In need of help

Demir · Dec 12, 2017

ello world.. It's hard for me to start this conversation, so pardon me for all mistakes that I will make because I am not native spaker. I come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, small country on Balkan penisula and I am 21 year old. I think this is good start, for now. I am writing this because I need help from the people who know something about photography in general. I must say I am not photographer and I guess I will never be but I need your help. So I will begin.. as you se my name is Demir and I am student of Civil Engenering in small city named Zenica. You are asking yourself what someone who is not photographer do here ? I will try to explain you on my best. So.. I have a girlfriend.. we are in relationship for some time and she is fell in love with photography. You can check her doings on instagram " dandelion_0502 ". As you see she is very talented and I really know that she is into it very much . But there is another side of story.. like myself she is student too and in present situation we have no possibility to spend money on professional camera. I know that you already heard this story like thousend times but I don't want you to think that we are one of the million people that are in the same situatuon. We don't want money because I know who it is precious in today world.. I just want to ask all of you if you can help me in way that you give me your ideas and hints. I really want to make her happy and I know how much she will apreccite it.. so i begging all of you if you have any ideas how to get to camera please reply me or write me on email or my facebook profile Demir Spahic .. I am so so sorry if I made a mistake by doing this but I really need help. Thank you very much if you help me, but thank you if you don't also.

waday · Dec 12, 2017

Do you have any camera or photography clubs in your area or city? Someone from a local club may be willing to part with an older camera very cheap compared to new camera prices.

Is she limited in any way with her current camera, which I am assuming is a phone camera (iPhone or Android or similar)?

photo1x1.com · Dec 12, 2017

Hi,
good idea from waday. What about getting together with friends that also love photography and buy a used camera together. I just recently sold a Canon D400 for 130€. So older DSLRs can be had for a reasonable price.
What camera are you currently using?
I just liked a few of your girlfriends pics on instagram

.

One thing: you don´t have to have a great camera to create great images. And in case she is thinking about turning her hobby into a profession: I think most of us will agree: If she stays at her pharmacie-studies, this might be the better idea for the future.

Dave442 · Dec 12, 2017

As wadey said, a used camera is often the best option for a student.

Demir · Dec 12, 2017

waday said:
Do you have any camera or photography clubs in your area or city? Someone from a local club may be willing to part with an older camera very cheap compared to new camera prices.

Is she limited in any way with her current camera, which I am assuming is a phone camera (iPhone or Android or similar)?

Firstly thank you very much on your reply.. it means so much for me and for her ! I must say we didn't give a chance to photo clubs but will give it a try .. she is on iphone 6, and sorry I did not get what you wanted to say with "limited" thing.. thank you very much again

Demir · Dec 12, 2017

photo1x1.com said:
Hi,
good idea from waday. What about getting together with friends that also love photography and buy a used camera together. I just recently sold a Canon D400 for 130€. So older DSLRs can be had for a reasonable price.
What camera are you currently using?
I just liked a few of your girlfriends pics on instagram .

One thing: you don´t have to have a great camera to create great images. And in case she is thinking about turning her hobby into a profession: I think most of us will agree: If she stays at her pharmacie-studies, this might be the better idea for the future.

I can't describe how much thankful I am for your response.. we will give a try ! She is on hobby mod when the word is about photography and it will stay like that but I will do anything to help her to get better camera !

Demir · Dec 12, 2017

Dave442 said:
As wadey said, a used camera is often the best option for a student.

Thank you Dave ! I respect your opinion very much and I am very thankufl for it

waday · Dec 12, 2017

Demir said:
waday said:

Do you have any camera or photography clubs in your area or city? Someone from a local club may be willing to part with an older camera very cheap compared to new camera prices.

Is she limited in any way with her current camera, which I am assuming is a phone camera (iPhone or Android or similar)?

Click to expand...

