"A Lesser Photographer Manifesto" Changed My Outlook On Photography

Here's a link to what I consider the most important article I ever read on photography.

A Lesser Photographer Manifesto

In short, he's telling photographers to create limitations with a cheaper camera and it will improve their art. I only agree with that to a certain point. We live in an ever changing world where you can do incredible things with technology. If it doesn't break your budget and you want to try whatever technical gadget, I say go for it. The thing is, you have to realize that it probably isn't going to improve your game that much or help you enjoy photography more.

Sports and wildlife photography are the exceptions to this rule and they're some of the most appreciated photos. If you're trying to get great photos in poor light, you're going to have to spend some money. It's that simple.

Then, there's the matter of glass. Great lenses make a difference. That's just that simple too. You can still get a great photo without them, but not consistently.

The manifesto's biggest lesson though is that you can use constraints instead of complaining about them. Exhausting the possibilities with the gear you have can be a great teacher too.

Every photographer should at least read  A Lesser Photographer Manifesto and consider some of the points, especially beginners or those who aren't happy with the results from the gear they have.

The Right Light For Photography

The most common complaint for photographers is that the light is just never "right". Photography is nothing more than capturing light, so "the right light" is really important. Many times the complaint is valid. If you would like to increase your chances for great photographs, don't wait for "the right light", shoot whatever subject is right for the light that you have.

As amateurs, we're not bound to a customer who wants a specific shot. It's ok to spend time looking for other subjects when our goal photo is just not attainable. Here are some general guidelines for what to shoot in what light. As amateurs, there's no real benefit to staying with one style of photography, so adding more to what you shoot to suit change light removes those limits.

The Golden Hours

Added note - sunsets are better with something of interest in them. 

The "golden hours" are the hour before and after a sunrise or sunset. the angle of light at these hours is always the most warm and dramatic. If you want more interesting photos, don't shoot sunrises and sunsets, shoot the landscapes that are illuminated by them. 

For great landscape photography, the golden hours are a must because this is when the best photos are taken. If you're going to take great landscapes, you need to work in these hours. That means rising early and missing supper in most cases. It's kind of been a turn-off for landscape photography for me during times when I'm just plain lazy. 

For me, limiting my photography to only the 4 golden hours everyday, just isn't practicle.

Cloudy Days

Cloudy days make bring out colors and detail due to lack of shadows.

I live in Ohio and there are so many cloudy that waiting on "the right light" is common for landscape photography. One solution is to take the photo anyhow, dramatize the clouds if possible, and convert to black and white. It can have a nice look, but it's obvious that you're making up for the lack of "the right light". 

A better solution is to switch to macro photography or to photography that will not include the sky. Clouds diffuse light and that allows for richer colors and reduced contrast. Flowers and anything with color have an entirely different look than they would on a sunny day. 

But what if it's windy and the low light makes fast shutter speeds impossible. Flowers and other small objects will blur due to the movement of the wind. Portraits are a good option. So are other still life images that benefit from color saturation and low contrast. Outdoor markets and festivals come to mind for a good source of images on a cloudy day. 

Don't forget to switch your white balance to the cloudy day setting. It will give a warming effect to your photos.

Direct Light

Direct sunlight adds to interesting architecture like this office shaped like basket.

Direct sun is great for anything that requires fast shutter speeds. Sporting events are the first things that come to mind. Street photography is another option. 

Direct light brings out the texture of objects. If the direct light is low, it elongates shadows giving an interesting effect to any architecture or object. 

Direct light gives a dramatic look to photos with the harsh glow it produces. People's eyes tend to squint giving their photos a sense of intensity.

Night Photography

Night photography is tricky, but worth the effort. Everything changes at night.

Night photography is a light situation that forces a photographer into bend to the light's will. There is less off it, so subjects are more limited or you need to illuminate it with your own lighting. 

It's easy to get carried away with gear acquisition with night photography. As much as I dislike carrying tripods, they are the most important piece of gear for the night. Inexpensive cameras with slow lenses can do very well if the camera is stable. If you lack a tripod, just look for highly illuminated subjects like signs and lit streets. 

Always Be Shooting

I think I've covered most lighting situations that can be encountered and they encompass all 24 hours of the day. The light may not be right for what you initially intend to photograph, but it's always right for something else. It's just a matter of knowing what to look for. 

The Forbidden Colored Camera

Incredibly, the professional photography world mocks and belittles the colored camera. I find it so odd that a profession that is in the art realm would take offense to a colorful camera. The claim is that the color will not change the quality of the image that it produces. Ok, they got me there. The colored camera can open doors, make a child more likely to small, and cause those being photographed to smile just a little more and not take the situation so seriously.

Photographer with the taboo red Nikon superzoom camera. 

The photo above is a young lady with a red Nikon superzoom. Would a pilot be more open to her with her little amateur camera or a big Canon 5D with a mega-lens on it? My money would be on the shiny red camera. It looks more fun and less intimidating than that of the typical professional. Not to mention, in skilled hands, it's capable of very good photos.

It's true, a black one will take technically the same photos, but the red one will change the mood of the shoot. In photography where no human subject is involved, any color will do, but if you're working with people, some color can actually do a little bit to change the attitudes of people.

Colored cameras are a marketing ploy, but that same emotion they're pulling from the buyer works on those photographed with it too. If you have or want a colored camera, get one! Don't let a pro tell you differently. If you're drawn to them, appearance is one more thing to aid in figuring out what type of camera to buy.

If you like the look of this camera, it's a really good 30x zoom from Nikon at an affordable price.

