DaughterAlice wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm glad to find this forum and I hope it will be a good resource for me. I have a Canon Rebel T3i, and I have zero budget for anything better, so I'm doing as well as I can with what I have. My lenses are: the 18-55 kit lens (ignored), a Canon 50mm fixed lens (LOVE it), and a Tamron 18-270mm. I shoot for a living, but I don't get a choice of my settings at work. At home I take hundreds of photos, and play with settings as much as I want to. I'm eager to learn as much as I can, and I hope this forum will prove to be a valuable asset. I stay in M mode and use natural light. My greatest weakness is my lack of knowledge in lighting techniques. I have a flash that I've barely used. I would like to learn to use reflectors (I've seen various types on Amazon, not too pricey). My dream camera is a Canon T6s, or a Nikon D7100, same type I use at work. I have recently decided that owning a Nikon and becoming extremely familiar with it would make me more valuable to my company. Either way, I would like a camera with more sophisticated options than what I have now.
Hello everyone. I'm glad to find this forum and I ... (
show quote)
Welcome. Nothing wrong with your equipment. It will be quite useful in refining your craft. It may be shocking to learn that you can make great images with almost any camera, if you know what you are doing and stay within the limits of the hardware! But it's true.
I would encourage you to do some research into the works of the late Dean Collins, responsible for training thousands of photographers in the 1970s and 80s and 90s in the art of portrait and product lighting. His simple concepts can be applied to the most complex situations with just a little imagination. He never worked digitally, but all his concepts work in digital photography. (He shot mostly transparency materials, which behaved more like JPEG digital capture than anything.)
The Internet is FULL of great resources regarding lighting. Visit Westcott and Alzo sites for drool-worthy gear. Visit YouTube and subscribe to as many channels from professionals as you like. Tony Northrup is the first name I'd search for. Know that there are many levels of quality in the lighting world, but everything must follow the same laws of physics. I like lights from Paul C Buff, Inc (Alien Bees, White Lightning, and Einstein). But I also like Norman, Dyna-Lite, Photogenic, Quantum... Lots of gear is available.
BUY USED. It will save you a ton of money. B&H, Adorama, KEH, Cameta Camera are companies you can order from with confidence.
Join PPA or WPPI, or a state chapter of either. If you're in Las Vegas in January, go to the CES show and attend some PMAI events.
From your comments, I would guess that you work for a portrait or event photography company similar to Lifetouch, Interstate, Strawbridge, etc. You've probably noticed that they don't want creativity. They want you to follow their formulas... There is nothing wrong with their formulas. The challenge is to make the most of them, as often as you can. But understanding the theory and thinking that went into the formulas can help you when the situation deviates from what the formula was designed to achieve. Situations deviate from ideal more often than the boys and girls at headquarters ever want to admit!
Finally, keep looking at great images. THINK about the composition, lighting, perspective, time of day, and other elements that went into the images you like. Make notes.