Alexander Delic
With the introduction of smartphones at the end of the noughties, the art of picture taking was transformed. Suddenly, everyone and anyone thought they had what it takes to be an amateur photographer – and the market boomed.
Previously, the options for taking photos were more or less limited to paying a professional taken or otherwise being limited to disposable or low-quality digital cameras.
Now, with the advent of the iPhone, people have gotten better and more knowledgeable with their cameras and more pictures are being uploaded than ever before.
As an amateur photographer, you need to start distinguishing your photography from the crowd. With this variety of gadgets and easy-to-use apps, you’re ready to fortify your growing amateur photography career, in style…
Drones
Drones are amazing tools for a photographer. In essence, they are simply high-quality, stable, aerial cameras, and are growing to be an essential part of a photographer’s kit.
If you’re a budding photographer looking to take some genuinely unique shots, drones are becoming increasingly affordable and you may find them to be an interesting avenue to go down.
Those looking to make a difference in the world of photography from day one are in a great position to do so with drones. Formal techniques are only just being worked out, so the photography solutions to be found in shooting at different altitudes, angles and dealing with the weather are likely to be genuinely novel.
Whereas before aerial shots were basically only available to those that had access to a real helicopter, now the world of the top-down landscape has been opened to anyone, from professional to hobbyist.
PIXLR Editing software
The well-established GIMP is the industry standard for free photo editing programs, but it’s always been quite famous for being completely unfriendly to new users. With this, amateurs traditionally have had a choice – pay the huge startups for Adobe Photoshop, or spend weeks learning GIMP.
Medium-level amateur photographers out there that want a more Photoshop-esque experience should look at PIXLR. It has nearly all the same shortcuts and the same layout as Photoshop, minus a few of the more complex features, and is very user-friendly. As an amateur progresses and picks up skills, they may wish to invest in learning GIMP down the road, but PIXLR is a great start on the way to being a pro.
360 Cameras
Like drones, 360 cameras have burst onto the photography scene in recent years. They have arrived as a result of the growing popularity of virtual reality and allow amateur photographers to produce fully immersive snapshots of every view possible from any given location.
360 Photos can be viewed both on a 2D screen, where a user is able to navigate the picture by clicking and dragging a cursor across them, and also on VR headsets, where the user can look around to get the full picture.
For an amateur photographer looking to bite into the art of photography with a truly unexplored medium, then they should look no further than 360 Camerawork. The next Picasso of the full panorama world is waiting to be discovered. Even if you aren’t interested in getting super-technical with it, you will be having some unforgettable experiences learning the art nonetheless.
Instagram Schedulers
Most amateur photographers are probably running an Instagram account, and it’s a great way to get your content out there.
For those looking to step up their Insta-game, or simply struggling to keep regular with the large flow of uploads they’re likely to be managing, it might make sense to start scheduling your Instagrams. There are a number of services out there that offer this. One example is Later, which is free to use for individually owned Instagrams and allows users to plan out their Instagrams for the next few months.
Sitting down for an afternoon and scheduling out your posts for the next few weeks is really rewarding, as it allows you to really pick the highlights of your camera reel. This is a great little pick for aspiring pro-photographers.
Community Rental Apps
If the equipment you need to start an amateur photography career is out of reach, for the reason of being too expensive, a great solution is to rent photo gear from your neighbors instead.
Recently a number of apps, such as Fat Lama, have been set up to allow this. The idea is simple – professionals and hobbyists, who do not use their equipment all the time, are able to let out their gear to those that need to rent it.
An amateur benefits from this arrangement because it’s cheaper than buying and the commitment to one type of equipment, camera, or lens is eliminated. If you want to take a drone out for a spin, that is an option – if you’re at the top of a mountain and want to take a panorama, then you have 360 cameras at your disposal. If you want to take traditional photos with the highest possible spec, you also have that option.
For those starting out their photography hobby or career, borrowing locally may be a great way to see what they like before committing to buying gear.
So there you go, 5 Game-Changing technologies to try out in 2018 as an amateur photographer looking to make a mark in the industry. If you’re interested in learning more about kickstarting your freelance career, check out our archive of useful freelancing tips!
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Stuart Logan
Wondershare
awork
