2006-07-06 05:12:14 · 9 answers · asked by gbpackerbacker4 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Photography
Who wants a career in black and white photography
2006-07-06 05:12:50 · update #1
If your career will be photography, then you need to learn your craft in film. The good news is film cameras are now cheap. Get a used Leica if you can afford it and a light meter and wander around the town learning to see things. If you can't afford that, get any kind of film camera, preferably an SLR like a Nikon or a Canon. Take black and white Tri-X film only for the first six months. Find a darkroom to rent and learn how to develop film and print photos. Learn how to dodge and burn in. Get some Ansel Adams books at the Library.
Look at "Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico" and ask yourself how one guy did that with a camera.
Then, and only then, move to digital. A Nikon D50 is good for a beginner.
2006-07-06 05:17:55 · answer #1 · answered by Sir J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Film camera is by far the best. First of all Digital cameras can not do things that film cameras can, like double exposure, or instant capture.
Also when working with film, you get a better idea of how to process and change photos yourself, the add on's are done by hand, making you a better photographer, cause you know what it takes to make a great photo.
While digital means not having to buy film, digital cameras do not take pure black and white photos. You are going to spend a lot of time behind the computer, and believe me it is not as exciting as the dark room.
2006-07-06 05:49:29 · answer #2 · answered by Artistic Prof. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would begin with a film camera.
Understanding how to use a SLR camera, film and darkroom helps a lot with mastering digital photography. So many of the concepts are the same, the principles definitly apply.
I'm a bit of a purist though... I shot 35mm for decades before ever picking up a digital camera though. I found that when I went digital the transition was really easy for me because of my experience with film cameras.
2006-07-06 05:25:57 · answer #3 · answered by Rachel B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go with digital. The reason is a much quicker learning curve. I can compose my image and immediately see the result and try alternate compositions to get to what I exactly want to do. Black and white or color does not matter during this stage. Once, you're used to the cameras you could start to use a film camera since it's output is still much better than most DSLRs. :)
2006-07-07 22:29:53 · answer #4 · answered by Elephas Maximus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Younger folks will tell you digital. Older folks will tell you film camera. It depends on what your goals are. If you want to learn to compose, to create balanced photos and work in color to "capture the moment" so to speak, you can do either format. If you want to learn to make Ansel Adams style images you can ONLY do that with traditional film. Digital advances have not yet caught up with traditional B&W film, IMHO. I currently use both but was trained on classical film cameras. As a retired professional, I still prefer film for B&W but have moved to digital for a lot of color work. One thing about digital cameras is they typically don't have a powerful enough flash attachement for most types of professional needs. You need a digital camera that will take a professional series external flash if you want to do things like weddings, barmitsfahs, quincineras 50th aniversaries, etc. Most built in flashes just don't have the output. For color work, you can't beat the combination of medium or large format transparency films and digital drum scanning for color prints. This combo allows you to digitize the color images from your transparencies and you can get better color saturation for traditional prints, or, you can manipulate the image even further for special effects, if that is what your after. Just like asking "what car is best" you need to determine what your needs are first and then ask the questions which will enable us to give you the best answers.
2006-07-06 05:58:22 · answer #5 · answered by viclioce 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would begin with a digital camera, because you will not be wasting film. Later, I'd invest in a better digital with more features.
2006-07-06 05:15:49 · answer #6 · answered by gravelgertiesgems 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would suggest a basic digital camera as you can have better picture managment and you do not risk picture loss due to film damage.
2006-07-06 05:16:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Digital is better. You can take as many shots as you want to try out composition and posing.
2006-07-06 05:16:03 · answer #8 · answered by A4Q 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion digital, cuz you can fix ur mistakes.
2006-07-06 06:28:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