kit/lenses/talent

Darthchaffinch

Darthchaffinch

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This amazing chaps site was posted in the business thread and wonderred if the quality of his (amazing) shot was down to the quality of his bodies, lenses, his talent or all 3?

http://www.jerryghionisphotography.com/

Would someone like me with a crummy D90 need to go full frame and buy decent lenses to get such amazing shots?
(not looking to get into wedding photography btw!!)
 
In my opinion, it is a mix of the 3, 75% Talent, 25% Equipment.

Obviously it will come to the point that your equipment might just not cut it at a certain level or depending on how old it is, but it is mostly the person pushing the buttons and spinning the dials that makes the big difference between novice hobby shooter and seasoned pro.
 
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To be honest i don't have an answer, i've only ever shot crop body cameras, so the only difference in my eyes would be how much more you see through the viewfinder, but from a non technical pof, I'd say no, both crop and full frame camera's are capable of similar quality work with the right person operating said camera, the only difference i would note would be the jump from full frame cameras to medium format, the tech does make a pretty sizable difference in quality etc etc.
 
Good subject, great light. A talented photographer will always get good results with that, regardless of equipment.
 
Talent, location and understanding of lighting, good post processing too, they are very powerful images, pretty sure he can do the same with a D90 and a decent lens.
 
Go on to his blog and look at the wedding he shot with an iPhone , that should answer your question quite quickly
 
freyuk said:
Talent, location and understanding of lighting, good post processing too, they are very powerful images, pretty sure he can do the same with a D90 and a decent lens.
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Yep. Pretty sure (just looking at photos on browser) that my lowly equipment could get the same results. I, on the other hand, couldn't get close.
 
Only for a small % of images does the gear become an important consideration. New photographers want to blame the gear because it's better than taking responsibility themselves :wacky:

but Gerry is one of the photographers who've proved the gear is secondary, by shooting a wedding with an iphone(y)

If you look at the blog of Jeff Ascough (arguably Britains leading wedding photographer) you'll see he likes to post landscapes he shoots on his phone too.

The bottom line is, Light is the most important ingredient, if you look at Gerrys or Jeffs pictures, you can see how light has made the spectacular ones, its not just weddings either, most spectacular photos have spectacular light. Unfortunately, Jessops don't stock great light, you need talent to find it yourself.
 
You can't overlook or underestimate the post production values involved in these pictures either.
Call it a photographic skill if you want but these pictures are "made" after the shoot, whilst you can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear, due consideration should be given to a skill that has more than a passing influence on the final product.
 
Darthchaffinch said:
that's what I thought (hoped that wan't the case thought! :D )
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I find it odd that you seem to have wanted the answer to be Yes, as the only post you've replied to is one that supports this.
You could never buy the ability to create awesome photo's, that hasn't changed recently. However - what has changed is that it's now much easier to learn how to take better photo's.

But if you'd rather carry on blaming the kit - you're free to do so:thinking:
 
Full frame is over rated in my opinion. I like full frame and do hope to upgrade on the future but it all down to what you need ......

I maybe wrong but in tech spec FF will give me a non crop factor view and better high ISO shots in low light situation.

I would rather say you need extra accessories and skill rather then new body ......

I.e I can take better landscape with a crop sensor camera with good ND filter then a full frame body with no filter.
 
The subject matter is not my cup of tea, but the images are exquisite. The photographer sure knows how to make use of light.
 
Excellent lighting technique & post processing > the gear used.

Man, when I look at wedding shots like this I know why I don't put myself out there for them. He makes me sick!! :D He's that good.
 
cracking photos, but i dare say alot of post processing and retouching after the pictures were taken- but composed brilliantly!
 
joxby said:
You can't overlook or underestimate the post production values involved in these pictures either.
Call it a photographic skill if you want but these pictures are "made" after the shoot, whilst you can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear, due consideration should be given to a skill that has more than a passing influence on the final product.
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+1


also- full frame is not some magical image enhancing technology, I bought a full frame camera, and guess what, the pictures aren't better or worse, they're just wider
shoot the same subject on crop with a wider lens and bang it's the exact same shot

you will need good lenses though, throw away that kit lens, get the tokina 11-16 2.8, and the sigma 30mm, and some lights and you won't need full frame, and even if the urge to go full frame takes over your rational thought and you do get a fx camera you'll just notice how much softer your images are in the corners, how much heavier your lenses are, and that your images aren't magically improved
 
also it really really helps to photograph beautiful people in lavish locations, and with clients that look as if they've been in front of a camera before and are receptive to posing, a lot of his shots I could recreate if I had models, lights and time, not sure I could pull images like that out while the ceremony was going on, and i'm not convinced he does either, I think his clients know that he's going to be more of a director than a reporter, and will be willing to keep shooting until he's got those shots
 
mrjames said:
also it really really helps to photograph beautiful people in lavish locations, and with clients that look as if they've been in front of a camera before and are receptive to posing, a lot of his shots I could recreate if I had models, lights and time, not sure I could pull images like that out while the ceremony was going on, and i'm not convinced he does either, I think his clients know that he's going to be more of a director than a reporter, and will be willing to keep shooting until he's got those shots
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Fact is Jerry does that wedding in & wedding out. I have seen him speak a couple of times over the last 10 years, and in the past poured over his DVDs, album designs, pick-pocket cards and books.

The man knows his stuff.

When I first saw him he was shooting with a 20D, and getting a similar quality of work. The gear isn't important. His ability to interact with clients, his understanding of light, and posing, and his PP and design skills are second to none.

He is best known for his directed work, but he also shoots pretty good PJ photography and a couple of years ago won some PJ awards with his work. Yes he gets time with the B&G alone, but the rest of the day he is at a wedding not running a photo-shoot. He'll also be able to deliver on a shorter timeframe, and if you took a look at his Ordinary to Extraordinary pickpockets

http://www.picpockets.info/artist/jerry-ghionis/ordinary-extraordinary-vol-i/

you'll see that not everything you think is lavish actually is....

It is the easiest thing to do to say you could replicate his work if you had X, Y and Z - harder to actually go out and deliver the goods even if you had everything you wished for. Plenty of experienced and talented wedding photographers have tried to emulate him and failed.
 
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Darthchaffinch said:
This amazing chaps site was posted in the business thread and wonderred if the quality of his (amazing) shot was down to the quality of his bodies, lenses, his talent or all 3?

http://www.jerryghionisphotography.com/

Would someone like me with a crummy D90 need to go full frame and buy decent lenses to get such amazing shots?
(not looking to get into wedding photography btw!!)
Click to expand...

Talent first, lenses second, bodies last.

If you don't have the talent to know how to get the best out the subject and lighting conditions, you won't get the shot at all, regardless of what camera you use.

Your D90 is far from crummy, and I've no doubt there's several users of D90s and D300s on here that have produced first rate work with them.
 
The first 50% is knowing how to shoot using what you've got, the subtext of which is understanding how your equipment works at its best, understanding the subject, and the environment that surrounds the subject.

The other 50% of the hard work is knowing how to process, and that guy really knows how to process.


Looks like some HDR work has crept in as well.

Whatever, the pics are stunning.
 
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