Tag: beginner photography

  • Does Gear Matter in Photography?

    Does gear matter in photography is a question that I get asked quite a lot. There is no one answer to this. You can answer No and you can answer Yes. It all depends on the perspective you take on this one.

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    Let’s start with No.

    Many of us think that getting new gear will make you a better photographer. In my opinion that is false. To be better you must learn how to use your existing gear. Getting new once won’t help in that at all.

    Sometimes limiting yourself will be a better solution. Having limitations makes you think more. You need to solve problems and that will make you better. You might come up even ith new ideas and totally new kinds of images.

    For example, in landscape photography, most of us think that a wide-angle is a must. Yes, a wide-angle lens is often used in landscape photography. If you do not have an ultra-wide-angle, what then?

    Why not try a standard lens or even a telephoto lens. That can give you a totally new kind of landscape photos.

    When the answer Yes?

    When you get better here might a time to start thinking about better gear that actually will make you better. Well it is maybe a bit too much to say that it is the gear, it is the possibilities that the new gear gives. What I mean by that is that it might open up all new ways of making photographs. Sometimes it might even give a possibility to try new genres.

    One example is bird photography. You can photograph birds with a wide-angle, but getting a longer lens will give new possibilities and new kind of mages that was possible for you before.

    In the video below I talk more about the No and Yes.

  • How to get sharp images – 4 tips

    How to get sharp images – 4 tips

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    Always when people are talking about lenses sharpness comes up. How sharp is it? That is a ubiquitous question. I understand that image sharpness is essential in many cases. Client work is one example. Presenting unsharp images to a client might be the last time you present images to that particular client unless the unsharpness is the style agreed on in the brief before the photoshoot.

    What do I mean about unsharp? It is not slightly out-of-focus images, but it is intentionally soft images where softness is a big part of the story.

    What can you do to make sure that you get sharp images?

    1. Use quality lenses

    The first thing to do is to use quality lenses. Unfortunately, sharp lenses are more expensive than unsharp lenses. But then, of course, we must consider where those images are being published. The bigger the print, the better the lens (and camera) should be. But if the images are for, let’s say, shared Instagram, then the sharpness can be a bit less. Of course, sharpness can be important on Instagram, too. However, when images are published on social media, slightly out-of-focus images look sharp. The photos are pretty small when viewed on social media on a mobile phone.

    2. Use image stabilizer

    Modern cameras have excellent image stabilizers. The most common is the so-called IBIS, an in-body image stabilizer. The sensor moves and reduces image shake. That will help you achieve sharp images even with longer shutter speeds. Several-second shutter speeds are no problem with modern cameras. Gone are those days when the fastest shutter speed that could be used without the fear of a camera shake was equal to the focal length you used. If you had a standard lens like 50mm on your SLR, the fastest safe shutter speed was about 1/60s.

    3. Know your cameras focusing method

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    It is essential to know your camera. The focusing method of your camera is one of the things that is good to know. Most modern lenses have autofocus. That is a good start. Choose the focusing point/points that you need to use. You should be okay in most cases, and the autofocus works perfectly. It is also a good thing to learn manual focus. Modern cameras have helped with that. Focus peaking and magnifying are suitable methods to get help from the camera. Learn your camera and see if your camera has focus peaking and/or magnification.

    4. Have a firm grip when photographing

    Holding the camera properly and having a steady body when making images it will help a lot. A lot of camera shake happens when you are not holding the camera properly when pressing the shutter. So, having a good grip when pressing the shutter button is essential.

    When choosing a camera, you must test how it feels in your hand. The feel is, in many ways, more important than one other particular feature in a camera. Get a camera that feels good in your hand rather than choose it because it has a slightly faster image per the second number.

    In the video at the beginning of this blog post are more tips about getting sharper images.

    Do you have any tips of your own about getting sharper images?

  • How To Take SHARPER photos 5 Tips For Instantly Sharper Photos

    How To Take SHARPER photos 5 Tips For Instantly Sharper Photos

    Sharper photos are usually something that you want. In this video, I will give you 5 tips for instantly sharper photos.

    It is also very important to hold your camera properly so it is as steady as possible. This way you will minimize the motion blur that is cased by the camera moving during exposure.
    Here is the link to the Lens Calibration target that I mentioned in the video:

    Here is the video about how to take sharper photos.