Is less really more?

[benhasajeep48 46]

My greatest 'less is more' image of 2017:
View attachment 143481

What exposure did you use? Was that 50mm lens? How did you get such a shallow DOF? The lighting is perfectly even? How did you set up the lighting?

My camera has a little dial with incoherent markers like "S" and "M" and "A". Concluded that they stood for "Super", "Marvelous" and "Awesome"- so I figure it doesn't really matter what you set your camera on, right?

Huh, I was always told it was "Supreme, Marginal, Awful"

 

[Peeb72]

My greatest 'less is more' image of 2017:
View attachment 143481

What exposure did you use? Was that 50mm lens? How did you get such a shallow DOF? The lighting is perfectly even? How did you set up the lighting?

My camera has a little dial with incoherent markers like "S" and "M" and "A". Concluded that they stood for "Super", "Marvelous" and "Awesome"- so I figure it doesn't really matter what you set your camera on, right?

Huh, I was always told it was "Supreme, Marginal, Awful"

I see- then I'll stick with "S".

 

[Gary A.]

Eric Kim did state "Why more is less in street photography...". Yeah, in Street one can easily get away using only one camera and only one lens. I definitely believe that being restricted to only one lens will make you think differently creatively than thinking creatively with multiple focal lengths. But Kim is his own boss with little if any 'competition'. I used to shoot news. While I think I could shoot stories with only one lens, giving up 'lens drama' would certainly make my stories bland and boring. To me, long and wide focal lengths are like adjectives, giving the story color and depth. Shooting assignments with only one focal length, while the competition directly on my left and my right, have multiple focal lengths available to them ... well, I wouldn't have a job very long ... maybe a week. I cannot think of any editors who would accept the "Less is More" arguement ... or the "Henri Cartier-Bresson" explaination. Maybe a week .. maybe less, lol. On the flip side, for a week your back would feel great.

PS- One time I shoot Street with an 8mm fish on one camera and a 200mm on the other camera ... just because ... wanted to up the challenge and get extra style points.

 

[table1349]

I put it down to more of that modern math. When I was in school we were taught in math class that less was less, more was more and more or less was never the right answer.

 

[Gary A.]

More or Less works with hand grenades.

 

[astroNikon]

Really?

*I think* everyone needs to just buy themselves a 13mm lens and stick with that one lens and pick just one of their camera bodies.

*AND*, this is the IMPORTANT part; mail your other lenses and camera bodies to ME to dispose of.
Yes, that is the BEST solution for everyone, and especially for ME.

Thank you. You can then go on with your life knowing that the best decision has been made.

FYI .. how do you shoot a complete sports event with a 35mm lens ?

 

[Gary A.]

Really?

*I think* everyone needs to just buy themselves a 13mm lens and stick with that one lens and pick just one of their camera bodies.

*AND*, this is the IMPORTANT part; mail your other lenses and camera bodies to ME to dispose of.
Yes, that is the BEST solution for everyone, and especially for ME.

Thank you. You can then go on with your life knowing that the best decision has been made.

FYI .. how do you shoot a complete sports event with a 35mm lens ?

On a bet, I shot a college football game with a 28mm on a non-motorized Nikon F.

 

[benhasajeep48 46]

Really?



FYI .. how do you shoot a complete sports event with a 35mm lens ?

Easy- Lots of cropping. The real challenge would be with a fisheye.

 

[nerwin]

Street photography with a Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 might be fun! You could take a single picture with a high resolution sensor and just pick out multiple compositions in that one photo. Hahaha.

 

[Derrel]

Street photography with a Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 might be fun! You could take a single picture with a high resolution sensor and just pick out multiple compositions in that one photo. Hahaha.

Samsung did this with that brightly-colored (yellow, for example) 41-megapixel phone camera two,three years ago! The idea was that one could CROP the heck out of any shot!

 

[nerwin]

Street photography with a Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 might be fun! You could take a single picture with a high resolution sensor and just pick out multiple compositions in that one photo. Hahaha.

