I am looking into taking a photography course and hope to eventually open my own studio mainly dealing with babies,maternity, family and children. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I WELCOME IT!!!
Thank you! Portraits and photojournalism would require two totally different cameras for perfection. A hasselblaad 500 CM or a Mamiya RB would be great for portraits. A leica M series is great for photojournalism. If you really feel you need a camera for both, check out the Mamiya 645 AF. It is small but will give you large enough negatives to print some good shots with. You want an SLR, absolutely. To do professional photography, you're ultimate goal is going to be a top quality DSLR.
First of all, you want either a Canon or Nikon. They're the industry standards, and both companies make excellent cameras. I'd suggest finding a camera store that sells both brands, take a look at comparable SLR models from each, and decide which one you prefer. Some people like Nikons better, some prefer Canon. I'm a Canon fan myself, although I will admit I do love Nikon point and shoot I have.
Now... next thing to consider. Is that photography course you're going to take film or digital? Many introductory photography classes focus on black & white film photography. This is an excellent way to start out, plus it's cheap since the camera you'll need to purchase will be significantly cheaper than a digital SLR. I'd recommend a 35mm Canon Rebel, it's a good starter camera and any lenses you purchase for it can be used on Canon's DSLR's as well.
If you plan on going straight into digital instead, the digital version of the Canon Rebel is a good place to start. It's perfect for someone who's learning how to use an SLR.
You'll eventually want to invest in better lenses than the one that comes with the camera. Remember that cheap isn't a good way to go when purchasing lenses, poor quality lenses are just a waste of money. You're better of splurging a little on a nice lens that will last you longer. You'll want a lens that has a very low aperture (lower the number, larger the opening to allow light in - meaning you can use a faster shutter speed. You should learn all this in your photography course if you don't already know it.) I'd really suggest getting lenses with a maximum aperture of 2.8. The kit lens that comes with the Canon Rebel has a focal length of 17-85mm, you should get a general idea from using that lens whether you'll want something with a similar focal length or something longer. Before you start spending money (more that $50k on cameras and lenses plus nearly half that much for your lighting and backgrounds), get a subscription to the "Rangefinder" magazine.
There are many articles and discussions re: studio equipment, portraiture and general commercial photography If you want to know why photographers have so many cameras, it is not just out of some obsessive compulsive disorder, it is because there is no such thing as the perfect camera for every occasion. For example in photojournalism you usually want a camera that is fairly fast. Any number of 35mm as well as DSLRs fall into this category. However, these cameras aren't necessarily the hallmark of quality. There are cameras that produce much more dynamic and brilliant images such as medium and large format cameras using either film or digital backs.
Large format cameras 4x5 and above produce the best results in terms of resolution, tonal range etc but they are extremely slow to operate. Medium format cameras are again slower than your 35mm or DSLR's but are a bit more portable and definately faster.
I would suggest two cameras. To begin I would get a digital SLR for photojournalistic work. As for portraiture, I would go for medium format. It sounds like a costly venture, and indeed it is, but you can always purchase used from a place like keh.com and save lots of money. In the end it will be a lot cheaper than going out and buying a new Canon Mark series camera To answer your opening question. It is not the camera but the talent of the photographer. You can have the best equipment in the world but not be able to shoot a good picture.
So from the sounds of it you will dealing mostly in portrait work in a studio environment. Here is where you have to decide if you want to work in film or you want to go digital.
If going film then you want to go medium format (120mm film). Since a lot of photographers are switching to digital you can probably pick up an entire system at a good pro shop pretty cheap.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
If you go digital then I would stick with a Digital SLR camera which give excellent results for this kind of work. Look at the Nikon or Canon higher end pro cameras and lenses.
Studio lighting will cost you but it depends how big your studio will be and how much you want and need to spend to accomplish this. You can spend about $500 or $50,000. I would say stick to the $1000 range and you will do fine.
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Here are some here are some websites for you to look at:
http://www.betterphoto.com/home.asp
http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/
http://www.shootsmarter.com/
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.j...
http://www.lexar.com/dp/index.html?CMP=E...
And just in case you want to work on a degree:
http://www.photographyschools.com/
Hope this helps,
Kevin |
