Essential The Official Photography Thread

[MikelArteta]

Added on to @FireMikelArteta and @GoldenGlove , we have seen this very thing recently in this industry. Canon just posted quarter reports, smartphones effectively killed the P&S and entry level DSLR market. On the new phones you have features to adjust or simulate almost any lens effect you can think of. Forget post work production where peeps like @8WON6 might spend 30min/hour smoothing/texture/details on portraits, those days are quickly going by the wayside.

Yup spending mad money on photography is just for hobbyists now and those whose careers rely on it. The old days of copping a rebel for shooting the kids or whatever is dead. I mean tiktok which is video is the most popular app even more so than instagram and photos. Even as someone who does weddings a lot of people are fine with just folks shooting with their iphones , or a friend with their t3i and sending the photos after . And yeah these new phones you can adjust the bokeh and all right there and with those faceapp,, perfect photo other apps etc.

Cameras have kind of reach where smartphones are where there so little difference from a iphone 11 and iphone 13 cept some minor differences. I can take out my old canon 6d shoot a photo take out my eos r etc. take a photo and majority of people couldn't even tell the difference.

As well, Cellphone cameras are now good enough to replace a decent camera in daylight and at least give the illusion of creating pro-looking photos. Which is enough for majority of people. And plus people who travel or even go out want to take a photo and post it asap on their social media accounts.

And yeah as I mentioned the last wedding I shot i just slapped on that john branch filter, threw all photos in a folder and ran a 1 click AI photo retouch4me that i saw on PiXimperfect. And the wedding party loved the photos even though I literally spent like 5 min of manual retouching


example this is raw right out of the camera from the last wedding i shot

Clicking one button running that retouch4me ai weithout adjusting opacity etc. just straight.

 

[MikelArteta]

And to continue on rambling, I'm still shocked at what people pay for wedding photographers. Videos I understand but just for stills

Sometimes I'll go to these big wedding photographers pages and see their gallery samples and its not even that impressive.

 

[shutterguy]

And to continue on rambling, I'm still shocked at what people pay for wedding photographers. Videos I understand but just for stills

Sometimes I'll go to these big wedding photographers pages and see their gallery samples and its not even that impressive.

Last wedding I went to had 3 photogs and a 2-person video crew, and it was not a big huge wedding. Couldn't have imagined what the bill for that was.

The wedding industry took a hit with Covid, could be some photogs are trying to make up for losses.

 

[GoldenGlove]

And to continue on rambling, I'm still shocked at what people pay for wedding photographers. Videos I understand but just for stills

Sometimes I'll go to these big wedding photographers pages and see their gallery samples and its not even that impressive.

I think you're undervaluing the moment for the #GMB community.

It's a milestone moment for many people. Family all there looking there best etc. You're capturing a timeless moment that is a 1 of 1. Too many, that's priceless. The people that going care too much don't spend those prices for the service.

 

[FatherSimp]

So to piggyback on the discussion with the advancement of AI and smartphone cameras would you guys still recommend new hobbyist's to buy a traditional camera or nah?

 

[Standing on business]

A Quickshot feature I took using the DJI Mini 3 pro. Fire hotel too.

I see you was at the pearl

 

[Standing on business]

So to piggyback on the discussion with the advancement of AI and smartphone cameras would you guys still recommend new hobbyist's to buy a traditional camera or nah?

Cell phones look good as hell now on social media, the only time they fall apart is if you blow the image up.

 

[shutterguy]

So to piggyback on the discussion with the advancement of AI and smartphone cameras would you guys still recommend new hobbyist's to buy a traditional camera or nah?

I would recommend an actual camera with lenses, keep in mind you are learning and buying into a system. Canon bodies with Canon mount lenses, same with Nikon, Olympus, Sony, etc. There are some great deals to be had on older DSLR's and lenses if you don't want to get into mirrorless. Good glass can get expensive but can be soooo worth it when you see the results. Depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you wanna go.

Cell phones look good as hell now on social media, the only time they fall apart is if you blow the image up.

Yup, won't be able to tell a difference between something shot with the iPhone 13 or the latest Nikon mirrorless on a phone screen.

 

[richtree]

So to piggyback on the discussion with the advancement of AI and smartphone cameras would you guys still recommend new hobbyist's to buy a traditional camera or nah?

think it really depends on what you'll be using the images for later on and how much control you want over your production.
personally, i'd still recommend a camera especially if you want to repurpose the images later on (ie use it for something other than social media)

 

[MikelArteta]

Cell phones look good as hell now on social media, the only time they fall apart is if you blow the image up.

Yup
The processing smart phones do is crazy

 

[Allen Poe]

So to piggyback on the discussion with the advancement of AI and smartphone cameras would you guys still recommend new hobbyist's to buy a traditional camera or nah?

I say yes. for me, I see things differently when using my camera vs when i'm using my cellphone. for that alone I feel like I get better pictures.

 

[BigBlackSea]

About to go on a family trip to San Fran. I got myself Nikkor 18-140mm zoom for my Nikon D3400 and relegating that as my travel kit. The crispness of my Z50 makes me want to bring it along, but I'm not trying to spend the weekend fumbling with lenses (I got the kit zoom that comes with the body).

 

[MikelArteta]

About to go on a family trip to San Fran. I got myself Nikkor 18-140mm zoom for my Nikon D3400 and relegating that as my travel kit. The crispness of my Z50 makes me want to bring it along, but I'm not trying to spend the weekend fumbling with lenses (I got the kit zoom that comes with the body).

Take one lens

Travel photography is my thing and I usually take just a 16mm or 35mm prime

 

[MikelArteta]

I would recommend an actual camera with lenses, keep in mind you are learning and buying into a system. Canon bodies with Canon mount lenses, same with Nikon, Olympus, Sony, etc. There are some great deals to be had on older DSLR's and lenses if you don't want to get into mirrorless. Good glass can get expensive but can be soooo worth it when you see the results. Depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you wanna go.



Yup, won't be able to tell a difference between something shot with the iPhone 13 or the latest Nikon mirrorless on a phone screen.

yep you can get a 5d mark iii for like 450 on ebay, a few years ago before canon went to the R mount a 5d mark iii was alot of money
canon 6d even cheaper

 

[MikelArteta]

We should drop a raw file and see how we would each edit it