After watching the video in my last post, I was thinking about something that was said in the video about taking photographs with a purpose.  I totally agree with that and believe that there are many different purposes for taking a photograph.  I tend to previsualize my images and generally have a purpose in mind for them.  That purpose could be for documentary reasons, decorative reasons or because it creates some emotional response from me and I think it will have the same result on the viewer.  So that brings to me the realization that the content of the image is the most important aspect  of the image.  Honestly, most people probably think that too, but there are plenty of photographers out there that have lost sight of that.

So what does this have to image and print quality?  Well, about a week ago I had a conversation with a photographer about images and print quality.  He was talking about how he squeezed every bit of resolution he could out of his Canon 5D MKIII and had really nice Canon lenses paired up with it.  He then went on and on about his Wide Format Canon printer to make images up to 24 inches wide, etc, etc, etc.  After hearing about all this technology and using it to make these large beautiful prints, I started wondering how important that actually was.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a fine crafted print, but at some point shouldn’t the content of the image take priority over the display of the image.  Honestly, without a microscope, I have a hard time telling if the print came off my Epson 3880 or off a 9600 or an HP or a Canon.  When I look at an images I am looking at content.  No for the droplet size of ink.  Sure, I want to give a high quality archival prints to the client or buyer, but all the technology and resolution does not matter if you don’t have good content.  Mega pixels and picto-liters will not make up for a mediocre image.  I’m not saying this photographer was making poor images, I never actually saw any of his images, our conversation though is what stirred up these thoughts.  Should you try to get the most out of your equipment and technology, yes, I think so, but not at the expense of content.  There are plenty of photographers out there that think they must have the latest and greatest gear to make better pictures.  Well, photography is in the heart and soul like any other art form or passion, you should be able to make images with purposeful content regardless of the camera you use.  You are the photographer, not the camera.  The camera is just a tool, however, you should know how to use it to it’s fullest potential.