Things a Photographer Uses
A photographer’s most basic piece of equipment is his camera. While an amateur can take high-quality photos with a simple point-and-shoot digital camera or an iPhone, a professional or aspiring professional photographer takes a greater interest in his camera’s capabilities: its megapixel content, its shutter speed, its ability to take different types of lenses or its zoom capacity. A camera, however, is not all that a good photographer needs.
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Digital Vs. Film
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Photographers are passionate about their medium; while some swear by digital photography, others prefer the old-world charm of film. The most basic advantage of digital photography is the ability to see the image you have just taken reflected back on your screen immediately; if anything about the frame is not perfect, you can continue shooting until it meets your standards. According to photographer Roger Clark, one advantage of film cameras is the ability to take photos at high resolution; most digital cameras do not have enough megapixels to take high-resolution images. He notes, however, that the electronic sensors in a digital camera do a better job of reducing grains and other disturbances in images. According to The Discerning Photographer, every photographer should keep an extra camera in the event that one breaks.
Lenses
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The Discerning Photographer also recommends including several types of lenses in your photography kit. The first of these is a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses come with different zoom capacities; a wide-angle lens with a high zoom capacity is quite expensive, while a lens with less zoom might demand that the photographer do a lot more moving around to get a shot, but will cost far less. A telephoto zoom lens is another essential camera lens. A high-quality telephoto zoom lens might cost more than $1,000 but it allows photographers not only to take high-quality, close-range shots, but also to focus images in the foreground while obscuring those in the background.
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Tripods
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A tripod performs a simple, but essential, function for a photographer: stabilizing the camera. Conditions, such as darkness, extreme brightness or sunlight and proximity of the subject effect the camera’s image quality. No photographer’s hand is 100 percent steady; the shaking of the camera will often produce a blurry image. Setting the camera down on a surface risks falling, but a tripod locks the camera in place, eliminating this risk.
Instincts
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Some photographers shoot only scenes that they set themselves in a studio. Others troll for photographs at events or in cities or parks. A photographer who sets out looking for images to shoot must rely on instincts to find those shots. Where those instincts lead depends on the individual photographer. Some will see something beautiful in a dead tree while others may prefer to shoot flowers or urban scenery.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