Juxtaposition. A Big Word For A Simple Concept

Juxtaposition is just another term that means that a photography has things in position that make sense. As a photographer, we're trying to put together an image that draws interest and juxtaposition is one way of doing that. To find a good juxtaposition, you have to work at it and look for it.

Finding things that just fit together is how we find a good juxtaposition. It's rare and fun when we find words that make an obvious juxtaposition for us.

Sun rays and the Sunoco sign just go together. 

NASA airplane parked next to a Travelodge Motel. Extreme traveling.

Juxtaposition doesn't always have to be something witty and humorous. Those rare finds just emphasize the point that adding meaningful things together add value to the photo by making it more interesting. In this photo, I used the leading line of a fence rail to a woman whose watching the waterfall. This addition wasn't so much that it made the photo to busy and it told the story that people come to this enjoy this waterfall often.

A lady enjoys the calming power of a waterfall at Chagrin Falls, Ohio. 

Noticing a good juxtaposition comes from being out there taking photos. They just happen and you train your eye to look for them. They can be forced for posed photos, but it's usually so obvious to the viewer that they it may actually distract them. It can also be found by working a subject until you find one or waiting for one to occur, such as a person or animal walking into the scene.

Great photos tell stories and juxtaposition is major tool for telling the story or creating a scene for the viewer to make their own. Enjoy finding them as you would enjoy treasure in a treasure hunt.

There Is Always Something To Photograph If You Look Hard Enough

I went to a groundbreaking ceremony for a project in my town that I really don't support. A group of wealthy people have partnered with people trying to get rich quick(politicians) and they're using their money and public money to wipe out some prime parking spots for a park. They're proud of themselves and this groundbreaking ceremony was a bit to let them to the public just how proud of themselves they are.

This group of suits is quite possibly the most boring group I've ever been in the company of. They're so boring that they bore each other. I used this ceremony as a test to see if I could get any photo that wasn't what I consider boring.

I found this guy in a suit looking intensely interested, but fidgeting with his hands behind his back to fight the boredom. He's the biggest of the big money in town too. More money's pass through those hands than anyone else in town, yet he was standing there suffering the BS like everyone else. I was lucky having a camera to look intensely interested with.

Hands Fidgeting To Fight Boredom

It was shot in intense sunlight and a conversion to black and white brings out the texture in the suit and hands. 

You can find interesting subjects with a story anywhere.

How To Use Criticism To Improve Your Photography

Photography criticism is a complex arena of thought. Whether a person enjoys a photo or not is emotionally based opinion in most cases and the audience that is looking at the photo is important. Placing an image on the Internet makes it available to many, but only a few may see it and it is difficult to know even who that audience is. There are some general ways to draw information from the criticism(good and bad) That can help a photographer improve.

Family And Friends

Your family and friends generally will not tell you if a photo is bad. It's far to easy just to compliment you and avoid the risk of harming a relationship over a simple photo. If they are a photographer too, they may offer some criticism, but it's still really tough.

One indicator that you've done well is when they ask for a copy of the photo, especially if it involves them paying for it. If they're willing to part with money, even a small amount, that at least shows interest in the photo. That interest may only be of a personal level though and may only indicate that the subject alone is the reason for their interest. Even so, the subject is the most important part of the photo.

Photography Teachers And Other Professionals

Criticism from photography professionals can be some of the best or worst that that you'll get. It depends on the person and their agenda. There is no possible way to teach without criticizing a student, but that criticism should only be constructive. By constructive, I mean that the student needs to be told what they could do differently to achieve better results.

Constructive criticism from professionals is rare because it takes their time and effort. Professionals do photography to earn a living and many don't make much money doing it. Unless their earning money from giving lessons, telling you how to do their job isn't going to pay the rent. If they're giving you constructive criticism, value it because something sparked their interest enough to make mention of your work.

Photography Forums

This is possibly the worst place to get criticism in my opinion. Anyone who's found their way to a the forum you're on was probably much like you and looking for answers to photography questions. They were looking to share their work and learn from others. Photography forums are the path of least resistance to that. 

People get addicted to the conversations and feel the need to give their input on everything, whether they know about it or not. I've seen very involved posts of someones opinion of a camera and they never even held that model of camera. I've seen photos that I thought were very good get scathing non-constructive criticism from a forum member, only to notice later that there it was nothing more than was revenge for a negative comment.

Most forums are free or cheap and worth every cent. 

Flickr And Other Sharing Sites

Flickr and other photo sharing sights offer an interesting perspective. It's not just photographers that go there like a photography forum. All types of visitors visit. The attitude is much more relaxed as visitors scroll through an endless stream of photos. If they land on yours and take the time to even like it, you know that at least you created a photo that grabbed their attention in some way. 

A Flickr success doesn't mean that the photo is a great photo, it simply means that attention was grabbed. People tend to like photos that they have a connection too. A poor quality photo here that reminds many people of something the like or experienced will do very well. It may have been "starred" for that reason alone.

My mindset is that photography is about sharing your vision of a split second in time. If Flickr helped you do that and the photo was grabbing enough to make it happen many times on that platform, it means you had at least a good concept. It may also mean that the photo had the right keywords and followed all of the platform's rules to get noticed frequently so consider this and don't get discouraged unless your view count is very high, but there is little action taking place with the photo. If that is the case, try some new ideas to see if the situation changes. 

Your Own Blog

Starting your own website or blog can be a good indicator of how good your photos are, but only after the technical aspects are mastered. It takes time to get the website ranked and there is quite a bit to learn about how to do that.

If you can manage to follow the directions at one of the free sites, like Tumblr or Blogger, it's easy to get started. This allows you to interact at many different levels. The website should be referenced wherever possible. On forums and social media, drop a link whenever it makes sense to do so.

