What Makes a Good Photographer? It's More Than Just a Fancy Camera

I often find that aspiring photographers have a certain stereotype: “the more expensive the equipment, the better the quality of photography”. In fact, there is little truth here, which is shattered by the harsh reality.

Of course, there are expensive, high-quality lenses, but simple lenses can also cope, if you know how to work with them. Today we'll look at how to make a vase not run away from the operator like a dog, where ISO comes from and what distinguishes pros from nubs in this field.

Types of lenses

I get it, not everyone is ready to splurge on professional equipment. Many novice photographers will fail to understand the overwhelming number of settings present in beginner cameras, thus driving them away. Then, how to become a better photographer without the proper gear? 

One basic camera setting with fundamental parameters is sufficient for learning adequate photography. If you're ready to try and take your photography to the next level, I suggest reading these tips to help you with that. What makes a photograph good is the lens, and a professional photograph exists because of proper lens selection along a defined purpose:

1. The wide-angle lens serves two functions: it enables you to capture narrow spots while delivering excellent results in architectural and landscape photography.

2. Standard lens functions in portrait shots, street photos and regular photography situations as well as medium-close-up movie scenes.

3. The telephoto lens unit combines a telepositive element for collecting light with a telephoto glass piece acting as a disperser. The capabilities of this lens become accessible when you use it to photograph sports or wildlife.

4. Macro lenses function exclusively for close-range photography of small objects because they extend their unit size (insects, flowers, and details).

Only these basic types are commo,n but photographers also develop creative versions of each type. The field of view for a fish-eye lens remains between 120-160° while showing very strong distortion throughout the image. This particular lens primarily serves extreme sports yet provides successful results for capturing architecture and abstract subjects too. A perfect lens for this specification would be the Canon EF 8-15 mm f/4L together with the Nikon 10.5 mm f/2.8G model.

Trying infrared lenses as an alternative represents an interesting photographer's choice. The lenses transmit infrared light through which you can produce dreamlike images having strange color patterns. This kind of lens presents a disadvantage because it needs either camera modification or IR filter addition for implementation. The Helios 44-2 functions together with other older manual cameras as the standard equipment.

Exposure Triangle

Settings such as ISO, shutter speed, and aperture will help you to be less dependent on lighting conditions and learn how to get good at photography. They are also called the exposure triangle and all 3 values are responsible for light, but in different ways. When you set them up correctly, you will get a photo that is pleasing to the eye. A huge plus of this triangle is its flexibility. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everything, but you can bend it to suit your needs.

ISO

“ISO”, sometimes referred to as ASA in the old days of cinema, refers to the camera sensor's light sensitivity. This is believed to be an abbreviation of a separate indicator, and this is partly true. The first 2 letters can be deciphered as “index” and “sensitivity”. But what the “O” stands for, other than “organization,” remains a mystery.

In simple terms, ISO is the sensor's sensitivity to light and stands for International Organization for Standartization. Its setting will determine how dark or light the photo will turn out. The darker it is where you're taking the photo, the higher the ISO setting you should set.

In 1974, a term carried over from motion picture film, ISO came together to establish a single standard for the light sensitivity of color film to replace the various ASA and DIN standards that existed with a single, more clearly defined standard. The result is now ISO 5800:2001 (standards for color film), ISO 6:1993 (monochrome film), and ISO 2240:2003 (color transparencies). As digital cameras have become more popular, ISO has defined a set of standards (ISO 12232:2006) by which ISO ratings for camera sensors can be indexed back to the same sensitivity on film.

Aperture

The opening through which light enters the camera is the aperture. The wider it is open, the more light will enter. It can be compared to the human pupil, which shrinks when exposed to bright light. So it is with the camera: this pupil must be adjusted independently to balance the exposure.

It also affects the blurriness of the background: the wider the aperture, the more blurred the background and vice versa. This can help you focus on something specific or just slightly separate the subject from the background. 

Shutter speed

This is responsible for how long the camera's shutter is open during shooting. The longer the shutter is open, the more light will reach the image sensor. Setting a short shutter speed allows us to take a picture of something in motion while keeping the photo sharp. At the same time, you should use a higher ISO value or a wider aperture to balance the settings.

I found something enjoyable for you here. I think you have at least once wondered “why people in old photos do not smile at all?”. It's all about the technology of photography, in those days photos were created with special plates and light was captured by glass covered with silver and treated with mercury vapor to develop the image. By 1836 it took about 15 minutes for an image to be fixed on such a plate. Could you sit through that long with a smile and not move an inch? That's why persistence and patience are the most important qualities of a photographer.

The shutter speed was adjusted in the first cameras by opening and closing the lens cap. Nowadays, however, it is done with a photographic shutter. The simplest digital cameras don't need a mechanical shutter, but instead use a time-limited readout.

Professional and regular. What are the differences?

Professional cameras may seem complicated and incomprehensible to beginners, because they are focused on manually adjusting parameters. Unlike simpler options, there are more settings and you need to “play” with them yourself. Ordinary cameras are aimed at facilitating learning and mostly have auto settings. 

Equipment for pros, as a rule, is bigger and heavier. This is not particularly convenient if your shooting is planned far from home. The quality of photos in such ones is much higher, and their number made from a single battery charge is greater. Also, the matrix size is larger, the shutter life is longer (how many actuations can it withstand), and the characteristics of the viewfinder and its types are better. There are only 3 of them on the market:

• optical (mirror);

• electronic (mirrorless);

• hybrid.

It is generally accepted that the optical one is better, as it reflects everything in real time and scale. On the downside: it is not designed to focus, but only to find the composition. To reflect the picture on the electronic viewfinder, it will have to be first digitized by the matrix and processed, but it can show how the picture will look like at the selected parameters. And in low-light conditions, the EVF can enhance brightness.

How to make light work for us

If there is not enough light or, on the contrary, too much, even the best camera will not help you much. You may use a background color changer. For example, on a cloudy night, the moon is the only light source in every city, but the camera won't do anything if it goes behind a cloud. Will the camera make the photo a little better? It won't do us any good if we want to be the best. So now we will figure out how to use the lighting to our advantage instead of working against it.

We've already established that shutter speed, aperture and ISO are responsible for the amount of light in your photos. However, they are unlikely to help much if you're standing against the sun when trying to photograph a person. 

Sometimes light will emphasize imperfections and even distort facial features if it is not set correctly. And vice versa, if it is set right, it can emphasize what we need: idealize the subject, set the atmosphere, mood, and emphasize emotions. Later, you can add lighting effects to photos that help highlight their uniqueness and improve the photo. This knowledge will help you how to be a good photographer.

Knowledge is power, or why you need to get to know your subject

When photographing a vase, for example, we realize that it won't get far from us. We have time to think about it, choose an angle, and move it to another place. But what if we are photographing a dog? Even if we give it the command to sit, it can, at least, turn its head, which will greatly interfere. We have the advantage we need by picking up an item that will catch his attention. Knowing the subject immediately can tell you the best angle, lighting, and camera settings. Having studied what you will work with, there will be more ideas for creativity and experimentation. You need to learn to find an approach, anticipate, and catch moments, and your photos will be truly alive. To find inspiration and creative ideas, you can read about types of photographers and their unique ideas about photography.

The Final Step

Processing and editing the photographs occur during the final stage. Any professional photographer, including myself, finds extensive freedom during this phase of photo production. Multiple digital applications today enable users to convert images to candy format by applying functions for editing and enhancement purposes. I advise using Luminar Neo because it is an exceptional iPhone AI photo editor. Working with light alongside mastery in composition and personal style makes up the essential core competencies of a photographer, which aid both experts and beginners in their photographic work.