Q & A

I often get questions about my photography and when I started learning I remember that I had a million questions I wanted answered. So I thought I'd do a little Q & A. If you have any questions I didn't answer--ask me in the comments and I'll update this entry.

What Camera do you use?

I purchased (July 2008) the Canon 5D. I absolutely love it. The lens I have is the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L. I waited for a long time for these. They were super expensive, but I was ready for them. I wanted the Canon 5D for 3 reasons.

1. I love Canon straight out of camera color.
2. It has a full frame sensor (no lens conversion factor)
3. It has low noise at higher ISO settings

What Camera did you start out with?

I started out with a used Nikon D70 that I purchased from a photographer friend. I loved it. It was such a good camera. I had the lens that came with the Kit and it is not a very clear lens. So I purchased the Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8 lens. (*Canon also makes this lens) ABSOLUTELY loved it. It was an inexpensive lens with super clear results. After I purchased it I never put my kit lens on again. It is a fixed lens so you have to move around instead of moving the lens in and out. But with the low aperture and the clarity---I loved it.

What camera would you recommend?

I would recommend starting out with a consumer or entry level camera.  To see the different levels of cameras and what cameras are assigned to those levels go to this link for NIKON, or this link for CANON.  At the bottom you will see a table that is easy to read, that should help.  There are benefits to both Nikon and Canon. I prefer Canon's color better--and that is why I switched. I have a friend who was Nikon, switched to Canon, and switched back to Nikon.  As entry level,  you would be happy with either.   I know when I first started I researched my favorite photographers and determined that the ones I was drawn to were mostly Canon users. You could try that.

To help you decide go HERE. You can make a side by side comparison of any camera you might want to purchase--that could help. It's a great resource.


Also, there are other camera manufacturers out there, like Sony, Pentax and others. I just don't know about them--it would be worth looking up though.

What is a Kit?

When you buy a camera you can either buy just the body (with no lens), or you can buy the body and it comes with a lens--a Kit. It's up to you. It's an inexpensive way to get a lens by buying the kit. But the Kit lenses are usually not the best lenses. However, I think they are better now than the one I got. I would talk to a photography store about it--I don't have that much info.


What about lenses?

As for lenses--you get what you pay for. The 50 mm seems to be an exception to the rule. The more money you spend the better the glass (lens glass--most photographers use that term--you might as well learn that now and risk looking the fool around the pros). Each camera company has their own lenses that are different levels. I'm just learning the Canon series--and never took the time to learn the Nikon. I know the the Canon "L" series are good lenses, I need to learn the terms and the reasons. I knew at one point, but if I don't write things down I forget them. If you get a lens with your intro camera (like the Rebel or D90) it may work on your upgrade. I know my 50 mm would work on an upgraded Nikon. I think most do if you get them in the right series. That is something you'll have to ask a camera pro. Or take Wendy's class and ask her--she'd know.


Where do you recommend purchasing?

The two places online I recommend are B&H Photo or Adorama. These are well known and reputable among photographers. I've purchased from both and have had good customer service. With a purchase like this I wouldn't recommend buying it from just any place online if you find it to be less expensive. Many places have mocks or refurbished without informing you. These two you can trust.

What bag do you use?

I have a Jo Totes bag. I have friends who use a shootsac . Also I know a lot of photographers like Crumpler.  Also Jill-E bags are super popular.  There is another company that makes an insert that you can put into any purse.  Google it.



Do you use Photoshop?

Yes. have Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Creative Suite 3). It is an expensive program. I got it for cheaper through studentdiscounts.com with a student ID. There are also other places you can get it less expensive with a student ID--just check around. I believe I paid around $400 for it. It is computer specific i.e. MAC or Windows--so pay attention.

Before I could afford Photoshop, and before I had a Mac, I downloaded Picasa. It's from Google. I loved it, it has basic tweakable things you can do, and it is a great organizer for your photos.

Do you tweak your images at all?

