Do You Need an Expensive Camera to Make Good Photographs?



Alabama Sunrise; From my Hotel Window with a Canon S90
Point-and-Shoot Camera

www.dennismook.com

Do you need an expensive camera in order to make good photographs?  Do you need to spend a lot of money in order to make images that capture the mood of a place to which you may have traveled, a family event that is important, a beautiful sunset, a close-up of a flower in your garden or just a wonderful image of your husband or wife or son or daughter?  The answer is no.

I was reading one of the national photographic magazines and saw an article on how a climber took only a very small point-and-shoot camera with him on his climb in order to save weight.  He brought back exquisite images.  That got me thinking about how many times I have been asked, after someone has viewed one of my images, "What kind of camera do you use?"  With few exceptions, it doesn't matter.  Ninety-nine percent of the cameras out there today are better than 95% of the people who use them.  That includes me! 

I love using a small, point-and-shoot camera instead of one of my big, heavy DSLRs.  Why?  It is small, lightweight, can be fully automatic if I wish and the limitations of the small camera somewhat frees up my mind by reducing too many lens and other choices when making images.  The limitations of a small camera also challenges me to make excellent images with the small device. And you know what?  You can make excellent images with a small, basic camera.  The only time you can't make the images you want is when the technology of the small camera limits you.  For example, you can't easily photograph the Milky Way with a point-and-shoot.  I didn't say you can't; you can't easily.  The technology and lenses built into point-and-shoot cameras are very advanced and of very high quality.

Many of you who view this blog have been recipients of my Sunday Afternoon Photo.  For those of you who are not aware of the Sunday Afternoon Photo, I have been sending out an interesting or pleasing photograph to a large group by email every Sunday afternoon since 2002.  I continue to do it because I regularly receive feedback that that photograph each week seems to make a small difference in their lives.  Well, many of those photographs over the years have been taken with a simple point-and-shoot camera.  Proof, that if you are careful, deliberate and armed with some basic photographic knowledge, you can make images that are extraordinary.  If they weren't some of my best work, I would never send them out to so many individuals.

Waikiki Beach; Canon G11

So, I thought I would post a few blog entries on making better photographs with your point-and-shoot camera, so if you are interested, you may be able to improve your photography.


The first thing I would say is that you have to want to make better images.  Without the desire, you might as well just continue to take the pictures you have in the past.  If you are not serious about improving your photography, stop now and go read something that really interests you.

Second, get your owner's manual out, sit down alone and when it is quiet and with your camera in your lap, and read your owner's manual from front to back, trying out the different settings as you read.  You need to really understand your camera's settings, controls and capabilities.  You need to be familiar enough with your chosen instrument that you don't have to hunt to find a setting to change if you see something on your LCD that doesn't look right about the image you just took.  You have to know its capabilities before you try to make an image with it.  If you don't understand something about your camera or what's in the manual, feel free to email me and I can help you understand about your camera and about your photography.  A lot of people helped me along my way, and I feel it is important to me to spread the knowledge and experience I have had over the past 44 years.


Third, I would recommend you buy some educational materials in the form of some inexpensive books to which you can refer which will also give you a lot more information that I can through this blog.  The first one is by photographer Nick Kelsh entitled, "How to Photograph Your Life."  This is an excellent book.  The photographer/author takes you through the basics of cameras, light, all kinds of events one would want to record and writes in very direct, simple terms so everyone can easily understand.  He shows you by illustration the "wrong" way as well as the "right" way.  The wrong way is the way most everyone does it.  I have probably bought 20 of these books over the years to give away.  I believe the book is now out of print but copies can be found through Amazon.com and other vendors.

Another inexpensive book that may bring value to you is entitled, "Low Cost High Impact Photography" by Steve Johnson.  The author says this book is for those who want to move past the simple snapshot.  I have taken a preliminary look at this book and it appears to me that it could bring real value to you as one who wants to improve his or her photography with inexpensive cameras.  This book, in Kindle form, can be purchased at Amazon.com for $0.99.  I don't believe you can get a better value than that.


Dallas, Texas Skyline at Sunrise: Canon S95

Fourth, I would advise you to consciously look at as many published photographs as you can.  You look at them now, but you may not be "seeing" them in a technical sense.  Everywhere you look, there are high quality photographs that have been published because they are good. 



Get some photography books by the masters of the past or by contemporary photographers you may admire.  If you don't know any photographers names, pick up magazines, look at advertisements on store windows, etc.  Look at the direction of the light, the quality of the light, the color of the light, the shadows (are they black and have sharp edges or do they have detail and soft edges), textures, composition, time of day, colors, contrast, repetitive patterns, etc.  Is there an element that draws your eye into the frame?  What are the expressions on the faces?  What is the point of view of the photographer?  Is the photographer down on the ground to photograph a baby or small child or up high to look down on a group of people?  All of those items are important to getting better images.  Look and see.  Look and see.  Look and see everything you can discern about a particular photograph, especially from photographers you may admire.

That is enough for today.  More tomorrow.  Again, if I can help you in any way in bettering your images, I am certainly willing to share my knowledge.

By the way, all the images today were taken with point-and-shoot cameras, handheld on the Program (P) mode.  It can't get any easier than that.

Thanks for looking.

Enjoy!
Dennis Mook