The title photo collage was obtained using photographs taken on the lens MSO USSR SSD UPP-1 ★ KHARKIV ★ F-7 CM ★
My rating factors:
1. Photographer - The main element during photography. If there weren’t a person, the camera wouldn’t turn on, would not be installed in the correct position near the model or landscape, would not focus and would not take a picture at all. The photographer manages the entire shooting process, he is fully responsible for the shooting process, is responsible for the result, and no go-ahead is acceptable. If somebody called himself a photographer, He must be able to take pictures and get great results even on the phone, soap box and tin can. And this requires much more than just picking up a camera and pressing a button.
But, of course, a person himself cannot control everything, because the next factor that affects the creation of photography, I will name the external factors.
2. External factorslocation, the mood of those involved in the shooting, the type of shooting and the time allotted for shooting. Let me give you an example: when a photographer is filming his reportage, he cannot force someone to look exactly where he needs to be, or ask to do something, he can only catch moments, look for a good angle. Also, when shooting a landscape, it suddenly starts to rain - the photographer will not be able to get a perfectly blue sky, but he can get a rainy picture. The psychological attitude of those involved in the shooting is very much influenced. It is not always possible to customize and arrange the participants for the shooting or, for example, to change the model's hairstyle. Artistic photography is greatly influenced by the help of a make-up artist, a thoughtful idea, etc. An experienced photographer will be able to squeeze the maximum out of the resulting situation and will never blame such a combination of circumstances.
3. Light - element both technical and natural. Light is the key to success... Light is what creates an image on film, or on a matrix, or in extreme cases, gives a summer tan. It's difficult for a photographer without light. The photographer also controls the light - he correctly positions the participants in the direction of the sun, selects the shadows. From the technical side, the photographer enjoys flash, even during the day, reflectors, softboxes, creative lighting systems. This is especially true in the studio.
3.1. Assistant photographer. I did not highlight the assistant photographer as a separate item that affects the photo, because the assistant photographer can be attributed more to the photographer who organized the photography, and since the assistant photographer is most often involved in organizing the necessary lighting, the assistant is part of the lighting system. In some cases, an assistant is indispensable. With an assistant, you can get a good photo much faster, and there is always someone to talk to :). Usually, serious shooting involves a lot of people, the so-called team of the photographer. The photographer’s team is also very, very important for creating good shots.
4. Post processing using software (for example, using Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.). It's no secret that nowadays the vast majority of photography is digital, and sometimes it requires digital processing. A lot depends on the skills of a photographer or another person to correct a frame using software. Everyone knows that from a soap dish you can “pull out” a photo no worse than from a fancy DSLR. It takes time, skill and strength.
Spoiler alert: today, harsh post processing has become a kind of scourge of photography. From any, even the most disgusting photo, you can create a 'masterpiece' by adding a million and one filters there :).
5. The lens - an indispensable tool in the hands of any photographer. A well-known proverb that the photographer buys a lens, and on delivery the camera. The lens gives exactly the picture that we see, it creates it, warps, complements, works with sharpness, GRIP and other smart things. A lot depends on the speed of its focusing and focal lengths, aperture. Therefore, the lens is so important in photography.
6. The camera. By and large, this is a black (sometimes more glamorous) box, with curtains that sometimes open to apply light to the film, matrix, etc. At what earlier, the film and the camera were also separate. Now so much attention is paid to the camera due to the fact that there is a matrix instead of a film, which has a number of characteristics that many scientists are working on, and which more people are discussing. The camera allows you to simply dock the work of the photographer, lens, flash (light) and save the image on a film or memory card.
7. Printing device. The most-final result of all the attempts of the photographer depends on him. Printers have different print quality, color profiles, this is not an unimportant moment.
A colleague provides a new service 'professional photography of pictures for replication, reproduction or printing in catalogs', can anyone be interested, details here.
8. Display. Sometimes, I would say, very often the photo does not reach the print and is shown on the display. Of course, the better the display conveys colors and shades, the better the photo will look. Millions of articles have also been written on this subject.
Such a list was compiled by me in order to show that the technique itself, namely camera and lens are not the main sources of good photos. I think many people know and understand that good pictures can also be taken on the phone.
