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
Thank you)))) Very informative and, as for me, “with a soul”. Nice to read.
Although I’m not a photographer, I also shot on film, on soap dishes, on mobile phones and on digital SLRs.
And my personal experience is that if you take pictures like “me and my cat”, then of course it doesn't matter what to shoot, you can even take a tin can.
But you need something more complex (for example, macro photography, or shooting in low light, etc.), then a lot depends on the technique, and no photographer can help.
I agree that the technique is very important. But an intelligent and experienced person is needed to correctly apply this technique :)
All right! I support!
Thank you!
A very good article, without further ado, briefly and clearly.
Great article, just choose a camera!
I absolutely agree with you. I took photos earlier only on soap dishes. 2 weeks ago I purchased a Nikon D7200 crop camera. I'm studying. Like. It opens up more possibilities, especially when shooting at night. I would like a full frame, but somehow a little expensive, but so far there is nothing to it. If it drags on, then I'll take it full-frame later (God willing) :)
Hello. I completely agree with you that the camera is just a tool in the hands of the person who holds it. It all depends on the person, on his skill and the breadth of his inner world, which he tries to express through photography, his craving for beauty. So not in a "cool" apparatus, but in the person who holds it. I started myself at Smena 8M, Willia, Zenit, and Kiev 19. Now I have a NIKON D5300. And in front there are still so many unexplored, hidden possibilities that such pleasure is breathtaking. You need to be creative in this, and not beat “on the machine”. As one person used to say - learn the hardware, and use all its technical capabilities to the fullest, and do not stupidly rely on auto-software.
I sincerely thank you for the article! Sometimes, to understand simple things, we spend too much time looking for the “magic pill”. And first you need to learn the basics.
But it is interesting ... Does the work of an assistant give an opportunity to advance the assistant himself technically and creatively?
Motivating and positive article. Thank you so much for the illustrative examples of photography. I would never have thought that such beautiful photographs can be taken with old cameras.
Hello
I am glad that I got on your site - I helped a lot in everything. I bought myself a Nikon D3500 and now I have a question - I have a Hanimar Tele-Lens 200mm 4.5 / M42 - I shot with it at Zenith. Will it work with an adapter with a lens in manual mode? Or should I think about Lushnikov's Dandelion? Thanks in advance.
Will work, only without metering.
A cheap adapter with a lens is evil - it washes the picture a lot. If you want to unleash the potential of the lens and have infinity, you need to 'saw through' the lens / adapter, or change the device - take it with a smaller focal length.
PS an expensive adapter with gluing lenses also spoils the picture, but not as much as a simple lens.
It's true. In general, this Hanimar will cost less than a normal adapter. There are a lot of two hundred suitable ones with a Nikon bayonet, you can take something better. The main thing is to avoid these khanimex-beroflexes, because their quality is garbage.
And which lens was used in the above photos?
On each photo below, it is written in large letters on what was shot - the camera, the lens, the shooting parameters (well, except maybe the pictures from the Canon 350D).
Good day! I respect Arkady very much, but it is with this article that I disagree fundamentally. The primary role in photography at the moment is played by the equipment of the camera. I generally do not recognize entry-level cameras, because the photographer rests on a kind of threshold that prevents the photographer from developing and limits his possibilities. If you buy a camera, then only an advanced level is not lower than Nikon D7000 in the Nikon system and not lower than Canon 60d in the Canon system. With such cameras you can shoot anywhere and with any weather conditions without restrictions.
I’m silent at the expense of the phone and don’t see it as a shooting tool, just try to shoot the night landscape on the phone because of the tiny matrix. You will get such digital noise that your mother doesn’t worry. In the digital age, the camera and its technical capabilities play a paramount role. Having an advanced camera, you can shoot absolutely any photo task without any restrictions. When I started shooting on film, it was exactly 99% that it depended on the photographer without the right to make mistakes. I hope you understand me correctly. Otherwise, Arkady Shapoval is 100% right, I respect him very much and I follow him on social networks.
Your position also has the right to be.
I can give you as a counterargument thousands of disgusting pictures taken with professional cameras with professional lenses and thousands of wonderful works made with budget cameras with amateur lenses. Do not deify the technique.
A good photograph is light, camera angle, composition, working on an idea. Then - processing. And only then is it already equipment, and the camera goes somewhere after the lens, tripod and mobile light. Because when buying a more expensive camera, the photographer knows why he does it and what exactly he came up against.
Does the camera help you lift your ass and go shoot the sunrise or sunset? Fall on the grass, possibly in a puddle or climb a tree? Go abroad, in the end, to cross there somewhere on a volcano or in the jungle? Only a tripod will help you more in the fight against blur and noise more than an expensive camera compared to a budget one.
Yes, I now understand that it’s easier for me to shove into the pool or crawl out into the rain, onto the beach in the sand or into the ocean splashes with a waterproof camera, but how many extreme photos do I have? Yes, focus will save somewhere, especially on fast-moving objects. Somewhere a larger series will be especially successful. But everything else, excuse me, is my talent or my plug.
Good afternoon! I want to ask for advice, my daughter is getting married, my wife invited my friend to take pictures, she is a professional photographer, but I would like to take photographs of my daughter’s wedding, I only have Nikon D3100 with a Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S lens Nikkor and Nikon sb 400 flash, give some advice, you can get something else, for example, a flash is more powerful or a lens, say 18-105, I do not plan big expenses because the wedding itself is already an extremely costly affair.
