Photography Vs. Cell Phone Photo

Question I'm often asked, "Why should I buy a photo when I can take my own?"

When I first started promoting my own photography because people asked me where they could buy my photos, I was very encouraged by the positive response. It was the “honeymoon” period, I guess, very shortly there after – I heard the line, “Why should I buy a photo from you when I can take one of my own? Or “Taking a photo is easy now with my point and shoot” Or (even worse) “I can take a photo like that on my cell phone camera!” OK, I understand that cell phones are equipped with some very good camera options now (although they are very expensive options: iphone 6 plus - $300 - $800 or Samsung Galaxy S5 - $200 - $600). Still, I firmly believe a professional photo is going to be much better than a cell phone shot. And here are three reasons, (the three "C's") in my humble opinion.
Clarity
Composition
Components
1) Clarity: OK, I will admit the new cell phones do have high resolution photos, but most are still “short” on the megapixels – (iphone has 6 megapixels, Samsung is better 13 – 16 megapixels) and all are on “autofocus” so the photos will be colorful and clear, but will they be “sharp?” Autofocus in a photographers’ world is like saying frozen pizza is as good as (insert your favorite take-out pizza here) Round Table. Sure it may be good but is it good enough? Another admission here – I used to think the photos I took with my Nikon point and shoot were “sharp” until I bought my Nikon D7000!
2) Composition: You can study art and photography composition for four years or more at any university – so why would you think you can just aim your cell phone and get it right every time? Yes, I realize you even get a little box in the cell phone camera viewer to help you with the point of focus in the middle of your shot. I rest my case.
3) Components: By components I mean this, so you have a great photo in your cell phone. Now what? OK, you download it to your computer (without any editing software - it's already perfect, right?) And you send it off to a box store that has a photo department like Walmart, for instance. And they send you a 4 x 6 print in the mail. First check the color. What the heck happened? The colors are completely off (yes, I have experienced this with Walmart). What if you want a larger photo? Or an odd size? What if you want a mat to set off the correct colors and a frame or a stretched canvas to hang on the wall. Or maybe you even want a cell phone case to protect the great camera you have in your iphone 6 plus… That is exactly why you want to purchase your photo from a great website like FineArtAmerica.

Again, I rest my cell phone case. Pun intended.

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