Some useful findings:
- It is not always necessary to chase an expensive professional camera, even on the most simple camera with interchangeable lenses you can get wonderful photos. I give my examples from the most primitive and oldest 6 megapixel, slowest and very ancient SLR Nikon D40:
(EXIF see below for photos). The main advantage of interchangeable lens cameras is matrix size, and for all cropped cameras, it is almost the same, just like for full-frame cameras and cameras of a different type. In practice, you can get the same photos, especially when working at low ISO from cameras of different levels, for example with Nikon D40 и D7000, Pentax-k30 and Pentax K10, Canon 350D и Canon 60D. My examples on the ancient Canon 350D:
- It is not always justified to chase expensive high-aperture optics, even with a whale lens, you can take good pictures. Here are some examples from simple whale lenses: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (EXIF on right).
- The brand of the camera does not show the level of professionalism of the photographer. All battles about superiority Nikon \ Canon\ Pentax \ Sony \ Olympus etc. only distract from the very process of creating photos. Good photos are not Nikon D5, Canon 1Dx, but ability to manage them. I advise you to show love for good pictures instead of showing love for your brand.
- My experience of working and teaching people the basics of photography shows that a huge number of useful functions in modern cameras remains not only unclaimed, but generally not understood by beginner photographers. Therefore, in a huge number of cases, you should not buy an expensive camera, but restrict yourself to a simpler one. By the way, for this, manufacturers are not in vain dividing models into amateur, advanced, professional, top-end, flagship, etc. I advise beginners start with any cheapest SLR cameraIn any case, if the hobby for photography is claimed, the camera will have to be changed. Also, I recommend a look here.
Therefore, no matter what technique you photograph, it is important how you do it. The idea of the whole article is that not worth chasing a fancy camera and lensesOf course, the camera is also important in photographing, but the listed factors are more important aspects.
The image gallery below was shot with a very ancient camera Nikon D70 and even more ancient lens Nikon 50mm 1: 1.8 AF Nikkor (MKII, Nikon JAPAN). All photos are shown without processing. (large format can be downloaded here here):
If you still don’t believe that an expensive camera or a super-duplex lens will neither make you a professional nor help improve your pictures, pay attention to the promotions that I spend on the site:
From the actions it follows that even advanced and even professional photographers who took part in the action, many of whom I personally know, could not even approximately guess with the help of which this or that photo was obtained. And even for pictures taken with cropped camera and a 'dark' lens, users wrote for some transcendental full-frame cameras and super-fast optics. Therefore, my actions only confirm the fact that technology (namely photographic equipment) is in some cases of secondary importance. In studio shooting, some parameters of cameras and lenses are further leveled.
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Hack and predictor Aviator
Respect the work of photographers, and remember that it is a person who photographs, and the camera affects the final result almost in the last turn. If we consider camera sophistication to be the only measure of the photographer’s professionalism, then we will all fall into the trap of stupidity.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram
Arkady. Thank you for being simple and accessible, as well as sharing your experience with an open mind! If possible, please advise which DSLR you can take? Before that I photographed at Kiev-19m and Canon PowerShot A530. I still have them. I will take pictures for myself with my wife. Light weight is important, good video 720hd, quiet operation of the shutter, reliability, ease of operation. There is a lens from Kiev Arsat H 1: 2. I thought to take a used body and use this lens for now (if it fits cropped matrices) - the budget is limited to UAH 3000. I want to enjoy shooting and control the process. Thanks in advance.
Nikon 3200 or D5200.
but for 3000 hryvnias you won’t take. for 3000 you can take only d5100, though I don’t know if he writes 720 dpi.
Advise a technique that goes beyond the budget of the questioner)
For 3000 UAH you can take the Canon 1100D or Nikon D3100, these cameras are enough with the head.
Good afternoon. Arkady, which printer is better in your opinion - Epson or Kenon? They are different in the final picture. Epsons give out better colors, and canons will be sharper, more honorable. But epsons are more likely to break. And it is problematic to install the Continuous Ink Supply System on the kenon. Which one do you prefer personally? Of course, I understand that epson is better for portraits, and canon for landscapes. I really look forward to your bright thoughts.
