Todays post is a bit more fun.
Its a behind the scenes of how I create professional images with basic equipment.
And it is the first in what I plan to make a running series.
The idea is pretty simple to make professional magazine quality photos with basic equipment.
There are a few necessities however:
- A digital camera of some sort
- A light source like a flash or the sun
- Computer to edit and upload images
For our first example I'll be looking at some of my older work. These portraits where taken during the couples engagement shoot.
Here is an Image that has only been resized for the web.
It is basically how it came out of camera.
This image has been lightly edited to adjust for exposure. Many would call this good enough.
And here is the image I actually delivered as part of their album.
The changes are subtle between each image but the culmination of the changes makes what is just an OK picture a dynamic portrait.
Now to shoot these images I used a Fuji x30 point and shoot camera and a Neewer tt560 speedlight triggered by a Neewer FC16 radio trigger.
I purchased the camera used locally and the rest I got from amazon.
None of that gear is touted as professional level equipment.
The camera itself is a pocket sized point and shoot.
Is it more capable than something you'd find on clearance at a big box store? Yes
Does it produce professional level images? Well... sort of.
The total cost of equipment.
I paid $370 for the Fuji, $15 for the Trigger and $30 for the speedlight.
The entire set up for this shoot cost me $415 which is less than an entry level DSLR.
With this set up there are compromises but knowing your equipment limitations and overcoming them is part of the fun.
A professional photographers vision is often beyond the limitations of their equipment.