Random Synapses

Tip #7: Photography is an art which needs a lifetime of learning.

Photography is not the technological aid of capturing whatever your eyes see; it is the art of expressing your own vision of the world, of blending technique, light and color to draw attention to things that make your heart stop and your mind race.

A good photo will tell a story in itself, will make people relate to it and tingle all over with feelings they didn’t know they had. If you are serious about going down this road, go that extra mile of making even your family photos tell silent stories to anyone seeing them.

By buying a more expensive camera, you will not automatically get the talent of inducing drama, joy, tears or hope into people’s hearts.

Also, everyone’s a critic. Some people can’t even use a point&shoot camera, but boy, aren’t they full of oppinions about other people’s work! Don’t take offense, see what they have to say, ask what they do like and what they’d do differently. Take advice constructively, learn from common mistakes and practice, practice, practice. Re-do some of your work every couple of years, just to see what you’d do differently and how much did your experience grow.

Probably the biggest investment after buying a dSLR should be in the TIME to go out to practice and take those jaw-dropping shots. Good shots rarely find you; usually, you have to work to find them, fine-tune them, create them. You don’t need exotic places; there’s beauty hidden in ordinary things, waiting to be unveiled. Take your time; I know professional photographers which pick 2-3 photos worth saving out of 100 shots captured on camera.

Tip #6: Don’t get caught in the brands war between hardcore fans!

Once you step into the dSLR market, you will notice that owners here are far more polarized around their favorite brands. Some will swear by Canon, while others wouldn’t touch anything other than Nikon (and nothing made outside Japan, God forbid!). A compact group still cries for Minolta’s disappearance from the market as an independent brand, and hates Sony for taking them over, while Sony fans think it was the natural thing to do.

Another small but strong message comes from Pentax fans who divide the digital photography market in “Pentax” and “irrelevant commercial garbage.” Then comes Fuji, and Mamiya, and Hasselblad, and a long list of other brands more or less specialized, each with its own group of fans (and sometimes zealots) which, given even the hint of an opportunity, will blast their appreciation for their favorite brand and despise of anything else.

Heck, I’m sure you’ll even find a couple of guys who’ll favor Kodak above anything else because “they were the first to come up with a digital camera in the early ’70s.” That suitcase with lens and viewfinder wouldn’t be allowed as an airplane carry-on, but it is nonetheless the first digital camera in the world!

Be careful not to get in the middle of this war. Take everyone’s opinion with a grain of salt, and judge for yourself 1) what makes you happy, and 2) which manufacturer satisfies your personal needs better with its line of products. Do ask product owners of pros and cons for what they own, and learn from their experiences. But don’t allow them to choose for you.

One more thing: you’re not choosing a hammer at the hardware store! Treat the dSLR as a luxury item, like an extravagant piece of jewelry. It has to fit you, to make you feel good, to “click” with you, to become a natural extension of your senses. Go out and try all cameras you can find in showrooms, make a list of likes and dislikes, then come back and learn online what you should expect from each one.

Tip #5: Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!

You’re going to spend quite a bit on accessories. You could get several bags: a compact one (a slingshot, maybe?) for light travelling and shooting as you walk; a bigger one, to fit a few lenses and filters, when you’ll have time to plan a shot more thoroughly. You may want to get a bag that fits your laptop, too.

For travelling or carrying your gear for extended periods of time, you may want to purchase a vest or belt to hang your gear on, and a soft neck/shoulder strap. Nothing kills inspiration and good shots than physical fatigue in your muscles.

You’ll need a lens cleaning cloth and fluid, and an air pump. Given the nature of dSLR cameras, you will get some dust or, God forbid, sand inside the camera, stuck to your sensor. It’s not a question of “if,” but “when.”

Filters: the minimum are an ultraviolet light filter as a fingerprint protection, and a circular polarizer for nature/sky/water/car show shots. You may want to get these in various sizes for each of your lenses, or get big ones with step-up adapter rings; your choice.

Then comes everything else: supplemental batteries, possibly a grip for better handling of portrait shots, memory cards, a memory card reader, external flash, mini-tripod or monopod, a foldable reflective screen. Studio photography has its own long list, starting with flashes, stands, umbrellas, softboxes, backdrops…

Lots of dough invested in accessories — plan your expenses smart.

Tip #4: Don’t fall into the “one lens fits all needs” trap

Normally, a good zoom lens won’t exceed a 3-4x zoom (max focal length / min focal length). That’s because zoom lenses make a compromise between zoom range, physical dimensions, image quality, and price. Very long zooms (18-200mm, for instance) have poor image results and varied results depending on the chosen focal length.

The “brightness” of the lens is also important if you want to take good shots in poor lighting conditions. It’s better to get a brighter lens than a dark one which compensates with image stabilisation. There are other factors you’ll want to take into account – sharpness, purple fringing, distorsions, bokeh, even size and weight.

Depending on the kind of photography you’re into, you will eventually have an assortment of lenses. You may have a 50mm prime for portraits, another prime (60mm or more) for macro photography, a wide angle for landscapes and city tours, a super tele for wild animals, a decent superzoom for most needs when travelling light. For travelling, there’s always the compromise of what you want to photograph and what you can carry with you.

Tip #3: Buying a dSLR camera is usually the first step for a long-term of expensive purchases, and the camera body will be among the cheapest of them all.

Lenses are also the most valuable pieces in a dSLR photographer’s kit. If you are serious into photography, in a matter of months or years you’re going to own an assortment of various lenses for different uses, and keep them for many years while exchanging several camera bodies. It pays to know what kind of photography you want to do, what kind of lenses you need, and invest properly from the beginning.

The “kit” lens is a decent piece of equipment and a good start, but soon enough You’ll probably want to get some prime lenses as well – fixed focus, no zoom; these will bring out the best image quality you can get.