Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Portrait Photography
First Smile- EOS Elan in P&Shoot mode
I'd like to offer a balance here. What seems so obvious to me is the level of comfort of the portrait photographer-
doing what feels most natural to them. Among all the diverse tastes and techniques of us as photographers- there
are inevitably going to be techno-driven, budget-driven, and prestige-driven photographers. Each of the best are
complimented with a good eye and a level of comfort in what they do. If the fact that you have the sharpest glass,
most perfect combination zoom, or incredibly high-priced equipment makes you confident- perhaps this shows in
your work! If, like me, you lack the budget (and fear damaging,) expensive equipment- using lower-priced
equipment may be a necessity. You may be more likely to take your "crappy" equipment somewhere that another
shooter, safeguarding a prized Hassy, will not. This will give you an edge in some circumstances.
I've moved from camera and system to system, as life's budget required it, and I can say unequivocally, that I
have the same tendency to fail or exceed that I have always had. Few things have changed, except where I?ve
used the knowledge of my shortcomings in constant trial-and-error. In no particular order, I?ve shot with highend
Canon, entry-level Minolta, Olympus XA, 4x5, twin-lens, and now digital.
I find my latest woes being that of learning the capacity in shooting, editing, and printing in digital. This, for the
first time ever, has been a technical dilemma for me. At all other times, it has been an issue of what is
comfortable for me to use. I can totally understand the need and want for expensive equipment- I understand that
you can get to a level where this is the only thing holding you back from -consistently- getting the images you
http://www.photo.net/portraits/intro (29 of 37)7/3/2005 2:16:41 AM