inspiration to all aspiring photogs (or people who just want to take good pictures). houston photographer

I thought I’d write this post because at almost every session or wedding, atleast one person mentions something like:
“What kind of camera is that? It takes good pictures.”
“I bought a nice camera so I could have good pictures, but it doesn’t work that well.”
“I want to take my family’s pictures myself to save money, what kind of camera should I get?”
“I am thinking about being a photographer so what kind of camera should I get? I don’t know much so I will need a good camera that has good program modes.”

Well, here’s the good & bad news. The bad news is that it isn’t as easy as getting a good camera to be a photographer or to take good picture even. Life for photographers would be so easy if that’s all there was to it! Yes, at the professional level it helps to upgrade your camera body but it is mainly about technical knowledge & skills. I think Ansel Adams once said – “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.”

For Valentine’s Day all I wanted was a photo session with my son & I – I am always taking pictures of him & my husband…I want some of me with Garrett around the house, too! My husband nicely volunteered to take some pictures of us. We finally got around to it last weekend. Bless his heart – about 5 minutes after we got there, he said “Man this picture taking is hard, I don’t think I am cut out for it!” When I downloaded the memory card I saw stuff like this….

This goes to show you that it is not all about having a nice camera body. I have a REALLY nice camera body & we ended up with ZERO pictures from that day 🙂

Here’s the good news: it is not all about megapixels & buying a $5,000 camera. Really after you get to 12 megapixels, anything above that is useless unless you want to blow your picture up on the side of a billboard & I don’t think any of us are going to do that. It is all about taking classes, practicing, studying, asking questions & just getting out there. Your camera doesn’t take good pictures, YOU DO! There is ALOT to it, but you can do it! And you don’t have to drop $5,000 on a camera to get there. The camera does not do all the work 🙂 YOU have to learn how to be confident & comfortable then the camera you have will function much better. It is all about shooting in manual so you can control your outcome working with the conditions you have. Using auto or program modes doesn’t do the trick, because cameras aren’t quite as smart as people give them credit for….you need to learn how to have control. It is the most rewarding thing when you “get it”! It takes time but you can do it!