The information gathered from the website will tell where interests are when they find the site, how long they stay on the site, and how they find your photos. If you're trying to gauge your photos by this type of information, a website is the way to go.

I've always thought the ultimate compliment one can give a photo is to buy it. Nothing says, "I like your work.", like a customer willing to put down their hard earned money for it. If e-commerce on your website just isn't your thing, give them away with a Creative Commons license. I've known a few photographers that have become well known just because of their generous licensing found on their website.

Art Exhibits

I wish I had experience with an art exhibit, but I don't. This is one on my bucket list. In order to sell photos at an art exhibit, a photographer needs to invest his money and this means you need the confidence that you'll sell enough photos to recoup that money. There is usually an entry fee and the photos need to be mounted and framed. I think this is the best goal for testing your own self-confidence and selling photos at an art exhibit would put you in a competitive sales situation with other photographers of the same confidence level.

Use Criticism Wisely And Enjoy Photography No Matter What

Learning to use criticism to improve your photography should improve your photos, not discourage your photography endeavors. Pick the most constructive criticism and continue taking and sharing photos no matter what your critics say. Some truly are out to discourage you!

Professional photographers have the edge in that they have to continue no matter what critics say. An amateur should have the same mindset. Those who do well in any endeavor tend to do it just because they love it and feel the need to practice their art no matter what. 

The Amazing Power Of Superzooms

This video was shot on a cloudy day from a mono pod with a Canon SX50 super zoom. It's not a great video, but good enough to demonstrate the power of a super zoom and the numerous opportunities that such a camera gives for a low price.

While the zoom power of the lens is incredible for a camera that costs less than $400, note the numerous photo opportunities that can be taken. The steeple, the factory, the clock on the courthouse, the list goes on. I that same inexpensive little camera, I can get interesting closeup shots of the old tombstones too.

Of course, the quality of the image is not going to be as high it would be if I used a DSLR with lenses that would cost many thousands of dollars, but I can still take very good images that allow creativity to flow with ease.

I only use my Canon SX50 as an example because that is what I own. There are many other super zoom cameras that are better suited to you. All the major manufacturers have one. I bought my daughter a Panasonic FX70 that is highly comparable. It's lacking a swivel viewfinder which I prefer, the menu system is different from what I'm accustomed to, and it's a larger camera. It's really just a matter of personal preference.

The downside to the super zoom cameras are that they are lacking compared to higher quality cameras. Good lighting is always preferred for super zoom as their low-light performance just isn't that great. This can be overcome with a tripod and longer exposure times. The super zoom lens distortion is more noticeable and it's not uncommon for the camera to produce more noise.

I've found that Photoshop can correct many of the shortcomings of a super zoom, even the lens distortion. Better in-camera photos are always a plus, but digital editing is one way to make due. The skills learned transfer to any camera later too. Even very high end cameras produce images that benefit from digital editing skills.

Opinions Of Heavily Edited Photos

Like so many discussions on what is good/bad photography, Photoshop and other digital manipulation is a frequent discussion. I look at the degree of manipulation(or lack thereof) to be a photography style. When done will, it's beautiful art. I'm not much of an artist and it's not uncommon for me to not do well with heavy manipulation. I've learned to strive for getting the photo as close to how I seen it in my mind's eye as I can, then leave it at that. To much is always bad for me, a little is a huge improvement from straight out of the camera.

For those that hate the over-processed look, I find their comments to seem to stem from different core problems. Some say they hate it because they can't achieve professional results themselves. It's easy to point out some poorly done editing for them to attempt to prove their point that all heavy manipulation is bad. For others, they just prefer what they're used to seeing come out of a camera and anything else just doesn't look right to them. I'd say for either that they just haven't learned to appreciate the art form.

Heavily Photoshopped Photo Of A Tree In A Field

Ben Long, a favorite photographer and teacher of mine, sums it up nicely by pointing out that all photos are manipulated. From start to finish, photos are a manipulated frozen moment in time. If you don't like photo manipulation at all, you don't really like photography at all.

Another photographer I strongly admire, Ansel Adams, was very adamant that the darkroom was just as important as the camera. Here is a nice summation of a few of Ansel Adams lessons explaining how he approached the creative process. Mr. Adams would be a Photoshop master if given the technology that we have today.

I would agree that if you're trying for a standardized look, getting the image created to the best possible quality in-camera is something to strive for. Once mastered, great in-camera photography skills will give a portfolio a consistent quality look and feel. It is much easier to perfect this standard look by letting the camera's software do it's job. If you want to add a unique feel and further perfection to your photos, learn image manipulation.

Photography Gear Envy Websites

If a photographer wants a camera, the overwhelming majority of photography websites are geared towards helping you empty your wallet. They give you every single specification and opinion of "professional" photographers for every new camera available. I stay away from as many of these websites as possible. If the focus is equipment, forget the website.

Don't let the new, out-of-the-box, camera dream get in the way of your photography. 

If it's impossible to keep from the lure of lusting through these websites, here a few points to ponder.

• Why is a "professional" photographer taking more interest in showing you a shiny new camera than in showing their photos? 
• Read reviews of a camera from 5 years ago. For the exception of the specifications with lesser numbers, they make the old cameras seem just as appealing. These "reviews" are designed, either consciously or sub-consciously to make you want to purchase new cameras. 
• The websites earn money either when you click through an add or on a commission when you click through to a retailer and buy equipment. It's in their interest to make you just want to buy and a reason is not required. 
• You are wasting time that could be spent learning a skill. No great photo was ever made while researching specifications for a new camera. 
• I have never witnessed a photographer happy about vastly improved photos due to their new camera. In fact, their sample photos to show off their new camera are usually really pointless snapshots. 

