Model Panorama

Model Panorama, a set on Flickr.

Since July, I have been without my camera.
While my hipstamatic and instamatic apps on my phone have kept me shooting, most models won't do a "photoshoot" with a camera phone.
So, while I was editing, I accidently clicked on the "panorama" function on my photoeditor. Taking the pictures I was editing, I merged them together, and discovered that I could make old photos seem new.
Thanks to advice from other photogs, and through trial and error, I found that I really like panoramas. It's a way to unify a theme, make it look like there is more than one of models, or show all the different looks one can present.
The hardest part is making sure the two or three parts blend. Outdoors are easier than indoor, but when you have three different angles, it's hard to make them all look the same.
After 30, I thought I was done. Then I decided to do a "year of DVJ Photo" retrospect, and found I had many more to do.
So enjoy.

Camera Phones vs. Real Cameras

Red Road, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Can a person take really good photos with a camera phone?
My answer is, yes!
Let's be honest, most photographer and models are snobs. If it's not an advanced 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses, hot shoe flash, and remote control triggers, then obviously, your some sort of amateur or perv, in essence, a looser.
I disagree.
A photographer is a photographer, no matter if they use a phone camera or a Canon. All the rules of photography still apply.
What differes is the quality of the pictures and the options you have avaliable. Even an iphone 4, with it's amazing clarity, can't match the quality of a high end camera. And yes, more than likely, you have a digital zoom, which makes every picture taken look like someone threw up.
But there are ways around the limitations. Iphone has two great apps, the hipstamatic and the instamatic. Thanks to a combo of filters and lighting options (the hipstamatic has a virtual flash option) you can get some interesting and amazing photos (like the one above).
The portability makes it easy take a picture of something cool, with out having to lug a $1000 worth of very heavy equipment. Plus, you can do on the fly editing (with the instamatic at least) bringing out the best of the camera you are using.
As phones get better (and as point and shoot cameras improve as well), there will be more and more options for amateur and professional photographers to showcase their talent, or take interesting "at arms length" photos of them in the mirror.
So, don't let the snobs stop you. Take your photos with the camera of your choice. Share them, learn from them. Then, as you grow as a photographer, you may decide to take the next step, and invest in a 35mm!