A camera is not a fashion statement

Victor Habbick is a photographer, artist, designer and member of ePHOTOzine's Pro critique team. His work is published world wide and he supplies stock markets on a regular basis. His advice will range from kit choices and editing software to supplying agencies and finding inspiration. He describes his work as having commercial sensibilities with a touch of the surreal and you can find out more about this by visiting his ePHOTOzine profile or by visiting his personal website: Victor Habbick.

Here's his tip:

"Do not get hung up on kit. Most cameras today are more than capable of turning in some great shots. Optics are better than ever and even the small relatively inexpensive cameras punch a big pixel count. On screen jpgs of the size quality and compression required by EPZ are usually within the reach of the majority of up-loaders and without the camera information, many people would find it hard to distinguish a pro camera shot from a good quality compact. Its been said many times, a good eye for composition and colour and subject matter is the most important factor in photography.

When you want to take your photography to the next level think long and hard what your main objectives are and upgrade your kit to a level that suits your need and not that of fashion or promotional pressure.

This image was taken on a small compact Fuji digital camera at 6 million pixels. jpg mode. This was cleaned up with some careful noise reduction, montaged with a sky shot, taken with the same camera. the original shot was landscape but I also produced a portrait version with plenty of sky area and it has sold very well as stock. Proof with careful use you can sell suitable stock once in a while with nothing more than a good compact camera."