The actual photography lessons on many of these gear websites are severely lacking. The website owners know that many readers are far more convinced that a new camera is the pathway to improved photos and articles leaning to that line of thought are far more lucrative. Limit your exposure to these sites and concentrate on more instructional photography websites.

Practice, Practice, And Practice More

Photography is not much different from any other art form in that practice makes perfect. In order to practice, you not only need to always have your camera on you, but you need to be using it. The more complex the camera, the more that it should be on your person if a photographer wishes to master their craft and their equipment.

The path to perfection in photography is practice.

It may seem crazy to have an expensive camera capable of great photos laying on the shelf at home, but even during those times when a cell phone camera is all that you own, you're still practicing. The mere practice of framing the shot is still useful in terms of training your mind to think about photos in the world around you and even how you act when taking photos.

I'm not a fan of the 365 photo projects as I rarely see great photographs come from them. These projects are where a photographer posts at least one photograph a day for a year. Very few of these turn out well. Consider that many pros fail to produce 1 great photo per day. With that in mind, an amateur probably isn't going to either. It is easy to become discouraged with the project and it's a setup for failure. In my opinion, changing the project to taking photos everyday, editing photos once a week, and posting 1 good photo a month out(or something to that effect) is a better way to get into the practice of always practicing.

Consider how other arts are perfected. It's common to take a class, practice with the exercises given, and work up accordingly. Photography can be learned in the same way. Start with some simple basics like learning the settings, then move to applying to them to compositions that follow the rules(or styles if you will), etc. Keep improving and adding skills as they are perfected. Small projects that work towards perfecting a skill are good too.

Pick a project that sounds like something that's not  a setup for failure. It should sound like more of a pleasure to do rather than a chore. Whatever it is, make sure it's a project that is good enough to hold your interest.

Let Photos Cook To Ease The Editing Process

I've heard the tip more than a few times that it's good to let photos cook a while. What this means is that it's good wait a while before downloading images to your computer and editing them. The reason for this is that when the photo was taken, the photographer was there and enjoying the moment. All of that sensory input from being there is fresh in the mind when the photo is soon viewed to soon. It's harder to judge a photo as poor with the pleasant memory of the photo adding to the judgement.

For family snapshots and things of this nature, the rule generally doesn't apply. Those photos are keepers just for the memory of the people involved. You'll be going back to those photos and deleting the poor versions anyhow. 

As I've talked about before in the editing process of photos, bad photos are a liability. Even deleting them detracts from the time you could be processing good photos. If you remove the emotional baggage that comes with having the scene fresh in your experience, deleting the photos is just a much quicker decision.

This street photo sat in my camera for a long time, but jumped out as one of about a hundred on the card that I liked. 

As an amateur, the luxury of taking your time for selecting the best of your photos is benefit. Professionals in many areas of photography are in a push for time and you'll find their opinion of this method to be that it's unacceptable. Professional photographers in artistic fields tend to prefer this method. Even street photographers that minimize all image editing, even cropping, like this method when they have the time for it. 

Large capacity memory cards help with letting the photos cook. Today's memory cards are so large that it allows for many shoots on one card. One card can be in the camera while another is in the computer with files awaiting download and editing. It's a simple system. 

Photography Can Be A Blend Of Art And Communication

To enjoy photography more, learning the many facets to it's utility as a powerful form of communication is a wise activity. At photography's most basic level, you're capturing light available bouncing off of subjects and placing it on a medium such as film or digital storage. That's all it is until a photographer puts their own personal touch to the capture.

As a photographer, you can edit the medium to suit your purposes. So what do you want to do with it? Professionals have to follow paths that generate income. They specialize and form images that will encourage others to buy their work. They've put effort into finding out what they can produce that people will buy. If they're to survive, it's their business first and their passion second. There are even some professional photographers that would enjoy nothing more than never seeing a camera again, but they have to make a living and it's their chosen profession. As an amateur, you're open to take that medium and create anything you'd like. 

As an amateur photographer, I choose no specialty whatsoever. I take photos of what I find interesting. Wherever my shoes take me, I look for shots of interest. I have my camera at the ready as much as possible. Here's one of my wildlife shots, a smiling deer. I wasn't stalking the deer as a professional would have. I was simply hiking and this deer appeared with a smile. Very humorous and it's something that only a camera could communicate. If I told someone, "A deer stopped to smile at me while I was hiking.", they'd think I was crazy, but here's the photo to prove that I'm not. 

Deer smiling in the woods.

As an amateur photographer, you define your work by what you choose, not a customer. Do you consider yourself an artist? You can limit your work to only that which is beautiful in the artistic sense of photography.

Tractor Silhouette In A Sunset

Street photographer?

Man Walking On The Sidewalk With An Umbrella In The Sun

Or maybe a landscape photographer?

Shoreline At Marblehead State Park In Ohio.

All of these photos are my attempt to do one thing and that's communicate, regardless of the genre that they fit in. It's a really cool world that we live in when you start looking at it with a photographer's eye and that's something worth communicating.

A great deal can be learned from studying the professionals. They've invested their lives into their work and simply studying their photos can inspire you and lead to better photos. That's not where the world is headed with photography for the most part though is it? We're posting photos to communicate to others about what we're doing, what we enjoy, where beautiful places are, cool things that we've found, what we love and enjoy, and even things that shock and horrify us. The better a person can do that, the better they can communicate, and that leads to a more fulfilling life. 

