It’s More Than Just the Gear

Digital photography technology has made gigantic leaps in the past few decades. For most of the history of photography, taking pictures involved planning. You needed to pack for a camera and remember the film. Now it’s an afterthought. These days, the phone in your pocket can take pictures with higher resolutions than the most expensive digital cameras just twenty years ago.  If you’ve seen Apple’s new “shot on iPhone 6” ads, you’ll know that your phone can create some truly stunning images. And it’s not just phone cameras. High quality consumer DSLR cameras are more affordable than ever, allowing the average person to take beautiful, high-quality pictures.

So with all of these resources available, you might wonder if there’s even a point of professional photography anymore. What can we do that you can’t? The answer does have something to do with equipment. As good as “prosumer” cameras have gotten, more expensive professional cameras can still capture a deeper, more dynamic range; in other words, they can pick up darker darks and lighter lights in the same frame. Additionally, some of the most beautiful photography is taken in very low light situations, and this requires super fast and (unfortunately) super sensitive lenses.

But most of our value as professional photographers has nothing to do with our gear. These are just our tools. What really makes the difference is our skills and knowledge that we’ve gained over years

of experience. The kinds of things that technology can never “cheat.” First, there’s composition. The way things are composed in the frame can create a sense of balance or tension or excitement. What angle should the camera be? How much should I include? What can I leave out? Which lens? These decisions affect the way we perceive the image, often in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.

Then there’s the lighting. It’s all an image really is: reflections of light off of surfaces. There are many different types of light and types of surfaces, and they all interact with each other in unique ways. It can be textured and beautiful, or it can be flat and ugly. A good photographer doesn’t fight what the sun gives him; he works with it and shapes it into what he needs.

At the end of the process, you have more than just a recording of reality. You have an impression—a subjective, emotional statement that tells a story. At Trade Winds Photography, I bring my passion for visual storytelling to every assignment. Whether you’re looking for Maui family portraits , wedding photographers in Maui, landscape art or any other photography job, I’m honored to bring my experience to help express the story you need to tell.