Don’t buy a new camera.
“Wow this shot is great!? What camera did you use!?”
“Oh man, I need a new camera, my photos never turn out like this…”
“Hey, what camera should I buy? I want to get into Photography.”
Any amateur to professional level photographer has heard these questions before. Blame the major camera manufactures or blame them for buying all of that expensive equipment, but for the most part it’s the state of the market right now. It’s become about what you shot something with, not the talent of the shooter. I’ve had enough of this mentality and it’s really holding back a lot of young creatives from truly expressing themselves.
You do not need a Sony A7rii or a 5D Mark IV to be a photographer. You don’t need a speedlite or a studio either, and if you don’t know what any of that stuff even is, you’re not behind. You just need camera and a willingness to experiment, innovate, and differentiate. Look in your pocket, if you have a smartphone with a camera, congratulations! — You can be a photographer. If you’ve ever taken photos of friends, your food, anything — Congratulations, you’re a photographer!
“That makes no sense. My photos look like shit.”
You probably just said that to yourself, understandable. I’m sure your photos do look like shit. Sorry to tell you this but it’s not because of the small sensor or low megapixels of your iPhone 6, it’s you.
I got my first digital camera when I was 14. It was an HP with 4.1mp. I loved it. By today’s standards it’s about on par with the iPhone 3GS, basically a hunk of junk — but it did one thing that changed my life…. It took pictures I that I could edit on my computer. I could shoot and delete, I could experiment. That camera turned me into a photographer. I wasn’t bound by the limitations of film, I wasn’t even bound to what I had captured — I could change and manipulate the image after the fact and make it what I wanted it to be. Through all of that experimentation and shooting absolutely everything I could at every moment I slowly but surely developed my eye. I started learning more about the technical aspects of photography, I researched composition and lighting and I started to admire other photographers. Often times I would try to emulate photos I really liked, and by doing so I was forced to learn new techniques and every shot I took got better and better.
“This changes everything.”
My life changed again when the iPhone came out. My first one was the iPhone 3G — All of a sudden I had a camera and a post production studio in my hand. I didn’t need my computer and I didn’t need my camera. I had it all in my pocket. This is where we are now, and for most people it’s all you need. You don’t need Photoshop, you can use Snapseed. You don’t need Flickr, you can use Instagram. I saw a panel of Nat Geo photographer’s speak once in Cannes a couple years ago, and during the Q&A I asked how many (if any) of their photos that were published came from an iPhone/Smartphone. Not surprisingly, every single one of them had at least 2–3 photos published in National Geographic that were shot on a smartphone.
I used to be really into music (still am) but when I was younger I wanted a set of a drums SO BAD. I begged my parents to get me a set for Christmas but my Dad refused, he told me I needed to learn how to play guitar first because I already one, and then he would get me a set of drums. Although I hesitated, I listened and learned (I really wanted those drums) — Within the first year I played my school’s talent show. I was all alone up there with an acoustic guitar covering Green Day’s “Good Riddance (time of your life)” — Guess what? I got pretty good at guitar… in fact that’s what I played in my band, but the next Christmas I woke up to a set of drums, and honestly I got pretty good at those too.
The moral of all of this is to master what you have before you upgrade to what you want. Your phone is the guitar, that Sony mirrorless camera is the drum set. Learn how to play Green Day before you tackle Master of Puppets.
Below are a few of my favourite photos that I’ve captured with a smartphone (no extra gear) and most of what I capture on Instagram is from my phone.
