My time has finally come and I indulged myself with a good camera.
A Canon 60D with two lenses: 18-135mm and 60mm macro.
For years I've been dreaming of a good camera, a camera that would excite me, that would make me hold it in awe.
As someone who spends a lot of time online and is exposed daily to breathtaking photographs everywhere- on Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, someone who runs an online business and sells her products on the net, I knew I needed the best gear out there to produce top quality photos (well not t-h-e best, but near).
It’s a fact that people are buying more and more online, the internet is overflowing with sellers and product photos, photos that, in technical terms, are near perfect.
I knew I had to do something to place myself near the top, at least in terms of product photography.
I had a small, pretty simple camera. Not that I’m belittling it- it served me loyally for years and I completely abused it, taking thousands of pictures.
But what can you do? Its abilities were very limited and so I found myself wasting hours on editing programs, trying to improve the photos and bring out the true colors of the product and trying to create a photo that would catch the eye and get people to click on it.
Buying a quality camera is no cheap deal. It took me time to decide on taking this step and investing in something that would not only serve my business, but would bring me a lot of satisfaction and pleasure.
My dream was to take quality photos of my kids, to capture meaningful moments in beautiful pictures that will last forever and immortalize our experiences in the best way possible.
When I started taking an interest in the matter, wondering what camera to buy and what my requirements were, I realized I had no knowledge at all.
Every time I saw good photos online, I wrote the photographer and asked what gear they used.
At first I asked what camera they had, but quickly realized that the more important thing is the lens rather that the body.
Slowly I searched, checked and dug up information, and when I finally came to some conclusions regarding budget, requirements and ambitions, I decided on this camera.
I bought the camera a week and a half ago and since then I’ve been learning new things every day.
In other words- I’m in heaven :-)
I can’t stop searching for online photography tutorials, reading anything I can get my hands on and of course implementing, trying everything out and enjoying every second of it.
You might say I've developed a slight obsession because I’m around my camera all day- if not taking pictures, then reading photography related material or researching pictures I took to see what settings work best and what gives me the best results.
So now I can wholeheartedly say that I’ve finally found myself a hobby!
Yes, it’s true that I’m a polymer clay artist and generally a pretty creative person, but polymer clay has long since become my profession and my way of making a living instead of my hobby.
I’ve been looking for something that would be exclusively fun with no stress or deadlines attached.
So now photography is my hobby. I take pictures just for the fun of it.
My pleasure is pure, concentrated, 100% absolute delight.
I’m just starting out with the whole photography thing, but already recognize what interests me and what directions I’m drawn to.
My macro lens is already fixed permanently on my camera, not just for photographing jewelry, but also flowers and portraits.
I realized that landscape photography really isn't me, but maybe that’s because I don’t yet have the proper lens for it.
I haven’t really figured out the kit lens yet. It takes nice pictures, the colors come out nice, but it just doesn't really do it for me. I prefer to attach my macro lens and take all my pictures with it- it’s simply amazing!
Indeed, this is the start of a beautiful friendship and I know that there’s a long and interesting road ahead of me in photography and that excites me.
In the past few days I've learned a few important settings for the manual mode. It’s so relieving to know you can control almost any setting and seriously minimize editing time.
So after driving you crazy, let me show off with some of my very first pictures, and yet pictures that I’m very proud of.
Maybe not everyone will be impressed, maybe technically they’re not to die for, maybe the subject isn't new or revolutionary, but I took every one with great pleasure and when I uploaded them onto my computer, my heart skipped a beat.
