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Newly Back To Photography-Lots Of Questions!
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Hi there, i have recently taken up photography again after been away from it for a good few years, i have some questions which i hope maybe some of you here can answer for me.
I suppose it was about 10 years ago (maybe more) when i bought my Pentax MZ-50 SLR and also a Pentax flashgun, i had been doing a correspondence course through “ICS” but it was by regular post and my patience ran out eventually as it would take forever to receive assignments/assignments corrected etc. So for a finish i stopped, between that time and now it seems that digital photography has exploded and now everybody seems to have access to relatively inexpensive and fast internet speeds, i feel like i could now do another course online and be able to stick with it this time.My goal is to maybe some day earn a living through my photography, but i’m not certain in what genre as of yet, so here are my questions.
1. What would be a good choice of camera for me? I want something professional, a camera that will not break the bank but at the same time will not have me wishing i had held out for another, much much better model! My Pentax still works great but i feel that digital is not going anywhere and the sooner i embrace it the better!
2. I will need to learn about digital photography, i guess a lot of it i will learn myself through practice but is there any online courses that you guys would recommend i do?
3. I read on this site that many here feel that a photographers portfolio is of much greater importance than any fancy degree/qualification? If that’s the case then am i just wasting my money doing such a course and should i not just spend my time taking as many photo’s as possible and trying to improve my technique?
4. Having been using film all my life, even if i go digital i will still want prints, it really used to bug me having spent so long and putting in so much effort into my photos, that the whole thing was in vain after i got my prints back from the developer only to see them on cheap looking paper and poorly developed, can anyone here recommend a place that will give me a professional printing service?
Thanks in advance :D
Ok, these comments are just my own view.
1: – I know almost nothing about Pentax, but if you have Pentax lenses, then maybe the new Pentax cameras will also work with those lenses. Other than that, the main two dominant brands are Canon and Nikon. What you shoot should also have a large impact on what you buy to shoot with. A full-frame camera is brilliant for landscapes and portraits. A crop sensor camera tends to have a faster fps, better for sport.
2: – There are some great courses on creativelive.com If you watch them live, they are free, otherwise you can buy them to watch at any time. You can learn about photography, digital editing, etc.
3: – It is always useful to learn about photography. But, I do agree that a fancy degree/qualification isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. A good portfolio shows what you can do, and how consistently you can do it. This is what clients will look for.
4: – For quality printing, I go to http://www.360-dpi.com Steve is based in Dun Laoghaire and is passionate about printing. Well worth the little extra.
I hope this helps a bit.
Paul
Hi
With regards to a camera, set your budget then go to a local dealer and try out camera’s to get the “feel”. As Paul said the big two are Canon & Nikon, the advantage with these is the wealth of lens available including 3rd party Sigma/Tamron etc!
Regards Steve
hi steve,
as for camera there still a lot of people who use film out of preference but better to know for yourself which you prefer, it also depends on what kind of subjects you prefer to shoot.
re courses : working away on your own can take you so far but doing some sort of course can really help by getting you to do things that you might not necessarily do on your own and help you build skills and a portfolio
i have a degree. sure its not for everyone and not particularly necessary by any means but i really enjoyed doing it. being in an environment everyday with other creative people can be really amazing, there’s a lot more to it than just a piece of paper at the end. one of my tutors used to say that in order to be an artist you need 3 things : time, space and money. college provides you with time, space and helps with money in terms of subsidized materials. this can be enormously beneficial, as well as all the tuition stuff you can try out a lot of things that you would otherwise not necessarily get a chance to do. It depends on what you’re into really, there is no right or wrong answer to the college question.
for printing i now tend to do it myself at Limerick Printmakers. there are several places in the dublin region- The Copper House http://www.thecopperhousegallery.com/fine-art-printing/ would be another place who do a good job worth trying. I have used Loxley Colour http://www.loxleycolour.com (online only, based in Scotland) and found them very good
all the best
Hi Steve,
Welcome to the site, and welcome back to photography.I would agree with all the above, as for what equipment, it does come down to personal choice and also budget of course! There are many very good camera bodies to be had second hand and this possibility should be considered, camera bodies are not for life any more and you will find investing in good lenses is far more beneficial, buy a good lens and it is with you for life (barring mishaps) as to what brand you go for is entirely personal choice, as has been said Nikon and Canon being the main two with plenty of lenses being available, but the other brands are all worth considering especially as you may have lenses already that you like.
As for printing, if it is just for your own records then home printers are reasonably priced, though the ink can be expensive, I print up to A4 size at home and if there is anything special that I want printed then I would go to a specialist printer.
Plenty of tutorials on line free and also a good idea is to join a camera club, there is always someone to help out and offer advice in a club, also a good source of second hand gear!!
Whatever you decide, enjoy it, photography is a great hobby and you get to meet so many lovely people too! :D
Thank you all for the replies and good advice, yes i will get to work on completing a course, it will be online though as i don’t really have the spare time to do night courses, i’m considering joining a club alright, i bet that there’s vast knowledge to be gained from speaking with like minded people and watching how they work, good advice all round :D i’m def. going to consider the used market for my next camera, thanks all :D
Hi Steve,
You may also consider one of the Fuji mirrorless cameras – I personally love the XPro1 – great picture quality, great lenses and good fun using the camera!
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