Capturing images for the family album is a breeze using digital formats. But as many keen parents are discovering, they may not be able to find a satisfactory image among 100 snaps taken, and shooting with a high-end camera won't necessarily yield great results.
Candy Wong Yuen-chun counts herself among the enthusiasts. A full-time homemaker, she loves taking photos of her three children as a record of their growth. When she failed to capture arresting images with a basic digital camera, Wong paid a lot for a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera and went on to spend another HK$20,000 for special lenses.
'But the result was still not satisfying,' she says. 'The photographs were always blurred and had a 'ghosting' effect. That's especially true now that my two older children have grown and won't stay still any more.
'I thought it was a problem with the camera, but there was nothing wrong with it. I was so frustrated that I returned to using the older camera, which is smaller and lighter, as there was no difference in quality.'
A recent start-up called Kiddsha tries to address the needs of parents such as Wong through its photography workshops.
Freelance photographer Jenny Leung Ka-yi launched the venture in March after quitting her job as a telecommunications project manager to care for her young son.