Why do photos matter?
A picture can paint a thousands words as they saying goes; which couldn’t be more true. I think we live in such a privileged world where we can capture absolutely every moment on camera, from life coming into the world to scientists using it as evidence. Photography is pretty much limitless, and better yet, we don’t have to now print them to keep them forever - although I don’t know about you, but I do like a home with images everywhere. They say one day all we have left is memories, so why not capture them?
Some may actually question why would I want a picture of my pets or my family done professionally when I can get nice pictures on my phone? Whilst phones can take fantastic images especially in this day and age, there is a massive difference you are going to get between the quality of a professional shoot to that of a phone.
As someone who has been doing photography for 11 years, there is simply nothing that can yet compare to my DSLR. I always take images on my phone but the quality of the images is nothing compared to that of my DSLR, images are much, much softer, not as vibrant (no amount of editing can bring out the same colours as that can on a DSLR), and phones are more static. You can’t change lenses to make scenes look nicer, even though most phones are built with multiple lenses now, each one has a different setting or quality. I own a Samsung S20 Plus and I was extremely disappointed with the quality on it compared to my Samsung S9, yet the S20 Plus was meant to produce better images!
I have posted some unedited images below just so you can see yourself the difference a good lens & a decent camera can make compared to just ‘using your phone’.
As you can see, the image on the left has significantly less detail as that on the right, and even though at the time I was only using kit lenses for the image on the right the detail I was able to capture was significantly higher. I was able to capture a softer background & also have the subject moving which is a major benefit that you can get with DSLR’s over taking images with your standard mobile phone and so on. A DSLR gives you a lot more control over the overall image; from settings, capturing, and post, not only this but DSLR’s generally have better contrast and colour ratio to play with over a mobile phone.
I always try, when I am taking images to capture the moment as one day images will simply be all that we do have left to pass on to future generations, they tell a story in a way stories can’t. They are seen and in many cases felt. Let’s take the image on the left as I mentioned previously, whilst the image on the right may look better in many aspects, there is a lot more going on in the background on the left. My nephew was throwing rocks in the puddles, it had recently been raining so the ground was saturated, and there are leaves on the floor which suggests it’s winter and cold, so you are able to understand what season it may be more, whenever I go on shoots especially personal ones with my own family or pets I try to capture a little snapshot with my mobile phone as it gives off a different feel and are more convenient for editing and posting as it doesn’t require much. I know they more likely aren’t going to be award winning images.
See the world from a different perspective
The truth is, photography is important to us especially in the 21st century as it allows people to see the world from a different perspective. Have you ever looked at a picture of your grandparents, great grandparents and so on and ever compared yourself to them? Do I have their nose? Their eyes? Their smile? Photography really has allowed us to understand so much from how genes get passed on physically to a moment in time. Those war photographs full of love and emotion are shown regularly in documentary because someone, somewhere, decided to capture it, for whatever reason, and it shows us a glimpse into a time that is gone forever, with people who may not be here anymore, and those who saved us and our country from further devastation - moreso, now when you look at images in war torn countries, children are either smiling, or looking sad, and you generally find yourself drawn to their eyes, as that’s where the emotion is most kept… eyes are the window to the soul. Maybe you’re a David Attenborough fan and you like moving images, aka, videos, and you see the scene of our blue planet being destroyed by plastic, marine life dying, holding their babies in their mouths mourning, it shakes the world and it has the potential to make change like nothing else, you have to see it to believe it they say and I think with photography it has allowed us to really be able to do that.
Why photography is important to me
I started photography at the age of 13 because I had no friends, and my dad handed me a camera and told me to give it a go. I found myself miming him, flowers, bugs, animals anything he would see and capture I would try too. We learn by watching and with my dad by my side I definitely did for my first few years of photography, mastering the basics of angling the image, focus, and even down to many editing tips my dad was a great teacher at, although now I am more of an experimenter when it comes to editing it is nice to know I can transfer these skills I have learnt to him in the same way he did me many years ago cough cough you can check him out @rikfreemanphotographer on Instagram! Because I was handed this camera it got me really into something and I found I went in phases with photography, up until I was around 22 and it finally stuck with me. I brought a zoo membership at my local zoo in August, 2019, by August 2020 I brought a new camera, one of my own, the Canon 90D, then January 2021, my first Telephoto lens, by September I brought a total of 3 lenses & a new computer for editing and I was signed up to photography magazines, had my own business and more recently had MPB ask me to be part of their series they are doing on photographers who have brought kit to them which I am still eagerly awaiting to be published (I seriously suggest you check out MPB as the deals they have on there are incredible. I saved over £800 on two lenses from using them)!
Photography brought me out my shell, I find it ever so hard to switch off when I’m in my office job or not doing anything, but when I’m out and taking images, coming home and editing them I am in my absolute element and can happily sit there for hours on end editing an image and making it my version of perfect for myself or my clients and it keeps me super happy, knowing that these images I take are going to make beautiful lasting memories for them, but also me, because I really do enjoy it more than anything else in the world, maybe it’s a bit geeky of me saying that but there is just so much you can do to edit an image to make it stand out whilst keeping the subject as natural as you can whilst focusing on one area and it’s all about experimenting and finding what works with each subject. We don’t learn from being comfortable, photography has made me get out my comfort zone so many times that I am constantly learning and I hope one day my images can be used to show the world for the beauty it still has left, from nature, to people. There is still so much to discover and be seen that I want the world to see it.
Gallery
