It is not about your camera settings!

Some things I hear and read way too often when people get in touch with me.

“Hi Etienne, great photos. Can you please tell me what camera settings did you use?”

I do really appreciate that, people telling me they love my pictures. It is very gratifying and keeps me motivated to keep writing and shooting. But I would like people to understand that photography is not about having a big and expensive kit and knowing camera settings.

Soft girl

-“Oh, nice photo! What camera settings did you use?”

– “Well I used a shutter speed of 1/125, an aperture of f2.8, and ISO of 100

– “Oh cool, I see!”

– “Oh wait a minute. Maybe it was 1/250 and ISO 200? Oh, and I think the aperture was f2.0.”

– “Oh ok, now I understand… It’s the ISO!”

 “And look at that one! My camera has an awesome shutter speed that could capture it!”

Photography and mostly Travel photography requires a little more than camera settings. To get some pleasant photos it is about being at the right place, at the right time. It is about knowing and reading light, waking up at crazy hours of the night, being patient, getting in touch with people, spending 36 hours in buses, getting dirty, having a sense of composition, knowing our environment, coming up with projects, getting a lot of cool shots by accident, anticipating our subjects actions, and spending a hell lot of time in front of a computer.

Camera settings in that, won’t help you a bit until you press the shutter.

Yeah, I know, another photo taken with a great Metering mode!

Balloon ride