I have never owned a camera (digital or otherwise). I'm one of those who would just ask for copies of the photo from others. With the advent of digital cameras, there was actually less incentive to own a camera. It became easier to just transfer and send soft copies of the photo anyway. The only problem is that when I do need a copy, I have none to give. In my current line of work, it can be a bit inconvenient.

Whenever I did a guest appearance in the local talk shows, the researcher would ask me for copies of my photos to be used as visuals. I'd just grab some from the net and send them. The poor researcher would email me back and tell me that they couldn't use it because the station prohibited the use of photos from the net. I don't know which was more embarrasing: that the law student in me wasn't conscious of the possible copyright violations of just grabbing and using these photos or that this beauty queen didn't even have a decent portfolio.

Its a good thing that my best friend and my dad gave me a good head start. Early into the pageant, they were already grabbing photos of me posted in various websites. From pageant forums to news websites to individual blogs. Most were low-resolution copies uploaded by amateur photographers, but there were some pretty good ones posted by the professionals. I surveyed their initial collection and found that most had watermarked names of photographers and websites literally plastered all over me.

Not exactly something I'd want on my print outs but hey, beggars can't be choosers.