18-105 will completely cover the entire range of wedding photos, and preliminary practice will help you make good photos so that you better feel the lens and its capabilities. It would be nice to practice with a fastened flash, then you will be less lost in the festive turmoil. Head flashes up and to the side, with a visor and without, how much to make a correction, on which aperture and focal point to shoot a group portrait, on which genre - all this should be honed before shooting. You can practice at any other event to work well on your own.
Hello. Your kit will make a good photo on the street - the spaciousness will give you the opportunity to “crop with your feet”, and in the case of a clear finding of the persons being filmed in the shade, it will be possible to highlight “head-on” the 400th. Indoors, the possibility of framing will decrease, by 50-k only close-ups, here, of course, at least 18-105 (or even 18-55, for wide angles) did not interfere, but the problem is in the light; if the ceilings are not very high and white tones - you are lucky, you can also get good pictures with your flash, aiming at the ceiling (a flash in the forehead will give ugly results). If the ceilings are black, the flash power may not be enough, and then you will have to fight for the color - it will be “dirty”. I think that your set will be enough, a friend will insure, will give, incl. and general plans.
Thank you for the answer, well, you can’t twist the sb 400 to the sides and its power, if you shoot from five to six meters on the aperture of 5,6, let's say I doubt if it’s enough, I don’t know what is better to buy for example used sb 600 and try shoot fifty dollars or still buy the same 18-105 and shoot with sb 400.
The problem is that I don’t know what ceilings, walls and everything else is in the registry office, children, thanks at least a month before the wedding reported this, the future husband of the daughter has no one but her mother, and she is a pensioner, powerful pensions in Ukraine, already 2000 UAH., therefore, all the questions about organizing a wedding are with my wife and now it’s not quite time to buy expensive photo equipment, so I’m trying to somehow manage to get by at the very least, and I would very much like to make my daughter’s wedding photo myself.
My ceilings in the apartment are not white, I stuck a cardboard card on sb 400 it turns out somehow.
Flash in the face photos are only appropriate if you have perfect makeup that creates volume on the cheekbones, but this is also a completely frontal shot. The light source is small, the light is harsh, it still gets a greasy shine, and the face itself becomes flat. Try less flash, even with too much direct light on the card.
Well, framing is not very successful, the eye goes along the wall, stumbles upon the portrait, behind which the frame ends, it is worth leaving more space behind the portrait for symmetry (well, or the right half should be much “heavier” to balance the right one). And too little space remains above. Already either we cut along the line of the forehead, but then the frame is even larger, or we leave more space. No offense, just advice.
Regarding the choice ... Difficult, of course. If you owned your fifty dollars flawlessly, knew that you can easily move from place to place and can shoot in large areas, then yes, the flash will decide. And in your situation, the lens is more useful, but, again, practice before the wedding, at least a few days of intensive filming.
For example:
https://videohive.img.customer.envatousercontent.com/files/194402209/preview.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=crop&crop=top&max-h=8000&max-w=590&s=b017ca8de81061a1d53713c7d7796096
https://previews.123rf.com/images/lenetssergey/lenetssergey1810/lenetssergey181000397/110206980-young-woman-sitting-on-the-floor-near-wall-young-woman.jpg
No offense, I’m not a photographer, I didn’t shoot it with a flash on the forehead, it’s just a grayish ceiling and LED lamps are embedded in it.
I put a narrow burdock on sat400 - approx. 3cm high (and 6cm wide, the width of the flash) and forward, he did not hit hard, only removed the shadows under the eyes, chin from the upper light, you seem to have more burdocks. With regards to your question from 14:38 - 400th power is enough for 5-6 meters in the daytime and in the hall from low ceilings, it is better to buy 18-105 (55) for reportage shots.
Roman, thanks for the advice, I went to my mom, her ceilings are white, it turned out that way.
Fine. There is no burdock?
Yes, without burdock.
Tell me a dark spot on the glass of the flash is this a defect or just such a photo happened?
Yes, you do not buy a flash, buy a better lens, but only with a fifty dollars, without a wide angle you will not get out at a wedding.
Defect. Burnt flash
You didn't wear anything on it? Films, filters cheap? Good filters keep puff normally, bad ones burn, leaving this on the glass.
Got it, thanks, but if you add 35 mm to a fifty dollars, that's enough?
The difference is not so great, and still have to shoot back and forth. 18-105 you wield constantly from width to a decent television range. 50 set only when you need beautiful portraits with bokeh and you can afford to change the glass, put the bride and groom guests, then shoot and reportage driven 18-105.
I had a D3100. Taking pictures of people indoors without a flash is extremely difficult. But if the flash with an umbrella on a tripod, somewhere in the corner. With any lens you can get very good shots. Or to the ceiling / walls, it’s not scary that it’s not white.
Tell me, but it makes sense to change the d3100 to d90, the d90 is sold from 18-105, though my d3100 has a low mileage of about 6K.
I don’t see the point. If we change, then at least d7000
It is clear, and which of the zooms is better to take: 18-70, 18-105, 18-140 or some other?
Hello, I bought 18-105, unfortunately I didn’t get any offers in my hometown, so I had to take it through the mail, it seemed that with the same aperture at fifty dollars the faces are sharper than 18-105, should it be or not? Here is a photo taken 18-105.
It should be so. Constant AF lenses are generally sharper than zooms. Of course, there are sharp zooms, but in the general case - so. Otherwise, no one would use fixes =)