Firstly thank you very much on your reply.. it means so much for me and for her ! I must say we didn't give a chance to photo clubs but will give it a try .. she is on iphone 6, and sorry I did not get what you wanted to say with "limited" thing.. thank you very much again

What I meant was, what does she need in a camera? How is her current camera lacking? Sometimes the camera we have does a good enough job. Does she want to take portraits of people, landscapes, street, etc?

Demir · Dec 12, 2017

waday said:
Demir said:

waday said:

Do you have any camera or photography clubs in your area or city? Someone from a local club may be willing to part with an older camera very cheap compared to new camera prices.

Is she limited in any way with her current camera, which I am assuming is a phone camera (iPhone or Android or similar)?

Click to expand...

Firstly thank you very much on your reply.. it means so much for me and for her ! I must say we didn't give a chance to photo clubs but will give it a try .. she is on iphone 6, and sorry I did not get what you wanted to say with "limited" thing.. thank you very much again

Click to expand...

What I meant was, what does she need in a camera? How is her current camera lacking? Sometimes the camera we have does a good enough job. Does she want to take portraits of people, landscapes, street, etc?

Oh ok.. as I know she is interested in portraits of common people.. but she takes photographs with her mobile so it is not so nice to take those photos with it.. I think she would feel more comfortable and more relaxed when she gets her camera that looks more proffesional than a mobile phone.. and after all I want to make her happy

ac12 · Dec 13, 2017

Biggest lesson that I learned is that a better camera or lens won't automatically make you take better pictures.
It is the person behind the camera that makes the difference.

Example, years ago, a friend who was a pro photographer, gave his daughter a Hasselblad for her birthday. She was taking very good photos with her instamatic, which was a fancy box camera.
A few months later, she went to her father and gave him the Hasselblad back, and asked for her old instamatic.
It turned out that the sophisticated expensive Hasselblad was getting in the way of her taking photographs, and she was getting worse pictures than with her simple box camera.

So the phone camera will do fine until you get to where you can afford a dedicated camera.
And you do NOT need a fancy expensive camera.
Just learn to work with the camera you have now, and work around its limitations.

But think long term. Will camera 1 be upgraded in a year or two? If so, can any of its lenses be used on camera 2? Or will camera 2 be a fresh start?
This is a reason to buy into a camera family.
But do your research. Even within families, there are incompatibilities. The old pre AI Nikon lenses won't work/fit on some of the new digital Nikon cameras. The old Canon breech lock lens won't fit on the later bayonet mount Canons. So you won't be able to use the old lenses on the newer cameras.

waday · Dec 13, 2017

ac12 said:
Biggest lesson that I learned is that a better camera or lens won't automatically make you take better pictures.
It is the person behind the camera that makes the difference.

Example, years ago, a friend who was a pro photographer, gave his daughter a Hasselblad for her birthday. She was taking very good photos with her instamatic, which was a fancy box camera. A few months later, she went to her father and gave him the Hasselblad back, and asked for her old instamatic.
It turned out that the sophisticated expensive Hasselblad was getting in the way of her taking photographs, and she was getting worse pictures than with her simple box camera.

So the phone camera will do fine until you get to where you can afford a dedicated camera.
And you do NOT need a fancy expensive camera.
Just learn to work with the camera you have now, and work around its limitations.

But think long term. Will camera 1 be upgraded in a year or two? If so, can any of its lenses be used on camera 2? Or will camera 2 be a fresh start?
This is a reason to buy into a camera family.
But do your research. Even within families, there are incompatibilities. The old pre AI Nikon lenses won't work/fit on some of the new digital Nikon cameras. The old Canon breech lock lens won't fit on the later bayonet mount Canons. So you won't be able to use the old lenses on the newer cameras.

Based on some of the photos from her Instagram account, it looks like she's ready to move to a camera that's not her phone--especially if she feels limited (even if it's just mentally) from solely using a phone. Sometimes a change in the camera can make one more confident as a photographer.