I think the brand war is complete nonsense. All the same, you have to print in the photo lab.
Where to print is also a matter of taste. I do not impose my worldview on anyone, I just share my experience.
First, there were 2 HP - the first is the cheapest, the second is a budget photo printer - the cartridges are expensive, dry quickly, quickly run out, you need to refuel often, withstand up to 10 refills. Then there was the Epson R295, with the CISS installed. I often began to strip, periodically there were problems with the CISS - in short, a continuous headache - I got tired and took the risk of taking the L800 (a thing for home use, as it were, not cheap).
Two years, as I use Epson L800 (built-in CISS).
Ink - from DC-Tek, paper - depending on the need - more expensive / cheaper. I don't like the color rendering of the native ink. The cost price is lower than in the photo lab. I don't like the print quality in the nearby labs; moreover, it “floats”, i.e. the same photo printed on different days may have different colors.
Of the benefits:
1) always at hand
2) the quality on good paper is quite satisfactory
3) printing on CD / DVD
Minus: it is advisable to print at least once every two weeks, because after a month of inactivity, a lot of ink goes to cleaning (though not always - as luck would have it).
Sorry, my previous spam message has abandoned. Delete it after reading it.
Thank you Arkady for the site as a whole, it is very interesting and informative, the current is a pity about the canons there are few descriptions :) I myself take pictures of everything that comes to hand, this is a mobile phone and several soap dishes, etc. Until recently, photographed on the advanced soap dish Panasonic Lumix FZ7. Then the battery was covered, for a long time I photographed on a mobile phone, and it turned out that many people like the photo from the mobile. Here you can see http://blog.gfranq.com/post.116 there is a mobile phone and Panasonic, just confirms this article;)
Arkady, and the dynamic range and tonal range are two different things in photography ???
My photo teacher also said that sometimes you can shoot with a simple camera better than expensive, the main thing is what hands he got into.
I can’t understand whether it is possible to enlarge the image in the finished image. Previously, this could be done using a photo enlarger; on 9x12 photo paper, the same image could be made the way you like it. Are there any options at this time?
Thanks to everyone who can answer.
You can use cropping.
resizing, you can probably still do this with Photoshop. Is there any other way?
Good day! Do you mean crop on the camera itself? Does the quality of the image suffer?
In the chamber as well. Yes, quality suffers.
sometimes the quality of the camera can be corrected by professional photo processing
About this and is written in the article.
Arkady, tell me, do you post only original images on your site, or processed ones too? Sometimes it seems that some pictures are modified on a computer.
Hello Arkady, your site is just wonderful. But still, I am at a loss (because I don’t understand a lot of things) which camera to buy (Canon or Nikon). Therefore, I turn to you for help. I need a camera not for professional use, but just for myself (to photograph myself, my relatives and friends)). I just really want to buy a good camera to get better photos. Therefore, I really hope that you will help me decide. Thank you in advance!
Typically, the choice of brand is justified only by personal preference.
So do not even listen to advisers in this matter.
Personally, I do not agree with the canons on what the picture should look like.
Now I'm waiting for my D3200 to be brought from 18-105 and gradually recovering my lost knowledge of photography (In childhood, there were both FEDs and Zenits ...)
Pleased with your comment)))
From the age of 16 he himself photographed on a 5d FED. Later he switched to a digital camera, as it is now fashionable to call them an ultrasound (it was flattered that you can control the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings). I have grown up with this camera for a long time. I really want to purchase NIKON D3100 and with the same lens that you indicated 18-105).
Hello, I want to buy Nikon d5100 18-105mm. I remembered a lot with the help of your website (I shot on film with Canon, Minolta cameras). I learned a lot from these pages. The site is accessible, understandable, very interesting with illustrative examples. So I have such a question - is it possible to post a photo taken with an 18-105mm lens with a different focal length. I want to see how much the zoom of this lens actually brings. Let's say, for example, to shoot from the same distance a person or some object at 18mm 55mm and 105mm with this lens. On your site there are examples but from different lenses, but I would like to see from the same and the same distance. thanks
Hi Roman.
