The Best Bang for the Buck Digital Camera by Paulo Makalinao

Quick and easy, the EOS RP is, in my opinion, the best bang for the buck digital camera that you can get right now, considering it’s still around December 2020 when you’re reading this. I actually bought this camera for it’s full, original MSRP in February 2019 at $1299, which included the body, a grip, and an adapter for my EF lenses. Even then, I thought this was a stellar deal. Now, although it’s just the body, the EOS RP can often be had for sub-$1000 and even sub-$700 if you buy it certified refurbished on Canon’s website. Keeping in mind its price, here is what the EOS RP has going for it and what it lacks. But despite its setbacks, its value per dollar is the best.

Read More

The Near Ultimate Guide for Buying a Used Film Camera by Paulo Makalinao

So you’re getting into film photography for the first time, and you’re just about to pull the trigger on your first purchase. But you’re scared of buying a 40-year old camera that could potentially not work. How do you ensure that you’re buying a film camera that functions properly? You’re in luck because after buying a bunch of used cameras in the last couple of months (thanks, quarantine), I’ve more or less caught onto what to look out for. And I’ve made a lot of mistakes to get to this point. For the most part, this guide pertains well to 35mm cameras as well as entry-level medium format cameras.

Read More

Why Every Experienced Photographer Should Try Shooting on Film by Paulo Makalinao

Everyone starts off in a pretty similar manner. You pick up a camera for the first time. You fall in love. It becomes your hobby. You buy more and more gear. Eventually, you even start doing some paid work, and photography becomes either your main form or a form of income for you. But in this standard kind of journey, the magic of photography usually gets lost in the shuffle. Photography was once a fun hobby, but now it’s become work with clients and deadlines and pulling endless nights to finish edits.

Read More

Why Your Next Camera Upgrade is Mirrorless by Paulo Makalinao

I recently read an article on Medium about how a mirrorless camera should not be your next upgrade after having owned DSLRs. Now, I’m not sure whether this author has ever shot on mirrorless, but I’ve never disagreed with an author more. If you ever have the opportunity to shoot and experience a mirrorless camera for an extended period of time, you will almost never want to go back to shooting on a DSLR. For professional work, especially, mirrorless is definitely here to stay, and I have little to no reason to look backward.

Read More

Film Photography: What I Learned on my First Rolls of Film by Paulo Makalinao

About two weeks ago, I went out and bought my very first film camera, the coveted Canon AE-1. This was probably the most typical choice I could have made when choosing a film camera. But I was already buying FD lenses for adapting on mirrorless, and so buying the AE-1 or the A-1, which only the former was present at the open market, made a lot of sense to me.

Read More

The Value in Replicating the "Film Look" on a Digital Camera by Paulo Makalinao

I’ve been obsessed with making a digital photo look like film for the longest time. Trying to replicate the “Film Look” has been something of a secondary photography goal for me during my four year career. Really, what I mean by this is replicating vintage film by observing the traits and characteristics of stocks like Portra 400, Kodak Gold 200, and Ektar 100. But every time I think I got it just right, I look at the photos later and say to myself, “I’m still not quite there yet.”

Read More

Photo Editing: Why Not to Buy Lightroom Preset Packs by Paulo Makalinao

There are many photo editing preset packs for Lightroom that other photographers are offering for you to buy. And sure, a lot of them give a really easy way to grade your photos without you having to worry. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not worth it to buy these and depending on them can ruin your creative potential.

Read More

5 Ways to Make Shooting Photography Fun Again by Paulo Makalinao

I remember when I first started shooting with my Canon Rebel camera. All I had was that body and the kit lens, the humble beginning many of us know. But I took my camera with me everywhere. I shot everything. I shot everyone. I even shot my friends in the cafeteria during lunch. I really, really loved taking photos, and I still do. But then I started to progress throughout the years. I got jobs and found clients. I bought all the gear and lenses I needed. I started to become everything I was hoping to become.

Read More

7 Steps for a Faster Lightroom Workflow by Paulo Makalinao

If you just got off a portrait session, shot an event, finished covering sports, or got back from days and days of vacation, you probably have anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand photos you have to look through. You can spend days and days editing and sorting through photos in Lightroom, and that’s why today I’m going to give you tips on saving time in the photo editing workflow. Besides things like learning to use shortcuts, here are 7 steps for a faster and more productive Lightroom editing experience.

Read More

A New Lease on Life: Why You Should be Buying Vintage Film Lenses Today by Paulo Makalinao

I had it all at this point, or at least I had it all for the work I needed to do. I could comfortably cover the entire focal range from 16–200mm, which was more than enough for the portraits, street photography, performance, events, and indoor sports coverage I do. I personally love gear, but every photographer probably comes to the point in their career where they say, “I think I have enough, for now.” I still planned to upgrade my camera body, but I was already shooting on mirrorless. What else could I possibly want? I shot work dacontent and freelance constantly, but I wanted to make shooting photos for myself fun, not just work to make sure I could buy new clothes, keep my refrigerator stacked, and pay my tuition. I needed some new gear, but what do I buy?

Read More

The Biggest Misconception About Camera Gear by Paulo Makalinao

I’m frustrated today. I’ve been frustrated about this for a while actually, and I’m sure many photographers and creators are as well. There’s a big misconception about camera gear. You probably already know it. Maybe you don’t. That’s also okay. In the simplest way possible, my problem with the photography world is that somehow, you need to have expensive gear in order to be a real, professional photographer. Besides this just being a blatant example of what’s called gatekeeping, it’s just bad practice to consider.

Read More

Why You Should be Buying Cheap Camera Lenses by Paulo Makalinao

Today, I’m going to make the argument of why you should buy some cheap lenses much more often regardless of your stage in the art form. But at the same time, I’m also going to tell you exactly which cheap lenses to look out for because, well, you can’t just buy any of them. Cheap lenses are a like a diamond in the rough. You have to wipe some dirt off of the rocks to know which one is a gem.

Read More