You guys might not know this, but Johanna and I are total rookies when it comes to photography and cameras. Neither of us have any formal experience, and for the past three years we’ve been shooting with an 8 year old camera that sadly went out of order at the end of our California trip. What we have learned has been the product of a LOT of trial and error combined with the help of our talented friends, and so here we are, making it up as we go.
When constantly “invest” in fun props, coloured backdrops, and sugary treats in the name of RAOP, but until our finicky old D40 called it quits we hadn’t really thought much about investing in better tools. I’ve been a dedicated Nikon user since day one, so brand didn’t really come into question, but having never actually purchased a camera before I had no idea where to start.
And so the research began. We started by asking some of our favourite photographers what they use, then spent an afternoon on the Nikon website making comparisons. In the end the D7200 was our winner- with a high dynamic range, crazy fast auto focus, a larger sensor (aka more fits in the frame), video capabilities, and a massive increase in image quality, it’s everything we need and more. It’s also mid-range when it comes to pricing, so it seemed like a good fit for where we’re at right now.
By some magical stroke of luck, Nikon ended up liking our pastel photography so much that they sent us the camera plus a AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, and we are constantly in awe of the amazing change we’ve seen in our shots already. Spots in our studio that were once to dark to shoot are now easy to capture, and the depth of field in our outfit posts is next level. So far we’ve only been using our classic 35mm prime Nikon lens, but we’re working on mastering the new lense so we can get awesome wide frame shots of our apartment to share!
Our only regret? Not upgrading so much sooner!
Thanks again to Nikon for our amazing D7200 and AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens! Post about how we take our bright pastel photos coming soon.