So the camera you were given as a gift or simply had the pleasure of using has you suddenly looking at your smartphone camera with a lot more to desire, despite your smartphone camera being a relatively good one. Handling a “real” camera which was manufactured for the specialised use of taking great photos puts things into a bit more perspective, doesn’t it? Suddenly your good smartphone camera is merely a good camera, for a smartphone camera.
This sudden noticing of a serious gulf between the photo quality output of a smartphone camera or just any camera and one which is specifically preferred by pro photographers is usually associated with hobbyists depicting a natural flair for photography. Those unlikely and inadvertent photographers whose hand just seems to be a natural fit for the art of taking good photos. Most photographers who go on to make their craft of photography a professional thing start out this way in any case, but going the formal qualification route is not always an absolute necessity if you want to take your art of photography to the next level and perfect it. The theory of photography is very useful, but there are just some things you simply cannot learn by opening a textbook.
Look, it could be argued with solid motivation that if you wanted to get hired by an organisation such as a professional photography agency then you do need to go the route of getting officially qualified, but even that is changing rapidly. We live in times when stars in every craft can be discovered through media such as YouTube, and with crafts such as photography, all the theory in a photographer’s head goes out the window when they realise that it’s really all about the final product you produce. That’s why some of the best photographers run their own photography agencies, some of whom even branch out and make the natural progression into offering videographer services as well. In a time where it’s about showcasing what you can do as opposed to rattling off what relevant qualifications you’ve studied for, all it takes is something like an online portfolio or a website showcasing your work for you to get hired, if indeed you are looking to go the route of professionalising your art of photography.
Otherwise the steps you take towards perfecting your photography art should be approached with caution. We’re not knocking the importance of qualifications here, but are rather just putting a realistic, real-world perspective on talented photographers who clearly have a natural flair for capturing life’s precious or significant moments or objects. So I’d not encourage you to go and register for some or other photography degree or course, but would rather suggest you try to maintain as much of the rawness in your talent as you can, as you develop your craft. Make reference to concepts such as Depth of Field only when you identify a clear need to do so, like for instance if you realise that the quality of your pictures drops a bit when you change the type of subject or scenes your shooting.
This knowledge-acquisition-as-needed basis of developing your craft is the best way of perfecting your photography art while maintaining as much as your raw talent as possible.
