“I’m looking at buying a camera, any recommendations?”
Thats a question most photographers get asked.
My response used to be “it depends on your budget”.
But I now respond with “Don’t buy anything until..”.
Here’s what the ‘until’ means.
Firstly have a really good think about WHY you want to buy a camera because most modern phones now produce high quality photos.
Just for ease, from this point on, I’ll refer to phone cameras as phone and a ‘real’ camera as camera as I cant be bothered to keep typing ‘real’ camera…
Anyway phones, apart from taking very high quality pictures now, they also have the advantage of ‘not getting in the way’.
By that I mean you don’t need to consider what kit you need to take out or settings for the photo which can mean you may miss a great photo when you're wandering about.
If phones are so good, why do I bother with a camera?
In short cameras can have advantages over a phone in some genres of photography
Hence the 'WHY' you need a camera, it is the answer to this that will help others advising you on your best options.
To help with the 'why' give some thought about what type of photography interests you.
Some cameras are better suited for particular genres, i.e landscapes tend not to move, but wildlife does and usually very fast, so this will impact on your final choice.
Which leads on to the next and just as important question.
What lens(es) you may need.
This is an often overlooked aspect when stepping onto the photography treadmill.
If you just want to learn photography, then I highly recommend setting aside five minutes a day for a week or so doing the following.
I promise it’ll save you money and you’ll thank me for it.
Get a small piece of white card or plastic and cut a square out the size of a polaroid picture to act as a small frame.
Get a small A5 note book and pencil.
Turn the phone off - seriously, turn it off. You’ll live for five minutes without it.
Go for walk - let your eyes wander - then when you see something you think worthy of photographing, use the ‘frame’ to see what it’d look like as a photograph.
Then using the minimal of words write not only what drew your eye to that scene, but also WHY you thought it worthy of photographing.
‘Yellow flower, red brick wall behind it liked the colours, sun catching the yellow - looked lovely ’ / ‘Shadows of tree - looked like dramatic photo’
After a few days look at your notes. See if there are common words and themes emerging in what is catching your photographic eye.
If people photography is of interest to you, then simply ask friends or family to sit by a table lamp or by a naturally lit window. Look at where the light is falling on their face and body.
Make note of any distracting features behind them!
Doing this early in your photographic journey is a very useful exercise as you'll be considering what is in the frame prior to taking the photo.
If you think this is mad, I’m sure you’ll have seen behind the scenes footage of film directors using either their fingers or an eye piece to frame a scene before they set up all the gear.
In fact a lot of directors visit locations using that system before making a decision to shoot there.
So the card / plastic frame helps you see that photo better and you’ll already be thinking about the ‘why’ you are photographing - which means you'll be presenting images that have impact or interest.
Of course you need to practice with your camera, you’ve spent a lot on the gear, but getting in the early habit of 'why' you are taking that particular picture will save you time and hard drive space later.
You also need to budget for all the essential ancillary stuff to support your photography - this is overlooked too.
Such as a decent desktop or lap top computer - future proofed for handling ever larger files.
Then there’s software to edit your photos and storage. 99% of your photos will require some adjustments if you want them to have the impact you intend.
Oh and back up drives.
And another back up drive.
Did I mention back up drives?
Hard drives fail.
I’ll rephrase that. Hard drives WILL fail!
They have a life span depending on how much use and abuse you give them.
So you’ve taken what may be the best photo since photography was invented.
Just remember as you transfer it to your computer that whirling hard drive will at some stage say “see ya” and take that and all of your other photos with it.
As I mentioned above, if you can remember the ‘why’ you are taking a photograph, it not only helps you take more interesting photos, it also helps save space on your hard drives instead of filling them with unwanted or boring photos.
But don't worry, all photographers take those, its just with practice we just take less of them... I think..
Still want to buy a camera?
Ok then.
So you’ve worked out the why and what you want to photograph questions.
Next thing to remember is photography is full of snobbery and opinions.
Snobbery as to kit.
Opinions about your photographs.
Regrading snobbery. There are those with big and deep pockets who may look down at your 'lesser' camera.
Ignore them.
Find a camera that not only works for your photography but feels right in weight with the lenses of your choice for your photography - and you’d be happy to lug around all day.
At the end of the day, 99.9 % of the snobbery brigade will not have a clue when looking at your photo what it was taken with.
With practice and experience, it matters not what make of camera you’re using, you’ll soon be taking photos as good theirs because you invested the time to consider what it was you needed to take the photographs you wanted and you practised the 'seeing' exercise from the outset...
Opinions. Seek opinions from those you know will give you positive critique and supporting advice.
It’s essential your confidence isn’t knocked having spent so much time and money in your quest to be the next best photographer.
Be prepared to make (a lot of) mistakes. It's all part of the learning process.
Ignore the 'take your photograph to the next level' or 'step up' brigade of workshops etc, because ultimately it’s your taste that leads to YOU getting the most satisfaction from your photography.
It's just helpful to get feedback from people who'll support you with positivity and tips. A simple example is where a suggestion may be to crop the photo down a little, or brighten sections of the image.
If you are still wondering if you can’t make do with your phone, take a look at the photos below taken with a phone and a camera. Can you tell what took each photo?
If you decide to stick with your phone, you can buy me a couple of beers with all the money you’ve saved.
Cheers!
