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One underrated benefit of wielding a standalone camera is the mindset it puts you in. When I use my phone, I find myself not putting as much thought into the s

One underrated benefit of wielding a standalone camera is the mindset it puts you in. When I use my phone, I find myself not putting as much thought into the shot. For whatever reason, holding a nice camera puts me into a creative state of mind. It makes photography more fun, and I end up with better photos simply because I’m more engaged.

Someone1234 4y ago
I agree, but I'd go one step further: Even a lot of digital cameras have too many bells and whistles, so something like a Fujifilm X100 series or only shooting with a single prime on a mirrorless body can help. A lot of "serious" [online] photography people dismiss or even mock automatic mode, but honestly subject, scene, and theme (and or story telling) is far more important than ISO/shutter speed/aperture/etc, yet every photography tutorial or guide is focused on the least important part (i.e. mastery of dry settings/specs/tech). I'd point people to "toy camera challenge" on YouTube or elsewhere, where photographers are able to take an e.g. 1.4 megapixel Barbie Camera with no settings and produce better photos than you or I. PS - While I'm saying photography heresy let me also say this: Shooting straight to JPG (instead of RAW) and picking a single color palette for longer periods will help you understand your photographic taste and really force you to capture the scene in front of you rather than creating the final product in post-production. Is it suboptimal? Absolutely. Is learning post-production tooling useful? Sure. But artificial restrictions often breed creativity, and post-production can become a crutch.
lake_vincent 4y ago
Yes, this!! I'll be in the car and will pull over to take good photos of a sunset if I have my DSLR with me, but not if I just have my phone. I agree there is a different mode it puts me in that a phone camera has yet to capture.
shagie 4y ago
... and once you can get within that mindset and understand the limitations of the tool and how to play with it... You can find people like Ted Orland. I'm still in awe of his Dawn at Mono Lake in Winter ( https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/dawn-at-mono-lake-in-winter?variant=29070517534784 https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/... ) and Tree in Snowstorm ( https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/tree-in-snowstorm-yosemite-valley?variant=29070519074880 https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/... ). Some others - https://web.archive.org/web/20070302193018/http://www.tedorland.com/panoramas/panorama.html https://web.archive.org/web/20070302193018/http://www.tedorl... These photos where shot and then reassembled afterwards. One of the neat things with them is that you can see the outside the frame information on the print - and so seeing an "11" in one spot followed with a bit of rotation on another square with a "12" - you can feel how the photograph was taken - its like seeing the brush strokes on a painting. He took regular photos too - Ted Orland Black & White "Even Ansel Adams Has To Make A Living" 1972 https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/photography/ted-orland-black-white-even-ansel-adams-has-to-make-living-1972/id-f_15076041/ https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/photograp... (I recall chatting with a photographer who had a gallery in Bishop - it wasn't Galen Rowell, but someone with one nearby - and the mundane aspect of being a professional photographer meant bidding against the other photographers who lived in the area for the school photo contract that year. This is what Ted Orland was hinting at in the title, even though I don't believe that was a regular school photo.)

Someone1234 4y ago

I agree, but I'd go one step further: Even a lot of digital cameras have too many bells and whistles, so something like a Fujifilm X100 series or only shooting with a single prime on a mirrorless body can help. A lot of "serious" [online] photography people dismiss or even mock automatic mode, but honestly subject, scene, and theme (and or story telling) is far more important than ISO/shutter speed/aperture/etc, yet every photography tutorial or guide is focused on the least important part (i.e. mastery of dry settings/specs/tech). I'd point people to "toy camera challenge" on YouTube or elsewhere, where photographers are able to take an e.g. 1.4 megapixel Barbie Camera with no settings and produce better photos than you or I. PS - While I'm saying photography heresy let me also say this: Shooting straight to JPG (instead of RAW) and picking a single color palette for longer periods will help you understand your photographic taste and really force you to capture the scene in front of you rather than creating the final product in post-production. Is it suboptimal? Absolutely. Is learning post-production tooling useful? Sure. But artificial restrictions often breed creativity, and post-production can become a crutch.

lake_vincent 4y ago

Yes, this!! I'll be in the car and will pull over to take good photos of a sunset if I have my DSLR with me, but not if I just have my phone. I agree there is a different mode it puts me in that a phone camera has yet to capture.

shagie 4y ago

... and once you can get within that mindset and understand the limitations of the tool and how to play with it... You can find people like Ted Orland. I'm still in awe of his Dawn at Mono Lake in Winter ( https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/dawn-at-mono-lake-in-winter?variant=29070517534784 https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/... ) and Tree in Snowstorm ( https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/tree-in-snowstorm-yosemite-valley?variant=29070519074880 https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland/products/... ). Some others - https://web.archive.org/web/20070302193018/http://www.tedorland.com/panoramas/panorama.html https://web.archive.org/web/20070302193018/http://www.tedorl... These photos where shot and then reassembled afterwards. One of the neat things with them is that you can see the outside the frame information on the print - and so seeing an "11" in one spot followed with a bit of rotation on another square with a "12" - you can feel how the photograph was taken - its like seeing the brush strokes on a painting. He took regular photos too - Ted Orland Black & White "Even Ansel Adams Has To Make A Living" 1972 https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/photography/ted-orland-black-white-even-ansel-adams-has-to-make-living-1972/id-f_15076041/ https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/photograp... (I recall chatting with a photographer who had a gallery in Bishop - it wasn't Galen Rowell, but someone with one nearby - and the mundane aspect of being a professional photographer meant bidding against the other photographers who lived in the area for the school photo contract that year. This is what Ted Orland was hinting at in the title, even though I don't believe that was a regular school photo.)