I have been educating many photography students and hobbyists alike on the importance of building one’s digital workflow, from input to processing to output. From hardware to software, there is always a need to keep up-to-date regularly with the changing technology landscape and to harness the power of digital technology that can help one cultivate one’s artistic flair in photography.

The importance of good grounded technical knowledge and skills coupled with an artistic eye is always stressed in the “Input” component of the digital workflow. As to what software is preferred for the processing, it is very much dependent on the workflow of the photographer. I hardly shoot in RAW mode, and I am glad that I achieve my milestones in photography shooting in JPEG mode and with my selection of software for the image processing. The proper selection of the medium for the “Output” which can range from the various types of paper prints, to digital panel exhibition or sharing on social media, serve different purposes based on what the photographers want to achieve out from their works.

In any forms of hobbies or arts, there are yardsticks or measures, or some may call them, the path to excellence.

If they take up the hobby in fishing, they will start with the basic rod. As they move on, they want to catch more fishes at a higher difficulty level, which requires them new sets of skills with specialised rods, threads, baits and tools. They may ……….

Utilise your SkillsFuture Credit for TWO photography workshops at subsidised rates. Subsidy up to 90% of the workshop fees available for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.

A few years back when Mirrorless system is still pretty new, many amateur photographers pondered whether this is a good system to get to enjoy their photography.
The game plan seems to have changed quite a bit these 2 years as many people either switch to Handphone camera or Mirrorless systems, with the DSLRs either kept in the dry box or sold to second hand camera shop.

What is a PhotoBox?
I started the PhotoBox project since 2003 with a few of my students whom i mentored and a few have now become judges in our international photography competitions and gained Associateship and Fellowship from regional photography associations.
Simply put, the PhotoBox concept is the creation of specialised folders in your harddisk for you to keep your best images. The folder can be “COLOR”, “MONO”, “TRAVEL”, “NATURE” or some special theme.

Well, what made me spent some time to write this was motivated by a recent conversation with a few former photography students I taught 10 years ago. Their Nikon D90 or D300 are now in the dry box, barely touched for the past year except during one of their overseas tour to New Zealand and another to Hokkaido. They have not been shooting much with thier old DSLRs.
I shared with them the excitement of using some of the newer technology in photography, new lenses, unbelievably higher ISO, ability to focus in very low light etc. Their reply was that they are very much satisfied to use their mobile phone camera more than any other camera equipment for their daily photo needs, to be posted in Facebook or Instagram. I have also received an email from my fellow photographer in Australia, who has stopped taking part in exhibitions and competitions, now happy and satisfied when he got the “LIKES” from his Facebook posts.

Steven Yee started off with film photography in 1989, and now a digital darkroom master in digital photography with many awards and conferred many Fellowship titles by many reputable photography organisations. He has a lot of knowledge and expertise in photography to share with you, as he shares with his photography students in Singapore University of Social Sciences where he lectures and also with his members in Association of Photographic Artists Singapore & PHOTOVIVO.