The Power Of Always Having Your Camera With You

The tired but true phrase, "The best camera is the one that you have with you.", is sage advise. The key to this though is having a camera with you. Try to always have a camera on you. As photographers we are selectively capturing moments in our lives as the happen. If you want to greatly increase the number of great photos, you'll need a camera on your person - obviously.

One Black, One White Chrysler Minivan

This photo of one black and one white Dodge minivan parked next to each other in back lot of an old downtown is interesting to me. Randomly, the yin yang thing happens with 2 common vehicles. I would have never thought to go find this photo. The scene just randomly happened. I was walking into work and because I had my camera on me, I captured the scene.

When I head out with intent of taking pictures, I probably find more photos in a short time span, but life happens non-stop. If you keep the camera on you at all times, your can remain in a state of mind that you are looking for the interesting things in life worth taking a photo of. For me, that's a great state of mind to be in. It keeps you "in the now" so to speak. 

There is never a dull moment when a camera is available. Bored? Practice using your camera. Need some exercise, go explore the area you're in for photos. 

I've perused some cell phone camera social websites and noticed the volume of great photos outnumbers social forums for the high dollar cameras. Cell phone cameras are out there doing the hard work while the expensive cameras sit on a shelf. Which is bringing more value to the world? Which is telling the stories of our lives and which is only brought out for the rare special occasion? 

I've noticed in many interviews with professional photographers, when asked about their equipment, the usual statement when they pull their camera up to show it off is, "It's a little beat up, but...". If your camera looks like new, you're not carrying it enough. You're wasting opportunities to improve your skills by letting your camera collect dust. Why pay money for a dust collector? Go ahead and grab that camera every chance that you can.

Some believe being a "serious amateur" means that you spent a serious amount of money on your equipment. It's not true. A serious photographer actually has their camera on them all of the time. They're serious enough that they want to take photos all of the time and they're ready for it. 

Choosing A Brand Of Camera

This is always a hot topic in the photo forums that is good time well wasted. What is the best brand of camera? What's the best model? I've found it freeing to just pick one and go with that brand.

To determine your favorite brand of camera, spend a lot of time at a dealer just goofing around with the camera. Do you like the way it looks and feels? It's more important that you would think. The more you like the aesthetics, the more you'll want to use the camera. Do you like the menu system? This is also key because more intuitive that you find the menu system, the more likely you are to explore the camera's capabilities and the easier it will be to remember where to change settings.

But isn't the quality of the photo the most important thing? It's important, but there's only a few manufacturers and it's not uncommon to find out that they use some of the same parts across brands. The differences in quality are marginal and I find that to be the least of my worries about the camera.

Of course, price is a factor. If you have to make payments, it's the wrong camera for you. Save your money for experiences and educational material rather than on equipment.

Once you've chosen a brand of camera, stick with it. It's beneficial because the general layout of the menu system doesn't change much and when it does, the company sticks with the general flow of operation. I learned to reap the benefits after buying a used Canon DSLR. I wanted a smaller point and shoot, so I purchased a Canon G15. Although many years had passed between the Canon 20D and the G15, there was still a familiar feel to how to get through the menus. There is a general feel to the photos they produce when I post-process too. After that, I bought a Canon SX50 super-zoom that has settings nearly identical to the G15 which made things very easy.

Before learning that GAS(Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a expensive problem that kills creativity, I had a few cameras from Panasonic that shared many similar features. I could have went the same way with Panasonic, I just prefer everything about Canon out of personal preference, but both companies make fine cameras.

Another benefit to sticking with one brand is that there is far less to get excited about. If you watch photography websites and magazines pushing the latest gear, there is always something new and expensive to yearn for. When you buy it, you find out the whiz-bang technology wasn't nearly as big of a deal as advertised. If you're only following one brand, the updates are far less frequent. For example, Canon came out with the new G16. I was a little excited until I found out that it was basically the same camera with Wi-Fi added. That provides about 0 to my creative edge, so I could immediately discount that camera for consideration.

As an amateur, you're looking for small economical edges that push your craft further with minimal effort. Sticking with one brand of camera is one easy way of doing this.

My Case For A Used DSLR

I'm not a DSLR fan. They're heavy, bulky, and expensive. Many features on them are solutions to problems that just don't exist for many photographers. They're a status symbol of sorts that scream, "I'm a professional or at least real serious about photography.", and I just don't need that. I find the many options and setting to be more obtrusive than useful. Even with all of that negativity about them, they do have enough positives for me to own one.

The first positive thing about a DSLR is that owning one does make you want to explore it's vast capabilities. They are capable of any photography that you've seen, it's more of a matter of what you, the photographer, are capable of. They also perform on a much more consistent level when used by a skilled photographer.

Another positive is interchangeable lenses. The ability to change lenses opens up endless options. It's a double edged sword as it also opens up endless possibilities for spending. For the price of most lenses, you could buy another point and shoot.

The status is nice in some situations too. Just holding a big camera gives you unwarranted clout that can create opportunities mere cheap cameras don't. You can fool them with the cheapest DSLR though. Only other photographers will know the difference.

My DSLR puts me more into a photography state of mind when I take it. If I'm lugging it around, I'm out for the intended purpose of photography. There's something about it's large form factor and heavy weight that just draws more focus to what I'm doing.

The only consistent plus that caused me to keep my DSLR around is the cheapest lens that Canon offers, the nifty-fifty. It's 1.8 f-stop and high quality lens gives a look that I love. It's 50mm size sucks in general because it's really like an 80mm lens on my crop sense 20D, but I've learned to work with it. You can get this look from any DSLR with a quality brand prime lens.

Here is a sample of the look I'm referring to.

