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“Your photos are amazing, you must have an expensive camera!” The first thing said to me as I sat down to relax at an end of season soccer party for my kid.
I can’t tell you how many times as a photographer I have heard that phrase or something similar.
Over the years I have taken terrible photos with an expensive camera. I have also learned how to take photos that I am pretty proud of with my cell phone. It all boils down to how well you know your gear, composition, lighting, posing, etc, and whether you do any editing. You don’t need an expensive camera to take great photos!
Two Very Different Images Taken With the Same “Fancy” Camera
To show you how different the results can be with the same gear, I took my Maizie out for a photo shoot and took one image with my camera on Auto Mode in a random place in the field. And a second one in Manual Mode in a better location in the same field.
Here is the first image shot with my Sony A7r IV with an expensive lens on Auto – but with bad lighting and not paying attention to composition. My subject is over exposed, the color balance is wrong and there is too much space in the background. While I could crop, I would not be able to completely save this image with editing because of the blown highlights.
I have no idea why she has a stick in her collar – she is weird like that *face palm*
Here is another image shot with the same camera and lens. It was shot in the same field just a few minutes after the one above but I chose the settings in Manual, moved to where there was better light and closer to my subject. See the difference? Neither photo is edited (just downloaded from my camera and converted to websized jpg). This image I could improve by editing and cropping, but I wanted you to see the difference with no edits.
Cell Phone Cameras Take Great Photos Too
There are certain things that you may need a ”real” camera for – like indoor sports photography or professional portraits. However, technology has advanced enough that I use my cell phone for almost everything except those two things.
Don’t believe that someone can take great images with a cell phone? Look at these – taken with my iPhone 13ProMax.
Think you need the latest and greatest cell phone for good photos?? Pshhhhh….check out this grasshopper who posed for me back in the day when I had a freakin iPhone 4. Yes I said iPhone 4 LOL.
In Summary
So my first tip is not really a tip I guess, but more the knowledge that the best camera is the one you have with you (Hello Chase Jarvis) – and you can absolutely do great things with it as long as you know how utilize the camera and the environment around you for the best results.
Moving forward I aim to start posting tips to get you on track to taking better photos regardless of what type of camera you are using – whether it is a cell phone, a point and shoot, a DSLR or Mirrorless camera.
Although some of my tips may lean more toward cell phone photography because I have my phone with me more than any other camera.
The Parent Who Commented on my “expensive camera”?
Oh – and back to the parent who commented on my “expensive camera”. They wanted to know what it was, so I provided the make and model of the point and shoot I used for the soccer pics. Turns out it was the same camera they already had.
Bottom line? You don’t need an expensive camera to take great photos – start shooting with what you have.
What is your favorite photo you have taken, and what camera did you use?