12 3 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Withsomanypeopletakingpictureson
camerasorsmartphones,whencanyou
truly call yourself a photographer?
View point
A my Dav ies
A
sa foundingmemberof
theSheClicksfemale-only
Facebookgroup(setupby
formerAPTechnicalEditor
AngelaNicholson),I amproudto seethe
communitygrowfroma handfulof people
to over4,000at thetimeof writing.It’s
grownin numberanddiversity,with
membersfromacrosstheworld,withall
skilllevelsanda varietyof backgrounds.
Whatalwayscatchesmyattentionare
thevarieddiscussionsaboutphotography
thatpopupfromtimetotime.Onein
particularstrucka chordwithmea few
weeksback- it wasdiscussingat what
pointareyouentitledtocallyourself‘a
photographer’.Manywomenareguilty
of sufferingfrom‘impostersyndrome’,so
it wasn’tsurprisingtoseetheissuespring
upin thegroup,butit gotmethinking...
Today,almosteveryone(intheWestern
world)is equippedwitha camera,butto
callthosein possessionof a smartphone
whohappentouseit totakea picture‘a
photographer’wouldbedoingtheartand
craftof photographya disservice.ButI
feelthattryingtodefine‘photographer’ is
notaltogethercutanddried.
Somebodysuggestedit wasthe
momentwhentheyfoundthemselves
exclusivelyusingmanualmodethattipped
themoverfrom‘somebodywitha
camera’intoa full-fledgedphotographer.
Nowit’stimeformetomakea confession
- andhopefullyI won’tbecollectingmy
P45afterI makeit – butI almostnever
usemanualmode.Mymodeof choice,
generally,is aperturepriority.I was
neverformallytrainedin photography,but
I’vebeenincrediblyfortunatetomake
a decentlivingoutof it.
I knowhowtousemanualmode,butit’s
mucheasierformetostickthecamera
onaperturepriorityandworrymore
aboutcomposition,framingandcapturing
a momentthanadjustingeverysingle
parameterbeforetakinga shot.I tendto
leaveit onAutoISOtoo.Shocking!Nota
singlepersonhasevercommentedonit
ortoldmethatI shouldhavebeenusinga
differentmode.Becausefrankly, if you get
thejobdone,whocares?
Therightwaytouseacamera?
Obviouslyhavinga camerais a necessity
if youwanttotakea picture– butthe
camerais justa toolandit mattersnot
whatit is orhowyouuseit. There’sno
rightwaytousea camera,andthere’sno
right(orwrong)waytodefinewhatmakes
youa photographer,either.Approachit
howeveryoufeelcomfortable,anddon’t
worryaboutwhatothersthinkaboutyou.
I mentionedthisdiscussiontoa
professionalphotographerfriendwho
admittedthatheusesa varietyof modes
dependingonthesituation:manual,
aperturepriority,shutterpriority,
plusAutoISO.He’sawareof several
photographerswhoworkforesteemed
pictureagenciessuchasReutersand
PressAssociationwhodothesame.
Wouldanybodydaresuggestthatthey’re
not‘realphotographers’?Seemsunlikely.
Whetheryouhavea basiccamera(or
smartphone)andyouletit makeallthe
technicaldecisionsforyou,oryouhavean
encyclopaedicknowledgeof everybutton,
dialandsettingonyourtop-of-the-line
pro-levelmodel,youarestillmorethan
entitledtocallyourselfa photographer
- don’tletanybodytellyouotherwise.
‘Thecameraisjusta tool
andit mattersnotwhat
it is or how you use it’
AperturepriorityandAutoISOareAmy’s
go-to modes for most of her shots
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED
©
AMY
DAV
ES
AmyDaviesis oneofAmateur Photographer’s FeaturesEditorsandhasbeenworkingin thephotographyindustry
for over ten years.
© GETTY IMAGES/CAIAIMAGE
© TOM MACKIE
CONTENT FOR NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Highinthesky
Don’tputyourcameraawaywhen
the sun isstrong– learntomaximise
itspotential
Reflexaction
JohnWadegivesusa peekintothe
wonderfulworldofrollfilmSLRs
Tamron17-28mm
F/2.8DiIIIRXD
Wetestthiswide-aperturezoomfor
Sony full-frame mirrorless
MattyGraham’s 20 tips,hacks
andcheatswillchangeyour
approach to photography
Money-
saving
DI Y hacks
In next week’s issue
On sale Tuesday 6 August
Ifyou’rea femalephotographerandwouldlike
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