Preface

My last book on dental photography was published in 2002. It dealt with conventional and digital techniques.

When I was asked by the publisher to prepare a 2nd edition I realized that photography had changed completely.

In the professional world, the transition from conventional silver-halide photography to digital photography was not only underway but nearly completed. I thus decided to write a completely new book concentrating only on digital photography. Of course, principles of photography have not changed. But in many cases digital photography has changed the approach to photography.

In my hands-on photography courses, I learnt a great deal about problems colleagues have when starting with digital photography and stumbling into the pitfalls of soft- and hardware. Therefore, I have tried to compile a book which is practically oriented. Although the user has to deal with things like image editing programs, archiving programs, and some software problems, digital photography is much easier than the old silver-halide technique. The learning curve in the digital world is much steeper, as there is the great opportunity of immediate image checking. After users have overcome their initial inhibitions about the new technique, they have the chance to explore new worlds of creativity and fascinating possibilities.

I have never met a user who returned to conventional photography after he or she had stepped into the digital world.

Bengel, Wolfgang
Bensheim