Overcoming Obstacles
From a young age, I struggled with many fears. Some of these fears were typical of a child my age. They were unfounded fears, e.g., fear of the school bus and fireworks. Other fears went a little deeper. I dealt with a lot of separation anxiety and was terrified of the idea of being left alone. However, over the years, I took each fear and worked to overcome it.
The same principle applies to us as photographers (and adults in general).
We want to expand our talents or get the “magic shot,” but oftentimes, we choose to settle for what we know we can accomplish. Sometimes, there are valid reasons for this, such as a lack of gear, but most of the time, we settle for the same reason I chose to live in fear for so long—we are afraid to fail.
It has been said by people for centuries, but the fact remains that, without failure, growth cannot occur. And this applies not only to photography but to all aspects of life.
So, let’s live our lives expecting change and growth, working to take steps to achieve that goal. Only then can we stop living in fear of obstacles and start living in freedom.
Aren’t Smartphones Good Enough?
The DSLR is dead.
Or is it? For many people, photography is a pastime; something fun to help them document moments in their life. This is, of course, a noble cause and should not be seen as inferior to anything. These people make up a great percentage of the population, and they simply don’t see the need for a fancy DSLR camera. For this reason, the smartphone camera has taken the tech world by storm and has seemingly displaced the professional camera with companies even creating detachable lenses, gimbals, and filters all for smartphone photographers.
However, when you break it down, your average smartphone camera, while it may do a surprisingly (and somewhat annoyingly) good job of capturing images, a DSLR or many of the mirrorless options on the market are still far superior for several reasons.
A DSLR captures better images in low light conditions. Have you ever wanted to get a shot of something that your eyes could detect but your smartphone camera couldn't? With the right gear, this is no sweat for a DSLR. Also, it is easier to increase the exposure on a RAW image taken with a DSLR in post than it is with a phone camera. Plus it yields far better results simply due to the fact that there is several times the amount of data in a photo taken with a DSLR.
A DSLR allows you as a photographer to have full control over your photos. One of the attractions of a phone camera for many people is that it does all the work for them. This is great when snapping pictures of their cats or capturing moments at a party or picnic. However, for photographers, we don’t necessarily trust the camera. Instead we trust our eyes—the best cameras ever created, and a DSLR gives us the control to match our photos with what our eyes are really seeing. This is especially true when shooting in Manual Mode. It does take practice, but the payoff is incredibly rewarding.
A DSLR (especially when shooting in RAW) allows for a great deal of freedom when editing in post processing. Any good photographer knows the importance of editing, and there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to fix certain things in post. Due to the large file format, a DSLR gives you a much greater range when making adjustments to lighting, color, and exposure, as well as correcting things like distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberrations.
Finally, a DSLR lets you expand your subject material. While a smartphone camera may be great for capturing memories, a DSLR allows you to tell stories and can aid expanding your range as a photographer. With the right zoom lenses, a DSLR can photograph birds with pinpoint accuracy and speed that is simply not possible with a phone. With a fast wide angle lens, a DSLR can give you a night sky full of stars, the moon, and the Milky Way. These tools, while they require you to part with a little (or a lot!) of your hard-earned money, allow you to capture more than just a moment in time. Rather they let you immortalize something that not even the human eye can fully appreciate.
So, are DSLR cameras dead? Yes and no. Many camera companies are stopping production of them in favor of mirrorless options, but the DSLR came to stay, and it will be staying in my bag for a long, long time.