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Two weeks ago, I was invited down to Palm Springs by one of my favorite hotels in the country, Saguaro to see all of the updates and changes they had made in their hotel refresh.
I was so excited, but so tired coming off of a trip just a few days before. I woke up early in the morning, on one hour of sleep. I packed my very minimal travel bags (I am used to traveling with 4 people including a kid and a baby) and managed to leave the house with just a purse and a suitcase. When I got to the airport, through security, I checked my bags and realized I had lenses but no camera. I was DEVASTATED.
My first big hotel collab, partnership, influencer thingggggg and I could not get my act together.
With tears in my eyes, I said a little prayer, got some encouragement to press forward and decided to shoot the weekend with my NEW iPhone 11 Pro Max put it to the test and see what it could do.
(I normally shoot with a Nikon D750 or Nikon Z6 and my three favorite lenses are the 50 1.4 | 35 1.4 and the 85 1.4. I travel/blog and take with me everywhere my Panasonic GX 85 I got with the equivalent of a 35mm and 50mm portrait lens with me - this is what I left behind that weekend.)
I invited one of my former seniors to join me on the trip and she brought her entry-level Nikon D3300 with her. All weekend long I switched back and forth between her Nikon and my iPhone and below are the results from both cameras.
Top images is D3300 - slide to see the Iphone 11 Pro Max version of the photo
I wanted to share this post because as creators/ photographers, we get caught up on having the latest greatest gear, but I think the real lesson is maximizing and working with what you have. Not everyone can afford the best or fanciest camera or the newest iPhone, but if you take the time to learn the equipment in your hands, you can produce some really fantastic imagery.
My first camera was an Advantix film camera, then a Minolta film camera and then my first digital camera was a Nikon d40 after seeing all of the Picturetown USA ads and finding the connection because it was my family's hometown of Georgetown, SC. Every camera after that d40 I had to earn by learning how to use the one in my hands and exhausting every single capability it had. My next camera was a d700 and now a d750. I don't always have the ability to carry heavy gear around with me, so I have learned to really utilize whatever I have.
These images are NOT the best representation of my work in any sense of the word, but I had to work with what I had, and that's what I did.
Slide for the next image (same for the solo image of me above)
I hope to share more photography tips here on this blog in the future, but for now, I'll say, whatever it is you have, exhaust yourself in your effort to learn how to use that device and you'll be astounded by the results.
With strength, courage and wisdom,
Tash
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