Irreverence. n. Showing a lack of respect; not taking things seriously.
Photography has undergone more than one upheaval in recent years. Although the traditional photography business has come under pressure, micro-businesses are flourishing in the new era of inexpensive digital cameras and inkjet printers, photo sharing websites, and print-on-demand. Besides the new “micro-studios,” artists, photo hobbyists, and students of photography are benefiting from digital cameras, inkjet printers, and online resources. Photographers in general are able to supply themselves with an array of high-priced, proprietary equipment.
But, in reality, after the necessities are acquired, the cost to outfit a budding business or hobby is still quite high. If you’re selling “dollar stock,” or are photographing playgroups to give or sell portraits to families, there is a point at which you have the knowledge and desire to flesh out your photo gear, but not the desire to chew up your savings or dip into debt to do so. Whether in good economic times or in bad, photographers have to be wily because it’s likely you could best use your money for paying the rent or going on a vacation. That is why irreverent photo tools are so important.
I don’t believe you have to spend a lot of money to take great pictures. In fact, I’d like to poke a hole in the notion that photographers need to break the bank and flesh out their roster of photo tools with high-end photo gear. Much of that traditional gear is advertised by mainstream photography and digital imaging media, and sold through traditional photo marketing channels. But there’s another path the intrepid photographer can take that will pave the way for great photography and not break the bank.
I’ve always been very pragmatic about photo tools, and generally disrespectful of marketing text that claims to produce foolproof pictures, because your eye, your knowledge, and your ability are your best assets, regardless of the tool. Showing off your photo equipment should never be more important than showing off your pictures. Let the equipment be secondary to technique and inspiration.
Nothing teaches like experience, and I know from experience that a walk through a local or big box hardware store, an Army & Navy store, or even an office supply store, will reveal just as many excellent and life-saving photography tools as any trip to a camera store. Tools I’ve included in this book—tools like the hayfork handle, light bulb changer, staple gun, and cardboard tube—will hopefully underscore that point.
I say, save your money and have some fun. As I mentioned, if you are itching to spend money, spend it on expensive camera lenses. You won’t regret it. Meanwhile, have some fun and be creative with the tools I’ve included in this book. You’ll put your camera and lenses through their paces and possibly shoot something that you never would have if you stuck to traditional photo tools and photo techniques.
Philosophy is an interesting word, especially for me because, among the things that I’ve acquired along the way in life is a degree in philosophy. If anything, the study of philosophy taught me to question things. It’s that questioning, especially the questioning tradition, that has led to my irreverent exploration of photography tools.
When I talk to photographers who are more excited about their equipment than their photos, I am reminded of Plato’s story of people in a cave seeing the world only as shadows on a wall, not seeing the actual objects drawing the shadows. A photo tool is simply a tool to help make a photograph. If you can get something for a few dollars at the hardware store that gets the job done, or make a photo tool from items around the house, you can be just as successful, and accomplish the same task, as the photographer who spends a fortune on traditional photo industry tools.
This book began as a series on my blog. As the series grew, I found I took great joy in sharing the tools, techniques, and experiences I’ve acquired during decades in my profession. The idea to expand the blog into a book was also inspired by some of the alternative lifestyle catalogs that were published at the time I began my own career, catalogs that broke ground in the way people used things.
I should mention: No one paid me any money to use any of the tools in this book. There is a mix of found objects and items that you can buy. I have included tools I already have, or scrounged stores for useful, non-traditional photo tools. If I felt I had exhausted a particular subject in a chapter, I took walks through the local or big box hardware stores for inspiration. Also, I have tried to include tools that have many uses or pertain to many types of photography and not ones with specific needs. I have even more irreverent, non-traditional tools than I’ve included, tools so unusual, or for one use only, that they didn’t make the final cut.
Some of the tools in this book may even smack of traditional photo tools, and you might wonder what is irreverent about them. The irreverence comes either from the way I use them, or from the fact that they aren’t used in traditional photography as much as they should be. If I can steer my readers toward best practices for photography by demonstrating something they should be using but aren’t, I’ve also accomplished my goal to nudge you in the right direction.
And speaking of the right direction, thanks to my editors—Kevin Harreld and Kezia Endsley—for their expertise, encouragement, and guidance in helping me to write this book.
The photo tools in this book are divided into chapters that cover the different types of styles or genres photographers generally work with. Within each chapter, the tools aren’t in any specific order of importance, except that sometimes discussing one tool does logically lead to another tool that follows the same purpose as the first.
Because photography is an innovative art, and the needs of photographers vary, there is a lot of crossover between the chapters. For that reason, if you are a portrait photographer, for example, don’t just read the chapter covering irreverent portrait tools, because you’ll surely find other useful tools in other chapters. By all means, start with the chapter that appeals to your style or genre of photography most, but then browse through all the chapters and explore the book throughout.
Besides traditional still photography tools, I’ve included a chapter on video as well. The convergence of still and video cameras, which I’ve been enthusiastic about for years, has left many photographers with a still camera that shoots video, but not with a lot of actual tools for videography. In Chapter 7, “Irreverent Video Tools,” I’ve included inexpensive and innovative ways to shoot video techniques with a digital SLR or point-and-shoot camera that shoots video.
Once you take digital pictures, you’ll want to work with them in post-production on the computer, editing, altering, and improving the images. To that end, I’ve included two chapters on digital tools, one chapter specifically for editing in Photoshop, and one chapter that covers miscellaneous digital tools.
And please, because many of these tools are designed to be used outdoors, be sensitive to the environment and dispose of any tools, or residual material from making any of these tools, properly.
Any book dealing with anything digital may have the need for updates or corrections. Please visit my blog, www.modestudio.us, to look for updates, additions, and corrections. Leave a comment there as well with stories about your own irreverent photo tools.
You’ll find the following chapters in this book:
Chapter 1, “Irreverent Studio Tools,” includes tools that studio photographers can use, including work surfaces, tools to make and improve tabletop sets, and so forth.
Chapter 2, “Irreverent Location Tools,” covers tools that help photographers meet the challenges that come from shooting on location.
Chapter 3, “Irreverent Travel Tools,” discusses tools you’ll need to help pack light, keep equipment dry and clean, and more, while traveling for photography.
Chapter 4, “Irreverent Tools for Nature and Landscape Photography,” includes tools to chart the path of sunlight, tools to carry equipment, and other tools to help photographers shooting outdoors.
Chapter 5, “Irreverent Portrait Tools,” covers tools that help when photographing people, including lighting and makeup tools, among others.
Chapter 6, “Irreverent Still-Life Tools,” discusses many tools useful for photographing props and products.
Chapter 7, “Irreverent Video Tools,” includes tools to help still photographers shoot video with their video-capable digital SLR or point-and-shoot camera.
Chapter 8, “Irreverent Photoshop Tools,” discusses nontraditional ways to use Photoshop to edit your photography.
Chapter 9, “Irreverent Digital Tools,” covers software and photo-editing tools useful for all photographers, and includes Windows and Mac tools.
Chapter 10, “Irreverent Tools for All Photographers,” includes miscellaneous tools that don’t fit into a specific genre but that all photographers might find useful, or at least should be aware of.