Samy’s Camera Sony Event
It’s well known within the photography community that, out of all the brands, Sony is the one most closely connected to its community.
Most brands tend to only have events for influencers and big-time photographers. Sony, on the other hand, has many smaller events for the photography community as a whole. These events are small compared to the huge, extravagant ones they put on at larger locations.
They chose to make the two-day event in the heart of Los Angeles partnering with a camera store that is well known among the community. They partnered up with Samy’s Camera and many actual photographers on YouTube, offering free classes and some models to shoot with.
The most exciting part for me was seeing Miguel Quinones because he is an expert in flash photography. I registered to one of his presentations and was thrilled when I was able to confirm a seat. I wanted to soak in any advice he was willing to share with us. With his extensive knowledge of flash photography, seeing him work is like putting in tens of hours behind a camera.
Sadly, I was only able to attend the Sunday event. While I did work with one of the sponsors at the event, I still had no special privileges besides the free sensor cleaning that Sony offers to anyone who brings a camera in. This is something I didn’t pass up. Cleaning both mine and Alyza’s cameras saved us easily $200.
Parking was pretty much nonexistent, so I had to park at the La Brea Tar Pits, which was about a six-minute walk to Samy’s Camera.
The weather was calm and sunny for October, which was not an issue until we were standing in the parking lot where the event was held. Props to the models; they were all a joy to work with and made sure to give every photographer a few good poses.
I’ve been to these events a lot, always shooting with my Sony and either the 85mm or the 50mm lens because it’s better to get some reach on the models and not have other photographers get in the way.
This time, however, I decided to try something different and I shot entirely on my Canon Point and Shoot, my 15-year-old SD780. I was very pleased with the results. I also shot a few photos with my iPhone in RAW mode but wasn’t too happy with those.
Even with my old camera, the images had a very specific look. They are soft but not a blurry mess. Image quality from 2008 was still in its infant stages, but I think it gives a unique look. It’s not sharp and clinically perfect like smartphones.
Normally, images are somewhat noisy with this camera, but because of the incredible lighting we had, the images were always beautifully exposed with the perfect amount of highlights and shadows. It kind of has a film look.
Miguel was great, as expected. He chatted with me, took a photo, and then talked to Alyza about photography for a bit. He gave her some advice that I wish every young artist could get: to just keep working on your craft as long as you love it.
His last class was canceled because everyone was exhausted. Plus, the free tacos made everyone way too relaxed. We hung out for an extra 30 minutes before calling it a day.
Sony’s events always feel a little more cozy and personal. They have a way of making them feel big yet small enough to not be overwhelmed by all the models, photographers, teachers, and influencers.
Everyone was so nice and willing to take the time to talk and teach. No one cared that I wasn’t shooting with my Sony.
I call that a win.
Pictures with the iPhone
I debated about showing these images since I wasn’t thrilled about them. I decided I’d show them just to help tell the story of the day.
Pictures with the Canon Powershot SD780
These images taken with the point-and-shoot are all uncropped. I thought about cropping them and doing a proper edit like I would normally do, but I decided against it. I figured I’d keep them uncropped, just as I would have done back in 2008 when I first got this camera and knew nothing about composition or editing.
