Whether you to step up to a DSLR or decide to use one of the increasingly capable consumer cameras, one thing should be very clear to you; they donit call it idigital photographyi for nothing. Your camera turns those beautiful sunsets, crunched fenders, and chubby-cheeked smiles into a bunch of ones and zeros, which, in turn, can be manipulated like no film photo ever could.
To work this digital magic youill need the tools of the trade; a computer and printer or print service. Youill also need post processing software, but weill talk about that in the next installment.
Before we get into the meat of this installment Iid like to correct an oversight pointed out to me by some of you who read the first article. I didnit go into one of the most important benefits of buying a DSLR: Higher quality photos.
Iim sure Iill get an argument on this, but the fact is, ounce for ounce, a DSLR is designed to give you higher resolution (the amount of detail distinguishable), lower noise (caused by the sensor that records your photo and can more easily seen in photos taken in poor light), and a broader dynamic range (the high and low limits of photographic data in which meaningful information can be had) than what a snap-shooter can give. All of these and other features combine in a DSLR to give you the opportunity to produce a better photo than you might with a snap-shooter given equal circumstances.
I emphasize “opportunity” in the above statement because no matter how
good your equipment is, if you donit make use of the camerais features and the capabilities of your post processing equipment and software then the resulting photos from your thousand dollar DSLR wonit look any better than they would if youid used a camera that cost a hundred bucks.
Also, I believe that there is such a thing as the iPhotographeris Eyei;
like a gardeneris green thumb or the soul of a musician, the photographeris eye is something that can be enhanced, but it canit be taught. No one can tell you how they iseei when they shoot photos. You can learn the mechanics of photography, and even learn to take a consistently decent shot, but the Eye is what sets the pros apart from the rest of us. So, even though you have a DSLR, your photos may never hang in a museum next to those of Ansel Adams, but you can learn to shoot well enough to feel good about hanging your pix in a gallery in your den, and that is a good thing.
So, letis jump right in, shall we?
Computers
It should go without saying that, if you are going to shoot digitally, then you will need a computer to load the images on to. (I guess I said it anyway.) Which computer to use is largely a question of what you have available and your preference.
I use Macs, I have for a long time and Iill likely continue to use Macs until someone comes up with a quantum computer that anticipates what I want and starts to work on my request a nanosecond before I hit the return key. (…and that computer will likely be a Mac.)
 iMac Family |
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