Yes--all of them. I never post an image SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera). I usually go through a defog (makes it clearer) and color boost of some sort. I do this all in Photoshop. I would say that every photographer you see does some sort of post-production (computer enhancement/photoshop) work. I usually use some sort of action. Actions are steps in photoshop that people do and instead of doing each step individually, they can record the steps into one action. So you just open your photo, pick your action, and then press play and the steps are done for you. You can create your own and also buy other people's actions. The defog I use is an action I created myself --I learned how to do this in Wendy's class (see below). As for purchased actions, I own these action sets:


Itty Bitty

Pioneer Woman (FREE!)
I mostly use  Totally Rad Actions

A bit about actions:

I consider actions cheating. I admit I'm a cheater. A true photography professional knows and understands Photoshop. I am currently honing my photoshop skills on Lynda.com--it is an online learning center which totally rocks. You pay to watch video tutorials on any number of things. The one I am learning is "Photoshop for Photographers". They have everything from learning Apple programs--Adobe programs--basically any computer program--Windows or Mac. It's great and you can subscribe month to month or a year subscriptions. Well worth it. Anyhow--back to the cheating. In order to truly use the actions to the fullest potential you need to be able to tweak them individually. Something you can't do if you don't understand Photoshop. You need to understand how they did it--at least marginally. So if you plan on going the action route, I suggest still learning Photoshop--especially if you want to keep up with what the pros are talking about, and get your moneys worth from the actions.


What computer do you have?

It doesn't matter--but I use an iMAC 24 inch, and it is the raddest thing out there.


How long have you been taking photos?

Honestly, since January 2007 when I bought my camera. I never took photography in high school. I always considered myself to be not a creative person. I've never been artistic in my life. I'm good at math and science and stuff that is linear--not the artistic side of the brain. But I always saw pictures and thought--I could do that. I'd try with my point and shoot and it never worked. So finally I decided to take the plunge and spend the money. As it turns out--I can do it. It was a shock to me. I think it's because there are linear rules to photography that makes photos look appealing. That's my only explanation.

What classes have you taken?

I took a beginning photo class at Chandler/Gilbert from Scott Lizama. I'm not sure if he's still there, but he was a great teacher. That class covered all of the basics of photography and spanned the different forms.

I took a Portrait Photography class from Wendy Schulz. The class is worth every penny. It's all done online--so you can take it from wherever you live. She helped me so much with portraiture. The beginning class will teach all about exposure, ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, metering, composition, and all other sorts of things. I took both classes, although since I had already taken the course at Chandler/Gilbert, I knew the basics--but I still learned tons. The best things about this course, is that when you are done you are linked to an alumni forum. This has all of her alumni on it and you can post questions and get answers and links and tutorials forever and ever. She also answers questions on the forum, so you still have her as a resource. It's great---it makes the price worth it. She is one of those people who reads things, or watches things and retains everything. She knows a crapload. Check out Wendy's class HERE.

p.s. If you end up taking Wendy's class let me know--I can look out for you on the alumni board.


Will you teach me what you know?

I don't teach classes. All I learned is from those classes I took and some books I've read. As soon as I remember them, I'll add that question and answer it. I know I started out with DSLR for dummies--no kidding. Anyhoodles, I may answer some questions here and there, if it is something I learned on my own. I paid a crap load of money to learn stuff, and I think everyone who wants to call themselves a "photographer" should do the same. Also, if it is anything I learned in Wendy's class--I won't tell you. This is how she makes her living, and I would be jipping her by offering that information to you. But if you want to learn it--take her class, you won't be disappointed. With that said--still ask questions, I will either give you an answer, or tell you where you could learn it i.e. Lynda, a book, or Wendy's class. Also--Google works fantastic. There are a ton of free photography tips online, you just have to find them.

One thing you'll learn as you take classes and read information is--- the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. Photography is complicated-- there are a million different things to it. So do what you can to increase your knowledge. Spend the money--it's worth it.

Any more questions? Those are the only ones I can think of.