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Archive 2015 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good

  
 
MRomine
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


...the gear is?

Just thinking about this this morning as I pack up for another wedding. It's insanely good and getting better.

I can't imagine starting my business today and my first camera being a Nikon D750, a Sony a7RII or a Canon 5DIII. Having bought and used the original Canon 30D and then the 60D for weddings and knowing how bad those cameras were I can really appreciate where the gear is today sixteen years later.

But does it really make any difference having that as a background? Probably not. For the most part it's not going to make my photography eye any better. But we have come a long way very fast.

What's your take, if you even care.



Aug 07, 2015 at 08:58 AM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


I'll tell you one thing, it's just going to keep flooding our industry with even more new people charging less since it is becoming even more accessible.


Aug 07, 2015 at 09:47 AM
Ziffl3
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Interesting topic.

My first thoughts.....

How do I fight not letting the gear make me lazy?
What are the different ways to stay sharp, fresh and let the equipment just be tools.

Can I create/capture a wedding with a 50D? It is a cropper so how do I adjust my shooting.
Am I relying just on narrow depth of field, for example?

Sure I have a back screen to chimp with ... but I it goes black half way through a wedding how will I work? Does it matter? Do I know my meter well enough?

What about off camera flash without chimping?

These are thing I like to mentally challenge myself with....

Yep... the gear is good .... but still just a tool.

-Mark



Aug 07, 2015 at 09:49 AM
Inku Yo
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Just made this for you.







Aug 07, 2015 at 10:16 AM
LeeSimms
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


When I started in 1992 on roll film and 35mm I didn't think about the hassle of shooting weddings with a 4x5.

Wedding photography has also been about the marketing anyway, not the gear — and it doesn't change. I cross paths with a high volume studio locally that charges appropriate rates — yet, almost everything on their blog looks like a slow kit lens and direct flash on camera. Boat loads of people book them, yet their not shooting with wonder bodies or wonder lenses or wonder lighting.



Aug 07, 2015 at 10:19 AM
SloPhoto
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


I started recently, and yes, unequivocally yes.

I doubt I would be doing this if we were all shooting film.



Aug 07, 2015 at 11:08 AM
IrishDino
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


If anything, I think better gear is really hurting the family photography side of things. There you can truly produce garbage and get away with it, especially if you're a parent and can market yourself in those circles. Coupled with stay at home moms looking to supplement their incomes....it's an area we've exited completely.

But with wedding photography, I'm honestly not seeing this influx of noobs taking away clients that I would want to be booking. I know it's been predicted since 2008 when the 5D2/D700 came out.



Aug 07, 2015 at 11:17 AM
hardlyboring
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Doesn't matter how good the gear is people are still going to suck at whatever they are doing.
If you want to master an art or a craft you need to spend tens of thousands of hours doing it. You need to pretty much only do that. The people who spend the time mastering all aspects of this craft are not always successful in "business" IE they make a lot of money...but they are generally proficient at taking passable photos in all situations which is basically what our task is.

I still shoot between 15-30 rolls of film at a wedding and get some of my best shots from my 60 year old camera and 25 year old lens. The gear may help bring down the barriers of entrance into the market but it does not make mastering the craft any easier IMO.

We still used beat up old D3 cameras... tech that is almost 10 years old. We just got 2 D3s because we needed to upgrade. Will the 2 stop ISO improvement turn us into superstars? Probably not. We still need to know how to properly compose, light, and execute a photograph... the camera means practically nothing.



Aug 07, 2015 at 12:04 PM
MattGruber
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


No. I wasn't shooting weddings with film, but I started my photography "journey" with it. I appreciated my D70 because of what it provided over film (essentially being able to see my shots right away). I appreciated the D300 because of what it provided over the D70, and I appreciate my D750 over what my D600 & D3 provided.

If I was starting now and never shot film or any of those older DSLRs I wouldn't have anything to compare them to... it would just be what it is. Whenever you start out, with whatever camera you start out with- you still need to learn the craft and develop your eye and style. The technology improvement certainly bridge the gap between crappy images and quality images, but with no prior knowledge of inferior gear... most people aren't going to appreciate how stellar the newer shit is.



Aug 07, 2015 at 12:13 PM
Mudflap
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


30D eh? Heck I still use the old D30. Love the color. Of course don't shoot weddings.


Aug 07, 2015 at 12:42 PM
flash
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


When I shot my first wedding I had a couple of cameras, a couple of lenses and a bag of film. Aperture rings on the lenses and shutter speed dials on the body. I longed more that extra lens and better body.

