5d ago

What's something people incorrectly assume about your line of work and/or hobby?

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"oh wow your photography is so nice what camera do you use?"
._. photography is 80% skill and 20% gear and yet, i never get asked "what technique did you use?", it's always about the camera i use, as if this entry level DSLR is framing and shooting on its own
- What techniques do you use?
  
  oh various ones! what i pick always depends on the lighting conditions, if the subject is stationary or moving, and the vibe i want for the photo.
  i definitely prefer single thought out takes rather than rapid fire 20 photos with hope that one of them is the one (i don't shoot sports often). And overall i really like framing things with the foreground to give a feeling of depth to the photo. In post processing i focus on making the photos look like i remember them to have been, coloured by memory and all that, rather than try to recreate realism 1:1. i'm being kinda vague but my photos are mostly on my PC and i use lemmy on mobile so can't point to anything more specific, and tbf, a lot of my best takes are just patience and or luck
  above all though, i like experimenting with how i shoot or edit :)
  thanks for asking <3
  
  I'm the opposite, lots of rapid fire photos, but I do photo a lot of animals. I don't pose them either. I like candid shots of the pets doing there thing.
  
  I got to sit through a photos and editing class as a para last year and I learned so much about it! I really wish film was easier to get developed because I have this beautiful 60 year old agfamatic that I adore using and now I actually know how to adjust for lighting and angle, different framing techniques, and everything, but I still can't afford to develop the shots.
- I took this photo with my iPhone 12 mini:
  https://metapixl.com/p/Stoy/797570781570361213
  It is a fantastic photo, I use it as my current lockscreen.
  This photo was taken with my Lumix S5
  https://metapixl.com/p/Stoy/795407386229307789
  They are two very different photos, I hesitate to rank them in terms of how good they are.
  A good camera gives the photographer more tools to get the photo they want, but you still need skills and experience to take good photos.
  
  Damn. TIL I'm a bot and can't view either link.
  
  Ah, I am very sad to hear that, I hope you are a good bot like the T-800 in Terminator 2!
- ._. photography is 80% skill and 20% gear and yet, i never get asked "what technique did you use?"
  How do you even answer that question? "Rule of thirds :)"? It's not like you're using a technique, it's a mixture of many techniques. Do you just go into a Photography 101 lesson?
  "What equipment do you use?" Has a simple, exact answer, which can open the door to more in depth conversation.
  
  there's a bit more to it than the rule of thirds
  there's always a leading style, technique, or idea behind the process that happens before you take the photo. and that process can be explained, to a degree
  
  Yes, I know, that's why I used it as an overly-reductive example. I'm saying you can't just easily explain your technique. Even if you identify the leading style, a good photo is going to incorporate a number of principles and techniques. That's why my alternative was launching into a Photography 101 lesson.
  When someone asks you what equipment you use, they probably fall into one of two camps:
  -They're making smalltalk about your hobby, in which case again, that opens the door to a more in depth conversation if that's the vibe. "I used X camera with Y lens, which works really well with this kind of framing at these settings." You can even skip the equipment entirely and just focus on a particular effect and how you achieved it, explaining how it's more to do with lens settings and composition than a specific camera.
  -They're interested in the hobby themselves, and looking for information that will inform what kind of equipment they will start using. A good photographer can make use of a disposable camera, but someone starting off needs a bit of guidance to find equipment that is good enough for serious work, but cheap enough for an entry level enthusiast.

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