Samsung did this with that brightly-colored (yellow, for example) 41-megapixel phone camera two,three years ago! The idea was that one could CROP the heck out of any shot!

I thought it was Nokia?

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Ahhhh I have seen countless articles like this that go well beyond photography. The reality is

The right gear is is the best thing you can have. Maybe you only shoot a limited type of photography and can get away with a 50 1.4 and a nice body for it. Maybe you shoot only birds and a D810 with a 600mm is all you need. But maybe you like to shoot everything in the middle and you need a plethora of gear to get the shot you want. Then it is perhaps more important you understand what you have, how to use it and most importantly when to use what.

The truth is, I love people who sell all their gear to buy a 50mm 1.4 and go find purity out there, because then I get to buy it second hand for far less than market value....

Then there is the difference between need and want. People often use these interchangeably but incorrectly, most of us know full well that we dont need most gear (unless we shoot for a living). We know we can get away with the bare essentials. However we chose to spend our funds on gear, we chose to own a spread of lenses and toy around with all sorts of things. I sure do not need 4 enlargers but when my local lab was throwing them away you can bet i was first in line....

 

[kleinheinz]

Hi nerwin.

As a full time working wedding photographer in based in Germany i can tell you Eric Kim is correct with this statement, that less is more. I didnt read the article myself, but i can tell you my opinion on that.
Working with 2 lenses and 2 cameras is what i do too. I take a full frame DSLR and a 35mm 1.4 for photojournalism and a 50mm 1.4 for group shots, portraits and detail shots. I take a third camera with me, but its the same as 55mm f1.2. Its a Phase One 645 with 80mm 1.9 lens.

So, why are we doing this?
The answere is pretty obvious. My clients know what to expect from me and work. If they hire me because of my portfolio they know exactly what images they will have at the end of the day. Detail Shots, Portraits, photojournalistic reportage... I charge a lot and i dont do experiments. Im a professional.
High paying clients dont want someone who is doing something with different lenses and get some pictures. High paying clients want a professional photographer who can guarantee his style of pictures. They want results they can rely on at the end of the day. Something they can be sure to get. Pictures they know they will have in the style they want. Thats why they book me and they why they book Eric Kim with a lot of money.

Less is more. Get a style and get some Business guidelines for yourself and for your customers. If they know what they get and you can guarantee constistent results, you get more "better" clients.

Best regards, my friend.

 

[nerwin]

Hi nerwin.

As a full time working wedding photographer in based in Germany i can tell you Eric Kim is correct with this statement, that less is more. I didnt read the article myself, but i can tell you my opinion on that.
Working with 2 lenses and 2 cameras is what i do too. I take a full frame DSLR and a 35mm 1.4 for photojournalism and a 50mm 1.4 for group shots, portraits and detail shots. I take a third camera with me, but its the same as 55mm f1.2. Its a Phase One 645 with 80mm 1.9 lens.

So, why are we doing this?
The answere is pretty obvious. My clients know what to expect from me and work. If they hire me because of my portfolio they know exactly what images they will have at the end of the day. Detail Shots, Portraits, photojournalistic reportage... I charge a lot and i dont do experiments. Im a professional.
High paying clients dont want someone who is doing something with different lenses and get some pictures. High paying clients want a professional photographer who can guarantee his style of pictures. They want results they can rely on at the end of the day. Something they can be sure to get. Pictures they know they will have in the style they want. Thats why they book me and they why they book Eric Kim with a lot of money.

Less is more. Get a style and get some Business guidelines for yourself and for your customers. If they know what they get and you can guarantee constistent results, you get more "better" clients.

Best regards, my friend.

But not every photographer does it for the money. I don't have clients because I choose not to. I even turned down jobs, lol.

 

[jsecordphoto]

Do people actually get stressed trying to decide which lens to use? Some people really, really overthink things. Get the gear you need and go out and shoot