As time went on I built a kit that many would envy. I've filled all the holes and bought the best. I've shot weddings with medium format and 1 series Canons. I went to digital early. Got one of the very first 1Ds bodies and then one of the first 5D2's. Now I've got a bag of Sony's that can do everything except make a latte. I've also got some Fuji gear, an Olympus or two and I've had a brief affair with a Pentax.

So now, for weddings, I usually carry two bodies and a few lenses. Aperture rings on the bodies and shutter speed dials on the cameras. It's taken me 20 years to work out I had it right in the first place.

Gordon

p.s. I appreciate what digital has done for our industry. I wouldn't go back. But it sure was easier when I shot 10 rolls of 35mm and 3 rolls of 120. After the wedding we'd put them in a bag and send them to the lab. Life sure was simpler then.



Aug 07, 2015 at 03:35 PM
dhp_sf
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


What's interesting about the question is the implication (which I do agree with) that those starting their business are also in the infancy of their understanding of the craft. When I was starting photography a few years ago I didn't appreciate the advancement of the technology even at that time. I didn't understand I could shoot above ISO 400 on a Rebel and still get decent results. My eye wasn't attuned to the sharpness and focus of the equipment I had. When I look back and see images I shot with a 35L and 85L in 2011 I cringe because of the technical inaccuracies brought forth by user error, not by fault of my equipment.

I think the case was and always will be that the tool will always just be a tool for those who understand the craft. And the craft is a tool to make money for those who understand business. And you need a lot more than just a product to operate a successful business.

tl;dr -- I agree with Doug & Zach & Matt.



Aug 07, 2015 at 03:41 PM
IrishDino
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


dhp_sf wrote:
What's interesting about the question is the implication (which I do agree with) that those starting their business are also in the infancy of their understanding of the craft.


I agree with this.

I spent a good 3-4 years shooting landscapes as a side business before moving to weddings. So I knew my way around a camera pretty good.....or so I thought. My first wedding, I can't tell you how many times I forgot to change my ISO when switching from outside to inside, forgetting to switch focus settings or filling up a card and not realizing until the last second.

As Mike Tyson said "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".



Aug 07, 2015 at 05:50 PM
Mark_L
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


The file quality is better but then so is the competitions. The cameras now are really not that much better then D2X/5D days outside of sensor performance.

FIlm vs digital is a different matter.



Aug 07, 2015 at 05:56 PM
ahaug
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


I did shoot my first wedding with film and then moved to the d200. There where a lot of limitations with those setups. Fighting with the gear and its limitations where part of the deal. Ever since the d700, I've been fighting with composition and not the gear so much. D750 really gets out of the way and lets my creativity be my limitation.


Aug 07, 2015 at 06:41 PM
MRomine
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Mudflap wrote:
30D eh? Heck I still use the old D30. Love the color. Of course don't shoot weddings.


Yeah, that's the one I was talking about, the original 3.3mp camera. I can never ember wether if was called the d30 or 30D



Aug 07, 2015 at 11:03 PM
mikethevilla
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Come shoot a wedding with my gear. THEN you'll appreciate modern cameras.


Aug 08, 2015 at 01:02 AM
azmerm
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


My 1st digital camera was the 3.1mp D30... at dark wedding receptions it focused as slow has Micro 4/3! !!! We've really come along way with the D750. Sometime I'll have to crank my ISO down to 800 at a reception to remember what I did with my Hassy's and Portra rolls.


Aug 08, 2015 at 01:40 PM
alpinekiwi
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


I've been shooting action sports for years (starting with 35mm film) and all my equipment is tuned for this. My first wedding I had one body, a 1D3 and halfway through the family portraits, the shutter died. I had a 1000D (rebel) in the car and shot the entire remainder of the wedding on that. Holy crap. The shots still came out well, but the limitations going from Canon's flagship body to their lowest entry level body was incredible.

I still shoot with that 1D3, but the main camera (I use 2 bodies) is my 5D3. I have a 5Dc as backup.

I would be quite ok if all digital cameras suddenly died for some reason. I still have a couple Nikon 35mm bodies with some stunning lenses and I know my way around them just fine.



Aug 09, 2015 at 03:20 AM
giddyup
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · If You Started Your Business Today Would You Appreciate How Good


Meh, why stay stuck in the past?

Pretty much every occupation can play this game. As technology improves, certain things get "easier", yet there will always be some more successful than others at what they do, regardless.



Aug 09, 2015 at 06:14 AM





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