I can offer not a photo but a simulator of lenses and carcasses full-frame and cropped on the Nikon official website
http://www.nikon.ru/ru_RU/product/nikkor-lenses/simulator
Twist there are recommendations for using the simulator and saving various combinations of carcasses and lenses.
Having read the first paragraph and the paragraph.
Rusting the soul.
Klyoveznі znimochki (!)
in general, you can install a nikon lens on a canon carcass, but on the contrary - no ...
did not think about this moment before ..
Item “5. Software - Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. ” makes me very bewildered ...
First, it should, for that matter, be called “5. software skills - Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. ”. Otherwise, it turns out that Photoshop gives images better than Lightroom or vice versa ...
Secondly, if “Who shoots on film is lucky, they don’t need to sit at the computer for hours and do magic on photographs”, then why should “digital cameras” do this? The image from the film differs from the image from the matrix in essence only in noise. If we believe that a frame from film does not need processing, then a digital one does too. If we consider it obligatory to process images of digital cameras, then we shove the film into the same Photoshop.
Fixed
A good motivational article for beginners ... But certainly not without tricks.
Nikon D40 is one of the few cameras that have excellent color reproduction, and it’s not easy you chose it :) Yes, it is old and is suitable for portraits (my opinion) where there is time and there is no place for rushing.
And so ask portraitists how much they suffer in post-production to get good colors (especially skin) ... with these very sophisticated cameras ...
Skinton is a tricky business :)
"And so ask portraitists how much they suffer in post-production to get good colors (especially skin) ... with these very sophisticated cameras ..."
=======================
ask-answer. on the D800e, skinton requires the most severe post-processing. I use it in the studio only if the makeup artist stuccoed the skin, there is no difference :))))
on kenon 5Dmk3 - I process the skin tone for 3-5 minutes, in fact it is already ready-made directly from the RAV. I spend more time on correcting skin defects.
Please fill in two ditches and write a link so that everyone can see it.
what for??? anyone who needs it will find in Google a bunch of paired RAVs. everything has long been laid out in all conceivable combinations.
who don’t need it, it’s useless to spread it :))))))) he still can’t convince him of anything.
so my simple advice is to make YOUR paired rabbits and draw YOUR conclusions))))
I made my conclusions. this is my IMHO, I do not pretend to the truth! )))
draining counted
+1
“And you have nothing! You are a beggar! " ©
Arkady, at first I wanted to ask which lens you took this photo for, but then I began to guess. In the photo, where a girl in white clothes sits on stones on the seashore, is the bokeh effect made in the photo editor?
And I think, what’s the whole story, everything’s all the same. In me, fingers are already scooping up for Mark the third, but in my hands, the road is simply a road. Not an estimate.
Mi so bazhaєmo achieve success, and in one day ... The process is forgotten, as a rule, meaningful to the result.
Think about it, hto in your right having reached success. As everything was repaired, as the new pardons robbed - they comprehended and corrected, as they quieted us for the last time. It’s okay to guess everything at once.
Here they brought the butt of cheap and expensive cars. Greatly chic Audi, stealing for the budgetary Tavria, but I am tempted to go myself to my first cheap Tavria and I guess I love and price the current car, maybe, I know how that boo ...
Dosvid, that is, to be left behind with us for all our lives, all the way to the hello zdobuti.
I admit that right now, a budgetary mirror can have all the necessary functions for a beginner. I want to be able to buy a professional camera, but I won’t be able to rob me.
Fotografuvati on a tin, all on me, too busy. Minimum maє buti.
By the way, I at one time preferred kenon to nikon because of the working interval (well, I just really VERY wanted to indulge in manual optics :)) but right now for some reason I’m thinking more and more about mirrorless
I don’t boast (almost), here is a photo taken on a mobile phone (LG, 5 Mp)
Oleg, and here there’s nothing to brag about, the details are killed to death. The shot is very boring.
What good is it here? Let's not talk about quality, it's still a phone.
But what is interesting about him?
soap, there is soap)))
The picture, IMHO, is not bad, but because of the very poor quality, looking at it is just painful.
