Do I Look Big Enough? Am I Small Enough? Do I Have The Right Amount Of Anxiety?

on August 11, 2019
We all have worries about our size - even if we insist that we don't. The too-small want to be bigger and the too-big want to be smaller. The just-right are nervous in case they appear to be too average. And these mental games we play are carried over firmly into our shopping for cameras and lenses. We are helped out by the fact that the makers of the gear want us to buy more and can play this size thing to make the sales happen. Sorry to be crude there, but that's what it has been in many cases. This fact was recently pointed out by the editor of Pro Photo magazine when he wrote that sensor size is largely irrelevant. That'll set the cat amongst the advertising pigeons, of course, now that 24 x 36 frame sensors are becoming more common and even larger ones dubbed " medium format " are coming cheaper to the market. The sensor-size debate rages unabated. Yet the people who purchase images - the very reason that there is such a thing as professional photography - often do not buy them on the basis of the size of the sensor that took them. As the editor pointed out, in the past the decision to use a particular professional shooter sometimes hinged upon their equipment rather than results...and one of the criteria that the picture purchasers may have been swayed by was the sheer size of the cameras. Medium format and larger format cameras impressed the art directors and they may have looked to hire the shooter based upon that visual impression. That trickled down for the amateur and enthusiast user into a determination to get those larger cameras and to look more like a " Pro ". Funny, none of us who wanted to be wannabees ever wanted to be a pro sitting there looking at a studio lease and bank statement and demand from the creditors. The romance of the BAS and the ATO never seemed to occur to us. We didn't want big PAYG bills but we wanted big cameras. Well, desire what you desire for whatever reason you can justify, but give a thought to the fact that you might not need to have the largest and most expensive machine to actually turn out the best work of which you are capable. The smaller formats do very well indeed and any number of careers and accolades can flow from the use of them. Don't believe me? Go to any major camera and lens maker and look at the images that they set out as advertisement for their wares. Unless they are unscrupulous cads ( I won't mention names...) the images that they show for their own gear is taken with their own gear. If it is otherwise you can expect the trade to be suspicious and to cotton on to it quickly. Then the reputation suffers. Prove it for yourself. Give yourself an assignment to take a set of images for a particular purpose; a product shoot, a promotional shoot, and event shoot. Contract for it to yourself for a reasonable amount of money - and don't try to beat yourself down by saying that someone will do it cheaper. Then plan it out. Set out how to do it with the cameras and lenses you have. Make diagrams, if needed. make maps. make lighting plans. You want to be a professional? Be a professional. Don't swear yet. Then shoot it. Shoot it in a sensible timeframe without shortcuts or excess. Process your own work. Print or prepare it for scrutiny...and then get a working pro or photo judge to look at it with you and tell you whether you should alter it before you present it to yourself. When you, pay yourself the contracted price. And then send 28% to the government. Now you can swear - you're finally a professional.
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