Okay so I have totally been bitten by the 365 bug! I spend hours reading the boards and every time I see a photo I adore its taken by an amazing camera. I have a regular nothing special canon. I really enjoy taking pictures and I have been toying with the idea of getting a DSLR, the thing is I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a camera if I am really not that good , although I hate the idea of putting myself out there because there are SOO many of you that will probably laugh at my stupid pictures.. do you think I have enough natural ability to get an expensive camera?
Forget about whether or not you are gifted - good photography can be learnt! If you think you can handle the technical aspects of shooting with a DSLR, get one. If you think you'll put it on auto mode, don't bother. I reckon it really is that simple. :)
First off let me say that every photo you take .. whether you think its good or bad.. you learn from! It can come out blurred and you can learn from it. So practice practice practice!
You are never going to know if your good or not if you don't give it a go =)
You have some really good photos there =) if your not ready to go to a DSLR then stick with what you have and refine your technique a little more till you are ready =)
Thank you rose :) Practice makes perfect in photography than I guess. I would happily learn the technical aspects of the DSLR its not that. Here is a perfect example haha, If I went out and bought myself 600 dollars worth of art supplies, I can not draw more than a stick figure, even after TONS of and reading about different brush strokes and hours of practice. I will never be a painter haha. If its not the same with photography than I will gladly give it a go.. thank you guys for the advice! :)
If it is the cost that is holding you back, you may want to invest a bit less and purchase a gently used or refurbished dslr. I know the dreaded Craigslist sometimes has dslrs. You should probably think about what you want your camera to do and then research models on www.dpreview.com and read the full reviews. They are a great place to learn the difference between brands and models. And back to your reference, knowing if you want to paint in watercolor, acrylic or oil before buying the supplies helps out.
Sharon, I kept using my little point and shoot until I realised that I wanted more out of my camera... you know, I was trying to do things with the little thing that was not possible... so I upgraded. The time to upgrade was certain. So my advice is to keep going with your regular nothing special canon until you get to that moment when you ask your camera to do something more than it can handle...
Honestly I wouldn't worry about the camera you use. This is coming from someone who is currently using their iPhone. Feel free to check out my photos..... Like you I want to upgrade to a better camera. For the time being, I am holding off doing that. I want to make sure I am learning from this experience before I throw in something else that I would need to learn.
buy a second hand dslr, best thing about them is you can upgrade the lenses, or the body at any time (so long as the lenses fit) there is heaps to choose from, and just think, a couple of years ago a 30d was a really good camera, and just because you can get better now doesnt mean that its not still a good camera :)
As someone who exclusively uses their phone camera for their 365, I know how frustrating it can be to have a camera that just doesn't do what you want it to do. I am currently saving up for a dslr but, being just a student and having my heart set on a Canon E0S 60D, I think this is going to take a while. So I have pretty much resigned myself to using my phone camera for the rest of this year.. and now I quite enjoy the challenge of having to compose shots that work with a camera that has nothing more adjustable than 'flash on/off' and 'colour, black and white, or sepia'.
As for your question about being good at it.. I think it is almost impossible to be *bad* at photography. It is perfectly possible to be *not good*, but I don't think it is like the art analogy you used. When you sit down with a blank piece of paper you have to create something from nothing, using just your imagination and your skills (or lack of!). When you pick up your camera, as long as you have the ability to press the shutter button, you instantly have a photo, and therefore you have a starting point.
After that you need to refine your technique - rather than learning from scratch, because you have something to work with. You look at your photos - on your own or with someone else - and decide what you do or don't like about them, and then try to improve those things next time. For technical things (like DOF, editing, focussing etc) it's useful to have the opinion of a more experience photographer to suggest ways to improve. For subject, I find the most useful opinions can be from people who don't take photos as much; they look at your photos and they don't see the exposure time or the different lenses you used or the make of camera you have, they just see the subject of the picture. Children can be brutally honest and sometimes some of the best critiques - "Mommy I like the yellow boat", when the yellow boat certainly wasn't your intended focal point, can be a useful insight into what is most eye-catching.
I hope that all made sense, it was a bit long-winded. I also have the 365 bug and before I started I made a huge list of places I could put my duck for photos. After about 4 days I realised that I was completely wrong and I would have to change almost all of them - simply because I was getting the hang of 'what makes a good photo'. I certainly wouldn't say I have got it yet - I still have a *very* long way to go - but I learn something new every day from this website and all the amazing people who post their own photos and comment on mine. :)
@katiegc24 absolutely agree with everything, but let your head rule your heart, as @lightfantastic said there are some really good reconditioned cameras out there, why not get one as soon as, then upgrade the lens as funds allow?
