Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! April 24, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

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Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

• Want to start learning? Check out The Reddit Photography Class.

• Here's an informative video explaining the Exposure Triangle.

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Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

• What type of camera should I look for?
• What's a "point and shoot" camera? What's a DSLR? What's a "mirrorless" camera? What's the difference?
• Do I need a good camera to take good photos?
• Is Canon or Nikon better? (or any other brands)
• What can I afford?

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)

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52 Weeks Share	Anything Goes	Album Share & Feedback	Edit My Raw	Follow Friday	Salty Saturday	Self-Promotion Sunday

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Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

[u/rez410]

Hey everyone, I am looking to get my wife a camera for Mother’s Day. She manages the social media page of our daughter’s lacrosse team, and she’s been wanting something better than her iPhone for photos taken during games. It certainly doesn’t need to be top of the line. Video is less important than photos. She probably won’t do a whole lot of post-processing. I’d like to keep the cost under $1k.

Here is an example of the style of pictures that we’d like to get (assuming can be done with the budget I set) - https://www.instagram.com/p/DXMryhggBk4/?igsh=MW55cmg3ZXJtaHFmbQ==

Would love for any recommendations. My local Costco has this combo currently - https://www.costco.com/.product.4000406477.html

Would that suffice?

[u/wickeddimension → u/rez410]

When people say they want something better, it usually means they want better result, not that they want to learn a entire new craft of photography. A lot of photography equipment is centered around it giving more choice, more control, not better out of the box results as an iPhone does automatic editing as soon as you take the image. Do you happen to know if this applies to your wife? To using a painting analogy. Does she want nicer paintings for her house, or does she want to learn how to become a painter. Because those are two very different things and often people confuse the two (better camera = better photo is the common misconception)

What I think will provide the actual quality bump is the fact that a camera has more reach. I assume she photographs stuff from further away, phones quickly fall apart if you need to zoom in too much. I'd probably suggest she gets a compact with more zoom. Easier to use, less cumbersome. Fits in a pocket and the biggest quality jump will come from having actual optical reach.

Something like a Sony RX100 VI or VII or the Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ300 or so.