The Digital Process

A digital camera uses a sensor, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (pronounced sea-moss and short for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), to capture images electronically. These sensors contain grid-like fields of extremely small cells called pixels, short for PICture ELements. A pixel is the smallest element of a digital image, comparable to the grain on film. Don't be concerned by these terms; they simply refer to technologies that enable a better way to capture an image. You still have to be a good photographer to properly compose a subject, light it, and get the shot, just as you did in the old days with film.

Photo taken with a 5-megapixel camera showing the detail in asparagus tips.

A portion of same photo, which has been magnified 1,200 times to reveal how the pixels make up the image.