Most photographers never need to upgrade from this level. The image quality is outstanding and useful in most artistic and commercial applications. I shoot exclusively with cameras from this level and have produced commercial images for major clients, including billboards and movie posters. If you're serious about photography and looking for a place to start, research the cameras in this level.
The professional leveclass="underline" This level offers a few options that are very specific and appeal to photographers who know exactly what they want based on their photography style. Professional cameras generally are $3,500, but they can easily cost you $7,000.
These cameras aren't necessary for beginners, but they can be beneficial to a photographer who shoots for specific clients and needs the highest quality available. If you shoot sports events and need the fastest camera on the market, or if you're an artist and want to produce the largest prints with the highest quality, this level of camera may be for you.
Before purchasing your camera, research to see what's available. Choose a specific brand and look at the different cameras that the company offers. Pay attention to what features are available in certain price ranges. When you find the price range that works best for your needs, compare the different brands that offer something at that price. Also read online reviews that other photographers have written and compare each brand to find out which will serve you and your photography style best.
Looking for a lens to suit your needs
After you find your camera body, you need at least one lens. Determine which focal length would best suit you and whether you need a zoom lens or a fixed lens. (I describe each of these lenses in the earlier section "Making the All-Important Lens Choice.")
A great general-use lens for beginners is a 28mm-135mm zoom lens. You can acquire more lenses over time, but if you can have only one lens right now, make it one that has a good range of focal lengths.
Each camera body is designed to work with lenses made from the same company, and you generally can't mix and match. For instance, Canon lenses aren't compatible with Nikon cameras (and vice versa). However, some companies make lenses that are compatible with those two brands. If you do the research and find out which lenses work with your camera, you may be able to save some cash. I recommend reading reviews from other photographers before buying anything, however.
Selecting memory cards
Sure, a camera body and lens are important if you want to take photos, but unless you have something to store those digital photos on, you can only pretend to shoot. You need memory cards to record your images and download them to your computer. The size and shape of the card varies depending on the make of your camera. Check your owner's manual to be sure you purchase the proper card.
Memory cards come with different storage sizes and different speeds. Most photographers don't need to buy the biggest, fastest, and most expensive cards. I recommend starting out with a few 4 gigabyte (GB) cards that have a rating of at least 30 megabytes per second.
Having four 4GB cards as opposed to one 16GB card enables you to store images in multiple areas rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. Imagine shooting all day and then realizing that the one card that contains all your images is lost or broken.
Getting the right external flash
Sometimes the light you have in a scene isn't adequate for getting the exposure you want for your image. In this case, you need to have some sort of artificial light, such as an external flash or strobe. (You can find more information about lighting in Chapter 10.)
Your camera brand makes external flashes that are designed to work specifically with your camera. When you connect the flash to the camera, the two products communicate and automatically expose images. The camera adjusts its exposure settings and tells the flash how much light to produce in order for the scene to be properly exposed. This flash process is referred to as through-the-lens exposure analysis, or TTL. You can find out how to set your flash to TTL by reading the flash owner's manual.
TTL creates a simple shooting experience in which you don't have to worry about setting the intensity of your flash, but it only works when the camera and the flash are made by the same company. Don't try to mount a Nikon flash on a Canon body and expect the two to sync with TTL features.
Trying, a tripod
Tripods are essential for taking images with slow shutter speeds and for leveling your camera to ensure a proper perspective in nature and architecture photography. (Chapter 8 tells you more about perspective.) I bring a tripod on every shoot whether I plan to use it or not. It's nice to have it when you need it.
You can find tripods in different weights and sizes. The most important factor to consider when purchasing a tripod is what you plan to use it for. Consider the following:
If you are a travel or nature photographer and go on long hikes with your gear, you want a tripod that's lightweight and compact.
If you shoot architecture, you want a tripod that has a great deal of extension in the legs; architecture photographers commonly shoot from high angles for exterior shots. For this type of photography, a tripod that reaches at least 10 feet is essential (and so is bringing a step stool along with it).
A studio photographer would be best suited with a heavy tripod that's as large and sturdy as possible.
Look at the different tripods available and determine what qualities would best suit you and your style of photography.
Figure 3–7 shows a scene with a still subject that I photographed using a very slow shutter speed of 1 second. I took the image on the left while the camera was fixed to a tripod. The result is a sharp image. I held the camera in my hands to snap the image on the right. As you can see, the natural movement of my hands caused the scene to become blurry with motion blur.
50mm, / sec. (on a tripod), f/5.8, 100 50mm, 1 sec. (hand-held), f/5.8, 100
Figure 3–7: Placing your camera on a tripod enables you to use slow shutter speeds and maintain sharpness in a still scene.
Part II. Elements of Photographic Design
Photographic composition involves many V layers and ideas, and in this part of the book you find out about the elements that go into any composition. I introduce you to the fundamentals that lead you toward amazing photographs, and I also tell you about the rules of composition that decades of photographic talent have honed. (You do yourself a service in learning them, but don't think you can't break them.) Finally, I round out the part with a helpful chapter on using color in your compositions.
Chapter 4. Introducing the Elements of Photographic Design
In This Chapter
Determining what your points of interest are in a scene
Understanding lines in composition
Differentiating between shape and form
Working with texture to increase scale and depth
Exploring the patterns you can include in your compositions