The last shoot in my little Canon vs. Nikon experiment was my photographer friend Tani. Tani owns Insight Photography out of Springfield and we’ve become friends through PUG. She is a devoted Nikon user, so she was happy to walk around with me, take some shots, and show me a couple tricks. This is the only shoot where I felt I preferred Canon. I felt the coloring was truer on the Canon than it was on Nikon for this particular shoot, and we did some motion shots (which I didn’t post) that I felt Canon performed better in.

So what was the point of this whole experiment? Was it to prove that Nikon camera will make you a better photographer? Absolutely not. Was it to warn people who are thinking of investing in Canon that they should go Nikon instead? Wrong again. Was it to finally settle the endless Canon/ Nikon debate by proving Nikon is in fact better? PUH-LEEEEEEEEZE. First of all, that would make me look really stupid, since I’m a Canon shooter, and I’d like to keep being booked for gigs, thank you very much. Second of all, I am the least technically savvy person on the planet. I’m pretty sure the Canon/ Nikon debate is not going to be settled by the girl who spent her first month doing photography saying “What’s an aperture?” The one and only purpose of this entire thing was to satisfy my own curiousity. When I started in photography, I was an idiot. A stupid, naïve fool. The very first people I worked for gave me a laundry list of equipment to buy in order to work with them, and because I loved their work and I was so thrilled that they were giving me a chance with absolutely no experience under my belt, I bought everything on the list. Between the camera body, lenses, accessories, camera bag, and Mac computer, I spent about $10k. But at the time, I knew nothing about photography, and so I just accepted their word as gospel and did as I was told. Within a year, I was back at the camera shop, trading in a couple of lenses for ones with wider apertures, looking at new equipment and trying to figure out the best setup for me and my shooting style. Everyone is different; what works for a sports photographer isn’t going to work for a wedding photographer, what is great equipment for a landscape photographer might be useless for a fashion photographer. And every individual photographer has their own personality to put behind the lens. It’s crazy to see my second shooter’s work from a wedding. 95% of the time, they saw things in a much different perspective than me, and I love being able to see the event through their eyes. This, more than anything else, probably lead me to try out Nikon. I have shot with a few Nikon shooters, and I was loving the vibrant color and consistent focus I was seeing from the Nikon. I wanted to see for myself how it performed.

My final thought? You live and learn. I can’t complain about my situation, because I should have done my research ahead of time, not two years into my photography business. You have to find what works for you, and while I think I may be a better fit for a Nikon, I chose to forge ahead and invest a whole ton of money in Canon, because someone else told me to and I chose to listen. It’s a decision that I now regret, and I wish I had a fairy godmother who could drop a couple thousand on me so I could afford to go over to the dark side. So far she hasn’t shown up, and that’s fine. I am comfortable knowing that while Nikon might cut down on post-processing time, I can still be a good photographer with a Canon, and if I keep practicing, I can be a great photographer with a Canon. People are rocking the Canons all over the place. I mean, HELLLLLLLO??? My favorite photographer of all time Jasmine Star is KILLING it with the same exact camera body as I have. It takes commitment and patience, and while that first asset definitely describes me, patience hasn’t always been my strong suit. So I’ll just have to adjust my way of thinking, and enjoy the learning process. Hope you all enjoyed the experiment!

Canon...

And Nikon...

Canon...

Nikon...

Canon...

Nikon...

Canon on the left, Nikon on the right...

Canon...

Nikon...

Last one!

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Canon vs. Nikon: Tani