“Today, harsh post-processing of photos has become a kind of scourge of photography. From any, even the most disgusting photo, you can create a 'masterpiece' by adding a million and one filters :). ”
I fundamentally disagree. Yes there is such a thing as post processing, but in the professional world, as a rule, photos do not work with PHOTOS, but designers.
A talented photographer is not at all obligated to take photos in editors for weeks, this is insanity.
A photographer must take a picture beautifully and soulfully. This is his main task. Even at the time of the film, famous photographers went to film development to people who knew how to do it at a high level.
The same Yuri Afanasyev told how he gave his film for development to such people.
And most importantly, if you remove the g ... o and even wrap it in the most beautiful wrapper, it will still remain g ... oh.
meanwhile, the Prism app is gaining popularity
“A talented photographer doesn't have to do photoshopping at all”
I can imagine how a wedding bombila gives raw Ravas to a customer with the words: I am a talented photographer, so fuck ... do it any way you want ...
“I am a talented photographer, so fuck .. handle it any way you want…” - that's right! But development is not included in processing! Developing is part of the shoot! But covering up pimples is not for a photographer!
Hello! There is a desire to replace your Nikita D90 camera lens with something more serious with blurring the foreground and foreground in the budget series. Can you advise something? And then my head is spinning, the price for the desired bites, your opinion is interesting .. I'm a beginner in this matter)
Name your budget, then tell you.
Let's just say the middle class)
I wanted to clarify, photograph portraits, love stories, children, families, pregnant women, sea street ... I don't know, 35 or 50 ....
By the way, I recently found a miracle of your site, I read excitedly, though))))))
Thank you very much for a lot of useful information, ... went into study)
Arkady, good afternoon! To begin with, I want to express my gratitude to you for such a wonderful site, where I, as a beginner in this business, can get any available and understandable information)
I’ve bought a d5200 for myself so far, and I already understand that this is not enough, and that I need to grow further and study on this carcass in different conditions, modes) After a month I’m not happy with what I admired at the time of purchase)
The question is this. I certainly agree that it’s not the camera, but still, the higher its potential, the better, and the opportunities are higher.
In Tallinn, I was photographed on the D610, it’s in the shade, and the quality is very good. https://pp.vk.me/c630118/v630118742/2e8c5/-I3xf7L5GSA.jpg
You can zoom in as much as you like (not in the browser), and noises 0, the quality does not suffer, the colors are very soft. Is it realistic to take a similar and even better photo in the D5200 if you have an expensive aperture lens and straight hands with photoshop in similar conditions? Or is the camera factor (especially with a full frame) more important here and the D5200 will not pull?) Thanks in advance !: )
Of course available. With a good lens and the right settings, you can pull out anything with the d5200.
Good day! Arkady and the patrons of this wonderful site. I ask for your help. I want (yes, now I remember 2010-2012, when everyone absolutely wanted to be photographers) to become a good photographer. All my conscious life I took pictures exclusively on the phone, sometimes on a soap box. But now I have an irresistible desire to photograph on a SLR. But since I don’t have a large budget, I have a dilemma about the lens. I have finally made sure that I want a nikon d3100. But what about the lens? I read that cetaceans are not very good. But good glasses are not worth a lot of money. So where do you start? There is an option to get a Promaster 200mm 3.3 \ 22 lens, and I also have my father's Helios 44m lying around (2 58 seems to be). Do I have enough of this kit to understand whether I should deal with photos at a professional level or all the same be limited to a phone and a soap box? Help me please.
An example of my work shot on an iPhone 4c. The quality of the photo is not very, as I copy from social networks.
I forgot to say. I like to photograph mainly landscapes and architecture. Few people when fotkal.
Look for any Zenith. The mirror is natural. But the mirrorless will go.
Excuse me, but here in my opinion there is a typo: “The gallery below was taken with a very ancient camera Nikon D70 and an even more ancient CAMERA Nikon 50mm 1: 1.8 AF Nikkor (MKII, Nikon JAPAN)”. Maybe on a Nikon 50mm 1: 1.8 AF nikkor lens? P.S. my wife has nikon 3200, bought myself not long ago nikon d90 (carcass) for 200 euros with mileage 7500 and I'm very happy))