Motorcycle Gas Tank Taken With A 50mm Prime Lens

The background is blurred and the subject is sharp. There is very little distortion, vignetting, or chromatic aberration.  It's a professional look and  preferred style that places emphasis on the main subject. If that's the look you're after, DSLR or newer 4/3 cameras are what you need. If you want the fast and cheap track to professional technical quality photos, a used DSLR is the setup to get.

Here's the thing though. As professional as this looks, it's just one style of photography. You can get this look with many other zoom lenses, but it's damned expensive! Lesser cameras can still do this style of photography too, they just can't do it consistently with easily predictable results. To me, the trade-offs just aren't worth it to buy the latest DSLR with the plethora of lenses. If my $300 used gear can't make this happen, I'll pass. 

In my opinion you absolutely do not need a DSLR. It's just another nice gadget for many types of photography. So long as the price doesn't get in the way, a DSLR will take your photography to another level if you put in the time to learn how to get the most out of them. Don't consider one unless you've used a lesser camera to a point where you're consistently wanting a result that it's just incapable of delivering.

I still carry my convenient point and shoots even when I have the DSLR with me. If you're goal is sports or wildlife photography, be prepared to part with many thousands of dollars for high quality, high zoom lenses that cost as much as a decent used car. The point and shoots cover a range of lenses that most cannot afford so it's an affordable way to get that lens range and adding the 50mm lens/used DSLR combo provides the capabilities for very high quality photos. 

The Economics Of Amateur Photography

From the time I became interested in photography, the expense of photography has always been a barrier, either real or perceived. I liked photography when I was a kid, but spending my entire allowance one week to buy film and all of it the next week to develop the photos was daunting to a kid with so many interests. The photos I produced with my 110 Instamatic were in no way close to the goals that I looked at in magazines either.

I tried again a few times in my adult years. Film and developing was still a factor, but I did find affordable used SLR cameras and lenses to up my game. Still, nowhere close to the pro images that I admired. I proceeded anyhow, but the pace was slow.

Then, I bought a digital camera. The quality was questionable, but I no longer worried about the cost of film. I began trying new things without the worry of money. It was exciting. The Internet was new and just about any photo of any quality would draw compliments. Having a technical background, it was simple for me to make my photos available to the world. That didn't last long as hordes of photographers jumped on board and posting photos became simple.

Once again, I was just another amateur. As the bar for what makes a great photo kept getting raised, my interests waned. I thought that the hobby was really just a money pit if you wanted to excel at it. My focus on technical quality clouded my judgement for content quality and blocked my ability to simply enjoy my only artistic endeavor.

Others started posting their similar grievances. I came across the famous "A Lesser Photographer Manifesto". I found the ideas fascinating even though I do not agree completely with all of them. Better cameras do have their place, but not at the cost of hampering the ability to enjoy creating the art. The main idea of the post is that artists thrive on constraints and that high end cameras do not help. I disagree as I've seen some awesome photos that came out of high end cameras and would not have been possible otherwise. However, there is solid proof that a true photographer does not need expensive equipment so much as the need talent and a love for the art.

Consider that some of the greatest photos in history were taken with equipment far inferior to even the most modest cameras today. This fact alone should inspire you to stop concentrating on any lacking you have in the equipment you use.

I avoid many social groups that concentrate on the camera used. Some Flickr groups won't even allow a post unless you state the camera used, even if it's in the EXIF data. A person caught up in this stuff should self-inquire as to whether they're camera collectors or photographers. Nothing wrong with being a camera collector, but it's not going to produce more interesting photos.

Best advice I received for upgrading your equipment is to by better walking shoes to get to where the photos are.

Working The Shot

Once you find a subject that's interesting, get as many different perspectives as the subject allows for. Many call this "working the shot".  In street photography, that may only be one, while in landscape it could be as many as you have time and energy for as you hike to different vantage points. Even in landscape photography, fleeting light may change and end good possibilities for the shot.

There are a few methods you can think of to get into the photography mode of working the shot. Think of it as though you're on another planet and the photos will be used to describe the subject later back on earth. Another way to look at it as if you own the subject and these shots will be used to sell the item later.

Once you return, edit the most favorable shot and delete the rest. After a few minutes of study, it's not difficult to delete without reservation. If you fail to do this, your photo library will fill with undesirable images. When that happens, it gets more difficult to find the best images.

Here are the results from a photo of an old barn I found on a photo drive. I walk around as much as possible without trespassing to take many photos of the same building. I zoomed in for some details and zoomed out to get the entire structure in the photo. Once in Lightroom, I deleted most of the photos saving these few that had the feel I was looking for.

The first photo was perfect for HDR editing and I had 3 exposures. This allowed for some of the interior details to come through.

Old decaying barn near Granville, Ohio. 

Shot from a different angle, the contrasting light worked well for black and white processing.

Black and white photo of a decaying barn in Central Ohio.

Pulley On An Old Barn

The final photo is the result of finding some interesting details and filling the frame with them using a telephoto lens.

I had about 30 photos to sift through to come up with these 3 and that's not a bad ratio for me. The better the photographer, the fewer the bad shots, but don't be afraid of failure with digital. It's tiring going through all of these photos and as skills improve, the goal of fewer photos should come naturally.

Working the photo is fine for stationary objects and landscapes, but for street photography and events, you work the scene, not the shot. Multiple photos from many different perspectives while the scene constantly changes is another useful skillset.

I can't praise the lowly super-zoom bridge cameras enough for this type of work. This little photoshoot would have required 3 lens changes with a DSLR and I don't even have enough room to carry the equipment on my motorcycle.

