Photography Basics

Kev will be popping in and guest blogging about photography over the next little while. Today he starts with talking about equipment…

Photography Q&A Part 1: Intro & Equipment

Hi There! I’m Kev and I’ve been blessed with the task of taking daily photos of Jen in her outfits, the food she cooks, the crafts she makes, and anything else that she may want documented. How lucky am I? Seriously though, I really do love helping her and I hope to be able to help out a few of you while I’m at it.

When Jen originally asked me to write a guest post to field some photography related questions, I immediately started thinking about all of the different topics I would need to cover. The more I thought about it, the more complicated and in-depth these topics became. This led me to conclude that the most efficient way for me to cover everything would be to break it up into a series of articles.

As I reviewed the topics I wanted to cover with Jen, she reminded me to keep it simple and basic. So, in order to make sure I’m being as relevant as possible, I’ll start with the basics. If it’s too basic, I apologize, but I promise that I’ll cover more advanced topics as the series goes on…

Click the CONTINUE READING below to read the rest of the article!

The basics, bluntly speaking
If you want to take quality photos that will allow you to have control over every aspect of your image, you’ll need to buy some decent equipment. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to break the bank and buy every piece of photo gear under the sun, you just need to get a few quality products in order to get started.

Though there are some really good point & click digital cameras out there, it would be smart to invest in a DSLR. Despite many recent advances with point & clicks, they are still lacking one key element: a good lens. Combining even a low level DSLR with a half way decent lens will make your images way nicer.

So if you’re serious about taking your photos to the next level, buy a DSLR. It may seem complicated at first, but in time, through trial and error, you’ll get the hang of it. For the sake of time and lack of sponsorship, I’ll leave out my opinion as to what cameras are best. However, Nikon and Canon both make affordable, beginner DSLR’s that come with a multi-purpose kit lens. Before you make any purchases I encourage you to do some research and find out what camera might be best for you. One thing to keep in mind, however, is to buy within your expertise level. Don’t buy something way out of your league or you’ll end up being in way over your head, along with having a hefty debt. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that once you go down the Nikon (or Canon) path, the lenses and other accessories you buy with the camera will only work on other like products. In other words, if you buy a Nikon body, lens and flash, then decide to switch to a Canon body a few years later, you’re going to need to buy a new, Canon lens and flash. The brand’s accessories are not interchangeable, so choose wisely. Regarding this topic, I’ll leave you with one thought: When I started shooting, I bought a Nikon. Now, many years (and cameras) later, I’m considering to take the leap and make the switch to Canon…

Accessories
On top of buying a camera and lens, you’re going to need a good sturdy tri-pod. I’m assuming many bloggers documenting their fashion may not always have someone readily available to take their photo for them. Therefore, you need a tri-pod. The sturdier the better. It’s also important to make sure that your tri-pod can hold a camera in both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) format. Most of them do, but just double check before you buy anything.

If you’ve still got some cash left, you might want to consider buying an off-camera flash. The flash that comes with your camera (built in, above your view finder) pretty much sucks and doesn’t really give you much control over it. It’s either off or on (for the most part). An off-camera flash will come in most handy for indoor shots (which I’ll cover towards the end of this series). So if you’re planning on doing most of you’re shooting outdoors, you might not need to worry about this just yet. But if you’re a sucker who lives in the North East (as we do) then buying an off-camera flash will be a bit more of a necessity, as our weather is not always corporative.

So there you have it, the basics. You’re going to need a DSLR, lens and tri-pod in order to take good photos. To those of you who already own this stuff, I promise that the rest of these posts will be a bit more insightful. Here are some topics that I plan on covering in the coming weeks: focusing, exposure/lighting, shooting indoors vs. outdoors, advanced lighting… Not necessarily in that order. While I’m writing these, I’ll try to keep in mind the specific demographic of bloggers photographing their outfits. However, if you’ve got a specific question or unique circumstance, just let me know and I’ll be sure to work it into one of the articles. Lastly, I’m planning on having explanatory photos to go along with every future post. So you’ve got that to look forward to, too!