A
lot of people feel that a good camera is all that’s necessary in order to shoot
good photos. I specialize in beach portraits and weddings, and I have seen more
and more people shooting their own children’s beach portraits or a friend’s
wedding with cell phones or with what I jokingly call “soccer mom” cameras. A
“soccer mom” camera is a nice $200-$600 Nikon or Canon digital camera that
looks similar to and has a lot of the same bells and whistles as the cameras
used by professionals. Those of us who
depend on tourists for our livelihood have noticed a slight decrease in
business because of this.
I
say “slight” because the Mom who took little Jimmy’s and Susie’s beach photos
last summer, found that the 16x20 enlargement that she had printed at the big
discount store didn’t look nearly as good as she expected. Both kids were
squinting. Susie was slumping, and another tourist’s beach umbrella was
sticking out of the top of Jimmy’s head. Daddy’s shadow was on Susie’s right
side, and there was a bright blue garbage can in the background. None of that
was very noticeable when Mom looked at the images on the camera’s small screen.
To make matters worse, the colors in the print just didn’t look quite right.
The kids looked sunburned, even though they weren’t, and Jimmy’s white shirt
looked blue. This summer, Mom made an appointment with me to have professional
portraits made of the children and of the whole family.
Smart
phone cameras and “soccer mom” cameras are good and should produce great
images. They will, if the person behind the camera takes the time to learn how
to use them properly, learns about lighting, posing, and composition, and has
the prints processed by a good photo lab, not the corner drug store. Unfortunately,
most people don’t take the time to learn the basics of photography. That’s no
big deal, if you’re only taking vacation and birthday party snapshots or
posting to Facebook. If you plan to shoot your own family portrait and to make
a large print to hang over the mantel for the next 5-10 years, you need to know
what you’re doing. There are actually a few professionals that have shot entire
weddings with a smart phone and had good results. They were limited by not
being able to change lenses and by not having a good flash attachment, but by
being creative and using their experience, they produced beautiful images. The
key word there is “experience.”
Have
fun with your camera, but remember your limitations. Owning a big wrench
doesn’t make you a plumber, and owning a sharp knife doesn’t make you a surgeon.
As with everything else, training and experience make the difference. When you need portrait photography, call a
professional. You won’t regret it.
By
the way, in addition to my big cameras and multiple lenses, I also own a wrench
and a knife, but please don’t call me if your pipes or appendix burst. That,
you would regret!