On top of working the shot with different perspectives, I had the camera set to bracketing so that I made 3 exposures for each shot. Paying attention to the light is one of the most important aspects of working a shot. The different exposures automatically gives 3 different lighting possibilities and if your steady enough, provides 3 images for HDR processing if you decide that HDR processing improves the look and feel of the photo.

Editing Your Images And Your Image Library

I struggle with to many images in my photo library. They're difficult, expensive, and time consuming to manage. Failure to properly manage photos results in lacking creativity and the reduced time allowed for actually taking photographs. For this article, "editing" photos refers to deciding what is a good and bad photo.

Learning what constitutes a good and usable photo is a hard-learned skill for photographers. At first, I wanted to keep every photo taken. Now, many years later, I'm learning that less is more.

My method of choice is Lightroom. Far from perfect, but probably the most utilized program for keeping a photo library. As an amateur, whatever is used most has major benefits. When I first installed Lightroom and learned a few basics, I quickly reduced the number of my images by half in a few weeks.

How do you reduce the number of images by half and never miss any of them?

• Find duplicate images and remove those.
• Quickly browse and remove poor photos. 
• Find images that just aren't appealing or useful and remove them. 

In my case, that was about 15,000 images from many years of digital photography and never using anything except Photoshop and the standard Windows file management tools. That is the wrong method and the sooner you stop, the better you're overall productivity will be.

• Why not use Bridge? If Adobe Bridge is all that you have, by all means use it. The basic idea is the same, it's just that Lightroom has so many other benefits later on after you get over a steep learning curve with Lightroom. Bridge is no picnic either, but it does come with Adobe Photoshop at no extra cost.

I don't know the psychology behind this, but it's easy to think that photos are keepers that really aren't. I think it's something that the moment you've captured will never happen again and that makes an image valuable. It doesn't. I've taught myself to look at a bad image as a liability.

Bad images are a liability because:

• They take up space on a hard drive. That increases the cost of storage and takes more time to back them up.
• They make it more difficult to search for good images. When you search for good images,you have to fish through so many bad that it's a chore and wastes time. 

There are many photographers, far fewer photo editors. If you want some interesting insight as to what is a keeper, read interviews with editors like this interview with a National Geographic Photo Editor. These are the few people that rely on their knowledge of what constitutes a good photo for a living. In this interview, I learned that I should always keep the RAW file because that is the format that a paying magazine would want if they use it. That fact also tells me that I should strive to get the best in camera shot possible. Are you going to keep RAW files for images that obviously bad and still have drive space for these good ones?

I have developed some quick guidelines for keeping a photo, but I keep adding to them as time goes on.

1. Would I print this photo? If it's not worth printing, it might not be worth keeping. 
2. What is the point of this photo? No point, no point in keeping. 
3. Has it sat on the hard drive without being organized yet. If it's not worth the time to organize and keyword, is it really worth keeping? 
4. What would I pay for this image if I needed for an article? If I would pay much, I delete it.
5. Sentimental value? If so, keep it, but organize it as such. 
6. Do I have others that are similar? If so, delete the worst of them. 
7. Is it worth uploading? If it's not worth uploading to a website, it probably isn't worth keeping. 
8. Is it worth basic edits in Photoshop? If it's not worth the time, it might not be worth keeping. 

I waited far to long before I started realizing the benefits of learning to edit. Deleting is pain and pain is a good teacher. I take fewer bad photos now simply because I don't want to delete them. Editing is an easy way to build on skills. Take the time to listen to the professional editors even if you're not trying to sell your photos. It's free advice that will improve your overall portfolio.

The Art Of Taking A Ride

I'm a motorcyclist and I love to just take a ride, but the vehicle really doesn't matter. Watching the world roll past your visor or windshield is a great way to find photographic opportunities as well. It's the best way that I know of to find something to shoot.

Here's an example of an old abandoned country store on the back roads of Ohio near Gambier that I found on a recent ride.

Photo Of An Abandoned Store In Rural Ohio

I shoot anything that I find interesting on the road. In rural Ohio, interesting things show up frequently too. Anywhere that allows for a slow ride is a good choice. In rural areas, you can cover ground quickly looking for subject matter. In a city, the amount of possible subjects is so compressed that a bicycle or walking is the better choice.

Have you ever heard of photo walks? It only took reading about others experiences with them to turn me away. Photographers that enjoy them like the camaraderie while looking for things to photograph. They all take photos of the same areas and compare notes later. Sounds like too much camaraderie and not enough photography to me. Going on your own adventure generates more original ideas. Learning to soak in the surroundings and being "part of the now" greatly increases your chances for finding photo possibilities too.

On what I'd call a photo drive, I have time to unwind and get into the mood of taking photos. Rarely do I even take anyone with me for fear of boring them while I drift into my own world of finding photo-worthy subjects and taking my time to work the subjects that I find.

A key to a successful photo drive is to not concentrate on the destination to much. Once you start finding subjects, take the time to work the photos and look for related scenes to tell the story of the subject.

The Odd, Beautiful, And Unexpected.

I read today that famed street photography Richard Kalvar claims only 89 great photos after 40 years of work as a photographer. He has many good photos and probably a few that are great that neither he or the public has deemed as such yet. The point is easily understood and that is that it takes an enormous amount of work to get a collection of great photos. It's important to take advantage of any method that increases your odds. I find that a keen eye and a flexible, inexpensive camera can increase those odds.

One method I've used is to never just accept the big picture and I always look for the odd, beautiful, and unexpected. I was looking at a waterfall that is the centerpiece of a quaint little town called Chagrin Falls near Cleveland, Ohio. The obvious draw is the waterfall, but the people there were just as interesting. The falls seemed to draw in all sorts of people.

