In the last 20 years there have been tremendous advances in technology and digital photography is one of the most popular advances. Until the invention of digital technology, conventional cameras used film to create images which could be made visible by photographic processing, a process which uses special techniques and chemicals to create a picture.

Digital images can be displayed, printed, stored, and edited with photo editing software such as Photoshop or other high-end professional software. They then can be transmitted and archived using digital and computer techniques, without elaborate and messy chemical processing. The best thing about digital photography is that you can see the photos instantly and they look much better than the old Polaroid instant cameras that you had to use the expensive film for.

There are also a number of similarities between digital photography and conventional photography; digital cameras and conventional cameras are actually quite alike in the way that they take pictures. Just like a conventional camera, a digital camera has a series of lenses that focus light to create an image of a scene. However, instead of focusing this light onto a piece of film, a digital camera focuses it onto a semiconductor device that records light electronically. A computer then breaks this electronic information down into digital data.

Understanding the Differences

To understand the difference between the two photographic processes, you need to consider the type of medium which the photographic images were imprinted onto. The physical and chemical characteristics are quite different between the pre-digital cameras, and the cameras of today.

Let's say you want to take a picture of yourself and post it on your MySpace or FaceBook page or you may just want to e-mail it to a friend. In order to do this, the image needs to be represented in the language that computers recognize -- bits and bytes. If you want to get a picture into this form, you have two options:

* Conventional Photography -You can take a photograph using a conventional camera, have the film processed chemically, print it onto photographic paper and then use a digital scanner to scan the picture. While some photographers argue that conventional photography takes a different "quality" of photo, and opinions differ whether that is good or bad - this method still requires a number of additional steps.

* Digital Photography –You can take your photo using a digital camera, transfer it to your computer via a USB cord or other means, view your picture, make edits with Photoshop; remove red eye, lose a few years, etc. and then upload your photo to your social networking page or your email and it is instantly visible.

See how complicated your life would be if digital photography hadn't been invented? This is why digital photography has become so popular; you can even take a picture with most cell phones. Conventional film photography still provides better picture quality, so digital cameras have not completely replaced conventional cameras. As digital imaging technology improved, digital cameras have rapidly become more popular. They are a standard in most households today.