I shoot with an Olympus. Photographer Stanislav Puchkovsky: I was most impressed with the night mode and 5-axis stabilizer

Photographers often choose the wildest poses, without thinking about how a person looks in a photo. Nowadays you can shoot a lot with digital, so they do it any way they want. I, on the other hand, have my brain sharpened to shoot right away. To make the frame as clear as possible from the start, as simple as possible, and for the subject to be framed as well as possible. When you shoot, you should think that you don’t have a thousand frames to spare, but strive as if you were drawing every frame. Of course, I shoot a lot of frames too, I get 300-500 photos at an average session, but I try to compose every frame correctly at once.

Stanislav Puchkovsky – photographer from Yekaterinburg.

Takes portraits. Known by the alias Sean Archer.

Hope

This is true, I am shooting relatively recently, since early 2012, and I have no plans to do it seriously, let alone professionally. But it so happened that practically accidentally I tried my hand at portrait photography and I liked it, realized that I could realize my potential in it.

And I started with the system camera. It was my first time, I bought it more as a gadget. And my first lens was a portrait lens, the OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm f/1.8. And, in general, this technique has brought me a certain fame and popularity.

My second camera is a full-frame DSLR, so I have a good experience with this technique too. And now I shoot again with the OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1 system camera. Of course, the first impression after the DSLR is that it’s smaller and lighter, with a flip-down touchscreen that’s very convenient. This is what I was missing. After a short acquaintance, no questions, everything is very comfortable. For beginners I think it will be clear too, the camera has automatic modes for all occasions.

After getting the camera I took a few shots, indoor and outdoor, manual mode, automatic mode, different light. But I got good shots almost immediately – with great optics it’s not a problem. Funny thing is that even the first test shot turned out to be quite successful, even though I didn’t have time to familiarize myself with the settings. I just chose portrait mode and shot on “auto”. As a result, one portrait from this shooting was even a decoration for the OLYMPUS booth at Photokina.

Unfortunately, they haven’t invented the magic button “masterpiece” yet. Of course, if you give the same cameras to different photographers, you will get different results. But one thing is sure: even a beginner can get good shots here. On my Facebook page facebook.I’ve been posting JPEG images straight from the camera. I think it really shows its performance. So beginners don’t have to worry about the technical side of things at all. Turn on Portrait mode and shoot. If you know how to compose a shot, understand the light and angle, you’ll get it right. That’s how I started out.

I prefer to work only with natural light. And compared to my first mirrorless camera, this is a huge step forward. For example, that’s when I was taking pictures if it was dark, if it was cloudy. No problem with that these days. What amazes me the most is the night mode and the 5-axis IS. I shot a semi-dark pub interior and it turned out amazingly well. None of my previous equipment was able to do so, and here I did it without any effort at all.

When it comes to lenses, I’ve been a fan of M lenses for a long time.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm f/1.8: It literally jumps over the top for its money for a small budget and cramped quarters it’s perfect. But the coolest of all, of course, is the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 75mm f/1.8. For the great outdoors or indoors, if space allows, it’s a great portrait photographer. I mean, I don’t take an SLR to shoot like that now, the E-M1 does it just fine .

And it’s not just for professional photography. Recently went on a trip to Europe, took the E-M1 and the M lens with me.ZUIKO DIGITAL 12-40mm f/2.8. It was good enough, you don’t need anything else.

This is the first time I’ve had such good photos from a trip. And one more nice moment. I downloaded the Olympus Share program on my tablet, it allows me to connect to my camera via Wi Fi. It’s very handy, you can easily view the photos on the tablet directly from the camera, delete unwanted images, throw the interesting ones onto the tablet, and then edit them immediately. It’s very handy! And with the new firmware 2.It was possible to connect via USB for full integration into the overall process of studio shooting.

When you connect the E-M1 to your PC with a USB cable, the free OLYMPUS software reflects Live View on your PC screen, making it easier to discuss shooting with clients and models. And of course it’s possible to apply settings and control the shutter directly from the computer. What can I say – very convenient, quick and easy. I hadn’t worked with this kind of software before, so all in all it was a new and, I must say, quite enjoyable experience.

I like system cameras in general – there are tons of conveniences. Now it’s a real competitor for DSLRs in the professional segment. Just remember: To get the most out of any camera, you have to know all its features. And it’s just a technical tool, and creativity is in the head. By upgrading the processing of your photos, you can squeeze a lot out of what you have. At one time many people didn’t believe my photos were taken with a mirrorless camera, but now it surprises no one.