[Leica] Bad news for photography

[lrzeitlin at aol.com]

Catalog photography, the cash cow of many commercial photography 
operations, is becoming extinct. The following is from the internet. 
Many of us have complained about how easy it is to take pictures with 
today's computer mediated cameras. Apparently not even the camera is 
necessary.

"Today, around 75% of all IKEA’s product images are CG, and they have a 
‘bank’ of about 25,000 computer graphic images. These are all created 
at very high resolution. IKEA wants to be able to do whatever it likes 
with the renderings, even print them on large walls in the stores. 
Although most of them will only be used on the website, they all have 
the capability to be printed at very high-res.
 
The first entire room image to be created in CG for one of IKEA’s 
catalogues was in 2010. The most expensive and complicated things to 
create and shoot are kitchens. From both an environmental and time 
point of view, IKEA doesn’t want to have to ship in goods from 
everywhere, shoot them and then ship them all back again. Kitchens are 
one of those rooms that differ depending on where you are in the world. 
A kitchen in the US will look unlike a kitchen in Japan, or in Germany. 
Lots of different layouts are required to print appropriate regional 
brochures. Very early on IKEA created around 200 CG  versions for 50 
photographed kitchens.The entire graphics staff supports the program."

Larry Z