Some Advice About Taking Photos
Since moving to the city I've started the Chicago Neighborhoods Project. I'm in the process of visiting and photographing architecture in all 77 community areas of the city.
Equipment
I get asked a lot about the equipment I use. When I first arrived in Chicago I used a mid priced ($500 to $800 range) Sony camera. It wasn't quite professional level, but worked well enough for my creative projects in my previous home of Albuquerque.
After spending some time shooting in different conditions of Chicago weather I wasn't happy with the results on overcast days, rain, fog or lower light photos. I'm committed to working with the cheapest and simplest equipment I can find. So when it came time to upgrade my phone I decided to spend a couple hundred extra for the iPhone 6s Plus to use as my camera.
iPhone Camera
Overall, I'm happy with the iPhone. No cheap camera replaces the results from high end equipment, but for the money the photos are good. I like that I always have my camera with me and charged. If I see it, I can shoot it.
Phones are engineered to be more durable than cameras, and work in a wide range of weather conditions. I have my phone protected from damage in an Otterbox. My lens isn't covered, unlike the completely watertight ones. I don't like the completely encased phones because I don't want a plastic cover over my lens. I still haven't figured out how to add straps so I don't drop my phone into Lake Michigan.
Some disadvantages of using a camera phone include not being able to work with a wider or telephoto lens, photos which look "flat" and lack texture, and not being competitive with the photographers using better equipment. You can't take close up pictures of birds in a tree or a panorama of the city skyline. There's also the issue of not being taken seriously as a photographer. Would anyone pay you to take pictures of a wedding with only your phone?
I like being able to walk a neighborhood and it's not obvious I'm taking photos. In other cities I've run into the problem of walking on to a "public" plaza and being told to leave the moment I take out something which is obviously a camera. I've even argued with security guards. Look around, other people are using their phones. How many are taking pictures? A guard even apologized. He was ordered to remove anyone specifically using a camera. (Every time this has happened nowhere was it posted that photos were prohibited, even when there were warnings about loitering or skate boarding. FYI.)
I've read about a wedding photographer in India who finally got a couple to agree to him using an iPhone. The resulting colors were amazing, which is the best features of Apple products. He was also able to move around guest more naturally and not be so disruptive when taking photos. They didn't pose any pictures. Instead he caught the events as they unfolded. This approach can be really helpful for more intimate portraits, like child birth photography.
Better Photos
The best advice I can give for taking better photos is spending as many hours as you can practicing. Take 10 photos, then immediately delete 9 of them. The photo you have left was the best one. Only post that photo to social media. I see so many people post 10 variations of the same thing. It gets tiresome and most of the photos weren't that good. Think about a magazine. The photographer spent hours, shooting at different times during the day, to get to 1 photo. Seriously.
Pictures can be improved with photo editing software. (I will have a separate blog entry for editing apps.) I've noticed almost every camera phone photo I see taken in the Chicago area is too dark. The camera is engineered to work in every range of conditions, including bright sunlight and the desert. I suspect because Chicago is in a northern climate with less light, the photos darken.
On that same note, most photos of "night" were actually taken at the beginning of dusk. Lights are beginning to come on, although the details of the scenery are still visible. Rarely are actual night photos popular. The biggest exception are scenes of downtown skylines, where all the different building lights create a lot of interesting details.
Skills Improvement
If all of this advice about taking better photos sounds complicated, it is. I've never taken a photography class. I was, however, an art and design major at Pratt Institute. I learned about composition and color. In the end, taking the best photos isn't about the equipment. Basic cameras and software are easy to use. What will most improve photos is learning about art.
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