While looking at the waterfall, I caught a glimpse of neon green on the other side of the river and it was this pretty woman with neon green hair. In my mind, that's an odd contrast to see. I was there to photograph the natural beauty of the waterfall, but the unnatural appeared instead.

Pretty lady with neon green hair and a leather jacket.

This was taken with a very long telephoto lens on a super-zoom camera. In a common scenario for taking photos of a waterfall, a DSLR mounted with a very wide lens would have been in use to take a photo of the fall. If this lady would have appeared, a lens change would have been required. By the time that the camera was dismounted from the tripod and a telephoto lens mounted(assuming the photographer had one), she would have been gone. I'll take the lacking quality of the super-zoom as opposed to not getting the shot at all.

Granted a better camera with a light reflector and a posed shot would have been much better. This shot isn't going to make it big like a "pro" shot would, but I find it more interesting than just a photo of a waterfall that's been photographed many thousands of times by others. Not to mention, I also have some nice shots of the waterfall.

We're taught by many professionals that it's best to concentrate on one area of photography. Life happens all of the time though and opportunities of different types pop up all of the time. It's understandable that specialized equipment is paramount when a professional's client desires a specific photo with defined expectations of high quality that the photographer needs the best equipment to fulfill the assignment, but an amateur, no way. The amateur needs his eyes, brain, and flexible equipment to find the rare opportunities that occur at unexpected moments. 

What Type Of Camera. Let's Get This Out Of The Way.

What Type Of Camera Should I Buy?

I've read hundreds of opinions about what type of camera a person should buy. Even after reading so much of it, I can't give you a good answer and neither can anyone else. I can only tell you what I believe to be true after my purchases. Here's a summary of the different advice I've read.

The One You Have With You

There's a real gem of a piece of advice, unless you don't have a camera yet! 

The point of this is advice is good though. For the common Joe, the more you carry your camera, the more photos you're going to take. Even the best take a huge number of photographs, so it stands to reason that if you always have your camera on you, you'll eventually end up with better photos to share.

Great, but give that advice for a person with interests lying in the sports photography or wildlife photography and they have the right to call you a useless moron in the area of photography. For these interests, you need a huge zoom and you can start with my personal favorite, the Swiss Army Knife of cameras, the Super-Zoom(also known as a bridge camera). I can talk all day about bridge cameras and they are cameras that you can "have with you". This would be the correct answer to just about any new photographer's question about what camera to buy. 

The Highest Tech You Can Afford

Worst advice ever, even if the newbie is a millionaire. The high end cameras require high end training. Without training and many hours of practice, high end cameras can confound some to the point of giving up the hobby. Not to mention, they're often to bulky to have with you often. The new 4/3rd's cameras are changing this fact, but they're still daunting little cameras to master. 

The only person that I would give this advice to would be the type that I know enjoys bragging about his possessions more than he ever enjoys using them, and yes, I know people like this.

The Cheapest Tech

Pass on the cheap camera's too unless you just want to have fun.

It doesn't take long to wish you could shoot in the RAW format. RAW is an important option after you're past the initial learning stages. If you're camera can't do it, you'll be buying another soon.

Here are some basic guidelines when considering a cheap camera - 

• Can it shoot raw?
• The wider it shoots and the more it zooms the better because this gives you flexibility. 
• Battery life and battery availability in common stores. 
• Mega pixels, but not as important as you think. It's a complex subject and more isn't always better. 
• Tripod mount. Most have this. 
• Anti-shake mode that will allow you to leave the tripod at home more often. 
• Warranty
• Accessories if you want to do specialized shots like macro photography. 

My Advice

I've yet to find the perfect camera and I've had quite a few. I've had some that I like a hell of a lot better than others. Here are the qualities that you're looking for. 

• Do you like the way it looks and feels? That's right. It's my most important requirement. The more you like the external aspects, the more you'll want to use it. The more you use it, the more great photos you'll end up with. 
• Do you like the menu system? Learning the settings can make a previously hated camera a great one as you learn to adjust the camera for ever-changing conditions. 
• Can you afford it and still have money to go places to use it? No camera should have a payment plan. 
• If in doubt, buy a bridge camera that can shoot raw. They do everything, the just don't do everything well.
• If you can't find one camera that does what you need, buy a couple. I have a point and shoot, bridge, and an old DSLR. It's a great combination of cameras to cover the gamut of many types of photography. 

In Conclusion

There it is. The first post on my least favorite photography subject, the camera. It probably didn't help much, but maybe I helped you lean towards the idea that it doesn't really matter that much anyhow. If you have a moderately good camera and it's not producing good photos, it's probably you, not the camera. No worries though. If it's you, it's just a matter of the joy of learning to make correct that problem. 

Try A Cell Phone For Photos In The Rain

One of the challenges of not having a high dollar weather-sealed camera is the rain. There are great shots to be had in the rain, but I don't like the hassle of wrapping up a camera and still risking it's demise by dropping it in a puddle or something. The answer to this that I've found is my Note 3 cell phone with an Otterbox
case.

Road In The Rain Taken

An advantage to this setup is that it gives me practice with an otherwise loathed cell phone camera. I get more used to it every time I use it and this forces the issue. I've often been jealous of the Iphone photos I see, but the Iphone just lacks in so many other areas that I need more.

The quality of the photos is questionable, but if I have enough light, it's acceptable. The lacking quality sometimes make the photos more interesting and hearkens to the days of old with my Kodak 110 Instamatic I used as a child. The Otterbox provides plenty of protection from the elements and impact, so no worries if something does happen.

In comparison to the quality of the "sports" cameras that are sold, the cell phone isn't that far off. No need to drop a few hundred bucks on a bulky camera if you have a cell phone with a decent camera.