@pete21 - Definitely :) For some crazy reason I have decided to save up for an expensive, brand new camera. I don't even know why.. I just like it :/ but yeah, getting a better camera can only do good things for your pics imho :)
@katiegc24 i was extremely lucky and started out with a canon 5d (thanks daddy) which i recently broke and had to replace (big sad face) during this time i found it hard to use any other camera (we have a 30d, 1Ds and D60) so i can understand having your heart set on something and not having it
but if i really wanted to take photos, i used the other cameras, and was usually really surprised and happy with the results, we bought our 30d last year for $300 and we just sold our D60 for $250, both are in excellent condition and take great photos, so there are still good ones out there
so long as you decide what brand you want to go with (canon/nikon etc) you can buy lenses that will fit even if you upgrade (anything other than full frame cameras will fit most lenses)
You know,us,"365"-ers all meet up ocasionally and just laugh out loud at how bad photos newbies take! So thanks for joining,giving us more matterial!
...okay,I`m just kidding.I don`t see why anyone would "laugh" at other peoples shots,unless they are intended to be funny.
I`m not really a DSLR geek,so the only advice I can give is just shoot away,learn the basics about composition and stuff,and once you feel you need "more" then your camera can give you,buy a DSLR. But don`t expect your photos to be great,because of it,most of the great photos you see are edited (sometimes heavily over-processed) in Photoshop and tons of other softwares,so you should get a hang of that,too.
For years I used a simple point and shoot, my trusty Pentax Optio M40. It wasn't the best camera, but if you know how to use it you can get some great shots! When I was 16 my parents offered to buy me a DLSR and I turned it down because I didn't think I was ready for it - it was a lot of money and I wasn't sure how serious I was about photography. 2 years later and I've gotten really into it so I got one for my 18th. I loved my little Pentax but my 500D really is my baby now!
You'll know when you really want one. P&S can take great photographs when you know how to use them, but DSLRs give you more flexability and settings to play with to get the photo you want.
I am not a techy at all... and only upgrade when I realize that I have out grown my old camera... good camera -crappy shot. crap ca,era- great shot!! can go both ways... look at the old photos of years gone by.... they didn't use DSLR's.
its in the eye.. and if you think you have the eye, then go for it... and if not then wait till it feels right!!
thank you guys for all of your advice! i will play around the next couple of weeks, do a ton of research on what I want and figure it out then :) Not only did I get great advice but I also got lots of people to follow and more people following me! :D
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First off let me say that every photo you take .. whether you think its good or bad.. you learn from! It can come out blurred and you can learn from it. So practice practice practice!
You are never going to know if your good or not if you don't give it a go =)
You have some really good photos there =) if your not ready to go to a DSLR then stick with what you have and refine your technique a little more till you are ready =)
and yeah, the 365 bug is soooo contagious!
As for your question about being good at it.. I think it is almost impossible to be *bad* at photography. It is perfectly possible to be *not good*, but I don't think it is like the art analogy you used. When you sit down with a blank piece of paper you have to create something from nothing, using just your imagination and your skills (or lack of!). When you pick up your camera, as long as you have the ability to press the shutter button, you instantly have a photo, and therefore you have a starting point.
After that you need to refine your technique - rather than learning from scratch, because you have something to work with. You look at your photos - on your own or with someone else - and decide what you do or don't like about them, and then try to improve those things next time. For technical things (like DOF, editing, focussing etc) it's useful to have the opinion of a more experience photographer to suggest ways to improve. For subject, I find the most useful opinions can be from people who don't take photos as much; they look at your photos and they don't see the exposure time or the different lenses you used or the make of camera you have, they just see the subject of the picture. Children can be brutally honest and sometimes some of the best critiques - "Mommy I like the yellow boat", when the yellow boat certainly wasn't your intended focal point, can be a useful insight into what is most eye-catching.
I hope that all made sense, it was a bit long-winded. I also have the 365 bug and before I started I made a huge list of places I could put my duck for photos. After about 4 days I realised that I was completely wrong and I would have to change almost all of them - simply because I was getting the hang of 'what makes a good photo'. I certainly wouldn't say I have got it yet - I still have a *very* long way to go - but I learn something new every day from this website and all the amazing people who post their own photos and comment on mine. :)
but if i really wanted to take photos, i used the other cameras, and was usually really surprised and happy with the results, we bought our 30d last year for $300 and we just sold our D60 for $250, both are in excellent condition and take great photos, so there are still good ones out there
so long as you decide what brand you want to go with (canon/nikon etc) you can buy lenses that will fit even if you upgrade (anything other than full frame cameras will fit most lenses)
...okay,I`m just kidding.I don`t see why anyone would "laugh" at other peoples shots,unless they are intended to be funny.
I`m not really a DSLR geek,so the only advice I can give is just shoot away,learn the basics about composition and stuff,and once you feel you need "more" then your camera can give you,buy a DSLR. But don`t expect your photos to be great,because of it,most of the great photos you see are edited (sometimes heavily over-processed) in Photoshop and tons of other softwares,so you should get a hang of that,too.
You'll know when you really want one. P&S can take great photographs when you know how to use them, but DSLRs give you more flexability and settings to play with to get the photo you want.
its in the eye.. and if you think you have the eye, then go for it... and if not then wait till it feels right!!