do you have to have a fancy camera to be good at photography or just a plain old digatal one?

Answer 1

A pro camera can help take really great pics. Bigger lens, bigger CCD chip to record and a whole bunch of other bells and whistles an SLR has.

You can take great looking pics with a point and shoot. It's not the camera that makes the pics great, it's the talent and skill of the photographer.

Answer 2

I agree that the camera doesn't take make the good photograph. If you are considering a new camera though, keep in mind all of the factors.

How much do you have to spend and what can you get with the money? You may be able to buy a $2000 dollar camera, but will you have enough for appropriate lenses and accessories to accomplish your photographic needs.

The quality of the camera is very important. Is the lens capable of accomplishing what you want. Will it break in a couple of weeks?

Are you going to be comfortable with it? Some people just don't want to think about the technical aspects of photography, maybe for them a fully manual SLR isn't the right choice. When I purchase new equipment I generally buy what I think is just beyond my comfort level. This way I get to learn about new things and push myself a little farther.

Point and Shoot cameras can take some great photographs, but they do have creative limitations.

There are a lot of things to think about when purchasing photographic equipment, it's just a balancing act of what's important to you and what you can afford. The creative stuff is left to your grey matter and is free.

Answer 3

Good photographers can take beautiful photos with just about anything. http://photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=317651
This guy took all these on a cheap point and shoot digital camera that sells at amazon for about $125. His photos have been featured in quite a few magazines.

This only proves that it's all in the photographer. Learn how to work with what you have and you won't need a big fancy camera (but those are fun too)
Also check out kenrockwell.com He's got many articles on things like "Why your camera doesn't matter"

Answer 4

Not exactly. You should out with the junkiest camera you can find so you can learn the habits of a good photographer (when to use the flash, how to hold very still, what different settings mean...). Once you know what you're doing, you should be able to take good pictures with a cheap camera in almost any situation. It's just in extreme cases (low light, fast moving objects, ...) that you need an expensive camera to take good pictures.

Answer 5

The most expensive, technologically advanced camera will never, ever, take a good photograph - much less a great one. In fact, you can leave it sitting for as long as you want and it won't do anything. It requires the input of a skilled, experienced photographer before it does anything. Good photography requires thinking.

IMO, most people using a simple digicam never fully exploit its potential. Yet they are constantly wanting to "upgrade" to a more sophisticated camera.

Regardless of the camera you buy, read and study the Owner's Manual. Then read and study it again.

Read photography books and magazines.

Learn composition. I don't subscribe to any "Rules" for photography. I consider them "Guidelines". You should know them and practice them - but don't be bound by them. By knowing them and using them you can take good photos and later ignore them if you so choose.

Learn to see light. Light is different at 7am or 10am or 1pm or 6pm. An overcast day can produce subtle colors and is excellent for outdoor portraits. Know what side lighting, direct light, diffused light is - and how to effectively use it.

Learn exposure. This is especially important when confronted with scenes containing a bright area surrounded by areas in shade. Let the camera decide and the light area will be washed out. Place your subject against a bright background, let your camera set exposure, and he/she will be a silhouette (of course there may be times you want this effect). Place the subject against a dark background, let your camera set exposure, and your subject will be washed out. If you've learned exposure you'll know what to do and how to do it in these situations.

Learn to take your time and look at a scene from several angles and viewpoints. (My knock on digital cameras is they tend - IMO - to encourage what I call the "Shotgun Approach" - take 300 exposures and then hope 20 or 30 are worth keeping. They also tend - IMO - to discourage actual learning.) When out photographing hum this song lyric: "Slow down, you move too fast..."

Answer 6

Evan has nailed it.

Cameras are just tools like lights, reflectors, tripods et cetera.

People think buying the "best" camera will "make" them a great photographer?

Do these same people buy an Indy car and think that will make them a great driver? Proberly!

If you really learn composition that will put you in the top 10% of fotogs pro or otherwise, then get a handle on light/exposure, and go from there. the difference between poor and great composition is large! But so easy if you know how.

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Answer 7

it really doesnt matter how fancy a camera is to take a 'good' photograph. it all depends on the photographer. you can be a horrible photographer and by a 800$$ camera and take horrible pictures or you can be a wonderful photographer and take beautiful pictures with a 50$ camera. also, experience helps and learning the basic fundementals will really help out. for example, composition is a huge thing, along with lights and what not. good luck!!

Answer 8

Agreed, an expensive camera won't buy you skill, nor will a cheap camera stop you taking good photos, however, a good camera will provide you with more options, particularly with more control over exposure, aperture, shutter speed etc, which can often be employed to good effect (especially with aperture to control depth of field/movement etc).

If you're new to serious photography, then practice your composition with a cheap camera, modern digitals are quite advanced compared to the old fixed-focus/aperture print film instant cameras.

you can always upgrade in the future if you feel you want to broaden your options.

Answer 9

Everyone who reads this should click on tigerrrlgrrl's link and go see those images made with a basic Canon p&s. Then decide for yourself, is it the camera or the photographer?

Answer 10

You can have a disposable film camera (or no camera at all) and be good at photography.

Better tools will give a good photographer more options, however.

*EDIT*
Just to emphasize my point, here's a *really* cheap camera that has produced some extremely famous and critically acclaimed photos:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga