Hello, I am Yuechuang.
Today, it is very convenient for everyone to take photos with smart phones. You can take photos at any time, and the quality of photos taken by phones is getting higher and higher. Usually, after taking a photo, everyone will share it on social networks as soon as possible. In this case, what is the difference between taking pictures with a mobile phone and taking pictures with a camera? How to take photos to get everyone's likes?
This may be what everyone wants to know, and Leica started its transformation from this perspective. In this talk, I will answer this question. However, before talking about photography skills, let me introduce Leica.
Leica is a famous camera company in Germany. The name of Leica, Leica, is the abbreviation of its founder, Leitz (Leitz) and Camera (Camera). Founded in 1913, Leica has been committed to manufacturing the highest quality cameras from the beginning, and has done so.
Leica is very proud that every Leica camera, whether old or new, can take clear pictures, so it has been loved by journalists, professional photographers and enthusiasts throughout history. Many famous photos in history were taken with Leica cameras, such as the following two photos.
Figure 1 Victory Day in Times Square
Figure 2 Che Guevara
You may have seen these photos. They are very famous. Through them, you can reflect a historical event, a character, or even an era. After reading many photos, you will tell that if I was there, I could still take them, but most people can't take these vivid photos. To do that, you need to train special viewing angles, aesthetics and photography skills.
Before the 1950s, the photos taken by Leica cameras were indeed much better than ordinary cameras. However, later Nikon and Canon cameras in Japan were able to take good photos, and they had a huge price advantage, so Leica's market share became smaller and smaller. In the SLR era and the early digital era, Leica was completely behind and the family company almost went bankrupt.
But in the past 10 years, it has come back to life with the help of capital. One of the important reasons is that it no longer competes with Japanese companies on price, but has begun to cultivate the level of its users. In the popular words, it is to pay attention to The community is built.
As a result, when smartphones began to hit the camera market and Nikon and Canon’s shipments fell by more than half, Leica’s sales rose because it made it clear to users that mobile phone photography is different from camera photography. It only serves as a market for customers who like to take good photos.
Therefore, although Leica users also use mobile phones to take pictures, they still use cameras, and many Canon and Nikon users, after using their smart phones, leave their bulky SLR cameras at home.
So what is the difference between camera photography and cell phone photography? Some people say that the former has higher resolution, better colors, and can take high-quality photos. This is actually not the key to the problem. Today, the image quality of high-end smartphones and low-end SLR cameras is not very different (of course, their prices are similar). Considering that smartphones have added many image processing functions, in some scenarios Sometimes the photos taken by the mobile phone are better. For example, in backlight conditions, it will be clearer to take a face with the mobile phone.
It is also said that the camera has a zoom lens and the ISO can be set higher to make it easier to take pictures at night, etc. In fact, most people don't use these functions much. The problem now is that for most people, even if they are given a high-performance camera, they can't take very good photos. On the contrary, for some professional photographers, even with a mobile phone, they can take good photos.
So what's the difference between camera photography and mobile phone photography, or how is professional photographer photography different from ordinary people? The biggest difference is that the former is photography and the latter is recording.
To understand what a record is, we might as well look at the purpose of most people taking pictures:
A visit.
在世界上任何景点，都不缺乏这样的人，在中国的旅游者中，尤其是初级的旅游者爱用手机自拍杆拍下自己和著名景点（Landmark）的合影，还有很多人会急不可待地分享到朋友圈。这就是最典型的记录。- Group photos at gatherings, or with celebrities.
Take a panoramic view of the scenic spot.
比如到故宫，试图把巨大的太和殿“装进”一张照片里面。- Filming group activities. For example, your friend and her boyfriend have a weird intimacy action when everyone chats, and everyone finds it fun to take it.
- I saw some of the subjects I saw in the past postcards, such as sunrise and sunset, pavilions, mountain springs and waterfalls, handsome men and beautiful women, flowers, birds, fish and insects, etc. I also wanted to take a postcard to make myself.
If it is the purpose just mentioned, whether it is taking a photo with a camera or using a mobile phone, it is a record. Recording well is also an important thing, but it is not part of what I will talk about next. If you share a well-documented photo in your circle of friends, your feedback will not be very enthusiastic, because you may have seen those photos, and you can take them as long as you get there. For this kind of photography, it doesn't matter whether you use a camera or a mobile phone, just record it.
Therefore, for this group of photographers, it is actually quite difficult for camera manufacturers to compete with mobile phones. Therefore, not only has Leica abandoned these people, but Nikon and Canon's high-end product lines have not planned to do business with these people in recent years, even if they have money.
Many "equipment parties" have spent a lot of money and bought a lot of high-end equipment, but the purpose of taking pictures is still on simple records, so the pictures taken are not as amazing as the mobile phones. In fact, on Pinterest, the largest picture-sharing website in the United States, the number of photos taken by smartphones has accounted for 60%.
Photography is different. It is not only a record, but also a way for us to get along and communicate with the world. For example, the following two photos have affected history to some extent.
Figure 3 The fallen soldier
Figure 4 The girl in the flames of war
The first is "The Fallen Soldier" taken by the famous journalist Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Capa took this picture the moment the soldier fell. It made the world pay attention to the Spanish Civil War.
The other is the South Vietnamese children who escaped bombing during the Vietnam War photographed by reporter Huang Gongwu. It allows more Americans to participate in the anti-war ranks. This is communication with the world. Leica is proud that these photos were taken with its camera.
Can these photos be taken with a mobile phone? It's not impossible. The key depends on whether the photographer can get rid of the mentality of simple recording and turn photography into a form of communication.
From an artistic point of view, photography is an art of observation. The focus of observation is not what you see, but the perspective of observation and the focus of attention, and then you can find interest from those daily observations. Of course, since the camera may capture scenes that are difficult for the human eye to see (I will discuss this with you later), it makes sense to use a camera for photography.
For manufacturers like Leica, it is necessary to provide corresponding equipment, and teach some people to use these equipment, use static pictures to describe our lives, and even change our lives (I will talk about the latter later). Therefore, today some high-end camera manufacturers (or professional product lines among them) will position their products on photographers who meet this demand.
In fact, not only Leica and Hasselblad (one of the most high-end cameras in the world, famous for shooting the Apollo moon landing and the cover of Playboy magazine) are rising sales this year, but also the sales of professional cameras from Nikon, Canon and Fuji. , Although the sales of micro-orders of the following companies fell by 70%.
In order to give you a perceptual understanding of the difference between recording and photography, take a look at the following three photos.
Figure 5 A corner of a Japanese park
The first one is a corner of a small Japanese park. This is a very typical Japanese park with ever-beaming lights and flowing water. A certain tourist took such a picture. You can often see such photos in your circle of friends, and you won’t feel anything. There is no difference between taking pictures with a mobile phone and taking pictures with a camera. In fact, this photo was taken with an expensive Hasselblad camera.
Figure 6 The moment when the small waterfall hits the ground
At this time, an enthusiast came and took a photo of the moment the small waterfall hits the ground with the same device. You may be a little shocked by it.
Figure 7 A small waterfall in a Japanese park
Next, the enthusiast took another photo of the two-meter-high waterfall. This time the exposure time was lengthened. The waterfall can actually be photographed like a dream.
The same place, the same equipment, different people will take different photos. This is the difference between recording by ordinary people and photography by professional photographers.
The purpose of our course is to make you from a simple documentary to a real photographer in a short period of time, and you can also take wonderful photos like professionals.
Okay, let me introduce you here for the first lecture, and we will continue with the second lecture tomorrow.
Focus
Photography is not just a record, it is a way for us to get along and communicate with the world. From an artistic point of view, photography is an art of observation. The focus of observation is not what you see, but the perspective of observation and the focus of attention, and then you can find interest from those daily observations.
Thinking after class
Is the use of photographic equipment related to your familiarity with them?
Friend comment
In the past, I was always complained about not being able to take pictures. I once thought that reading a few photography books, being able to adjust the focus, and being able to compose pictures was called "good at taking pictures." With the increase in the number of times the camera is used, it is found that there is always a huge gap compared with the surrounding "photographers".
我有仔细研究过老师在学习小组中留下的高清图片，也曾和高手们做过沟通，发现用相机拍出的值得欣赏的照片，确实是对现实和生活的观察和交流。
Compared with the flag-style record after traveling around, the photographer obviously has more personal calmness and the pursuit of natural beauty. Finally, I saw the teacher’s gentle and persuasive words again, and I was so happy~ First preaching and then preaching, the pattern became clear.
Once I went to the park with my friends and saw them taking out their cameras and starting to practice photography. I also became curious and began to observe their communication and movements.
我发现他们在交流的时候，很少会说到焦距、镜头、曝光时间等等一些设备使用上的术语和技巧，而更多是在分享构图、光线上的经验，剩下的时间就一直在观察、拍摄、思考。-
From this I get the feeling that the proficiency in the operation and use of equipment is only a small part of photography skills, and it is the easiest part to master. The most important thing in photography skills is to be able to observe and discover beauty, and to incorporate one's own understanding of the beauty observed at this moment. This also requires long-term practice to be mastered by the body and mind.
I once asked a classmate who studied photography: "Is the composition important in photography or the story behind the shooting? "And he smiled and said, "Learn from the focal length and aperture first."
任何工具设备都有其窍门，单会操作是无法摆脱记录的层次。在钢琴上任何人都会敲打键盘，不过跟音乐和艺术差得远；在相机上任何人也都会按下快门，不过跟摄影差得远了。好的设备还需擅用者发挥其价值。-
Looking forward to a series of photography courses.
If you want to take good photos with the equipment, it is very basic to learn to use the equipment. But not everyone who can use the device can take good photos, even if they learn a lot of skills. It just so happens that I myself like photography very much. In my eyes, photography is actually an art, like a painter drawing, like a pianist playing, good equipment is just the basis, the most important thing is Talent is the hard work of drilling and camping, which can often impress our work. More importantly, it has the unique perspective of the photographer, so it will impress our soul to resonate with it.
设备党要不得，打好基础才是是成功最重要的基石。-
May the teacher produce more good works.
Of course it does matter. A beautiful and unique picture usually only exists for a few seconds or even a moment. To capture it, you must operate the camera very fast and very skillfully, otherwise you can only miss it and leave regrets.
我目前只使用手机进行拍摄，当然绝大多数都是记录，并没有花时间专门去学习和练习拍摄创作。-
I am very happy to hear the lessons shared by the teacher Yue Chuang again. I recommend that everyone go online to watch the video "Subvert the World with Art" at the TED Talk by the French artist JR, and feel the charm and power of the art of photography.
Good luck.