About 3 years ago I was at an event in Boston. It was a pleasant evening of mingling with several strangers. Many times when people don't know each other, the question; "what do you do for a living" comes up. When I explained to a lady who I was chatting with that I'm a family photographer, she laughed hard! "There's no future in that anymore", she said. " Everybody has a cell phone now with a camera built in".
In a way she is right. Everyone can take a picture at any time. We have these devices at our fingertips pretty much 24/7. Who hasn't seen people pull out their phones to photograph a plate of food, decadent coffee drink, street scenes or a cute animal? We all do it! And even though it's nice to have that option and use these images quickly for social media the same doesn't go for portraits. Of course, people make Selfies. But with that arm sticking out, holding up the camera and people angling their necks in an unnatural way for a pose, I always think it looks a bit silly.
A professional family portrait session is done with a professional camera and includes images of much higher resolution than taken on a phone. This means the images are sharper and are suitable for making prints and enlargements.
Also, with a photo camera one has control of the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Meaning you can influence things like; a more or less blurry background, the amount of lighting coming into your lens (super important when photographers are shooting in low-light or very sunny situations) and 'freezing' objects/people in motion when a high shutter speed is used. An additional flash can also create a lovely photo that would be otherwise completely underexposed due to a lack of lighting.
Another option most phones don't have is the possibility to change lenses. A portrait lens for example is something I cannot work without when photographing individuals or groups. A wide angle lens is great for shooting larger groups of people. And a 'fast' lens is a must-have for action shots like sports and running dogs!
The last remark I'd like to make is about the experience and trained eye of the photographer. We know how to pose people, how to position ourselves and others, how to work with the light and equipment, what angle to choose to photograph from and how to work the settings on the camera. Not to mention giving instructions, making people feel at ease and how to be patient and creative when it comes to working with children and dogs! Retouching images in Photoshop or Lightroom is also a skill not everyone has mastered.
Look at the photographs below. The photos on the left were taken with a professional camera and the same shots on the right were taken by a phone. The difference is obvious.
