc! It is far more fun and creative! Plus, I have Instant playback. What is that? Well, the image I shoot pops up IN the viewfinder for me to see before I take another shot if I want, to make sure I “GOT the shot”-without even pulling my eye away from the camera! Oh, and then there’s the touch-screen! THAT is a definite “I can never go back” topic too. It just makes sense because our phones and so many of our devices have touch screens!

But the most surprising thing that I’ve adapted to is video. There are things I used to capture as still photos that I will probably never capture again in stills. Like water – lights dancing on the water, the movement and grace and sparkle! Or photographing a public speaker talking. Never again will I take 50+ shots trying to get a good expression while they are talking! Now I just roll 10 seconds of 4K video and pull that perfect frame!

Or children playing, people laughing or especially dancing! How many seriously awkward shots of people dancing have we taken in our lives? Like 95% of them! But roll a little video and it’s magic!

It’s been a journey to learn how to capture well, and process it all and turn it into new products, for sure. But I can honestly say, I will never go back to a DSLR or to only shooting still portraits. Moving Portraits say so much more – they literally move your heart. And Video will change the way you see… forever.