If we had a dollar for every time someone asked us what kind of cameras we use, and then said that they could take great shots if only they had a fancier camera, we’d be very rich. It’s not the camera, people. It’s the photographer.
We’ve both stepped up to fancier cameras — Barbara uses a Nikon D80 and Mary Beth uses a Canon 50D and we’ve scrimped and saved to get some pretty nice lenses too. But before that we worked with little point and shoot cameras in the $ 200 – $300 range and we got great pictures AFTER we learned how to use them. (A lot of the earliest pictures on this blog were taken with point and shoot cameras.)
So no excuses, get out there and take some great shots!
Reading this makes me chuckle at myself, because I was on the verge of asking a photographer I respect and admire what kind of camera she uses. I must admit that I enjoy deluding myself into believing that if my camera was worth over a grand, every shot I took would be fit for the art books. I really do need to take the advice above and dig out my camera's manual or search the internet for a downloadable version.
yes yes yes!! i tell people this all the time. there is no need to have super fancy expensive equipment. in fact a lot of people i’ve seen with multi-thousand-dollar camera set-ups seem to be overcompensating for their lack of talent/knowledge. camera snobs in general make my skin crawl. i’ve even had people act kind of snooty to me and imply that they could take better photos than i do if they had a camera like mine...but that’s absolutely a cop-out, and kind of offensive, honestly. the most important thing is to just get out there and shoot with whatever you’ve got.
ReplyDeletei’m not good at telling jokes, but there’s a great photography joke that goes something like this:
a writer and a photographer meet up for lunch one day. the writer looks over the photographer’s portfolio and exclaims, “my god! these are amazing! you must have a fabulous camera.”
the photographer finishes reading a couple of the writer’s stories and says, “these stories are great! you must have a nice typewriter.”
Ha! That joke seems fitting here! The irony is that you're the one I was going to ask about cameras...but don't tell me! It is rather offensive, and it would imply that I don't respect your unique vision.
ReplyDeleteoh! haha. i’d take that as a compliment from you, not an offense...it’s only the snarky, superior-attitude people who irk me a little. but you certainly don’t need a fancier camera, your photos look great, especially in that most recent post. the lighting on the mushrooms is gorgeous.
ReplyDelete