If youre a photographer you should not get a Retina MacBook Pro

[Fortimir]

My clients like my photos, and I do get pay for my photography. If clients stop coming than it's a sign I'm not very good at all and should probably quit. I do see a lot of flaws in my work that I still need to work on and I don't think my photos are that great either.

As long as you admit that you see flaws in your own work and are striving to improve, I can't argue with you very much. I was actually going to comment and say that "your photos are horrible" is quite harsh and really not accurate, but I think its important we hear criticism of our work. I, personally, think you've got some solid work that is marred by some heavy-handed editing and the occasional harsh lighting. Your average portrait clients will either genuinely be pleased even if it's not great, or they will not say anything. Rarely they will let you hear it... but the ones that do are impossible to please.

But anyway, you cannot judge the quality of your work by your traffic. The quality of work and your business ethic are not correlated. I know awful photographers who are booked solid through the year. I know amazing photographers that are thinking about quitting because they can't get the business.

 

[v654321]

This thread was hilarious.

I think we had a bit of everything: apprentices, trolls, immaturity, EGO's with capitals, fanboyism, severe ass kissing, "I rule, you suck", Windows vs Mac, keeping up appearances.

How worked up some people can get over opinions. It's quite amusing but worrying at the same time. Not everybody was born with a "God-like" status in their profession or field of interest. Each and every person starts somewhere and eventually gains experience, influenced by talent, drive, focus, money, time and dedication. Don't act as if none of you made mistakes (publicly and privately). It's amazing how quickly people group together online and start ass kissing and how conversations turn from interesting to just plain amusing.

But really, it was a good show. Thanks for the laugh.

 

[SDAVE]

Not everybody was born with a "God-like" status in their profession or field of interest.

Point is, no one is. Without hard work and dedication, even the most important people in the history humanity would never succeed.

But when you come out and say "If you're so so, you will not like this" when in fact your work is not even subpar, you will not be taken seriously.

I only trust the wisdom of people who've seen it all and know what they're talking about. Even then I don't trust them. I only trust my own instincts.

If Stephen Hawking and I had a conversation, I wouldn't even trust his words. I would go back home and do my own research until I come to my own conclusion.

I couldn't care less about the Retina MBP. Matter of fact, I don't care about computers, it just makes me work faster, that is all. My brain and hand coordination are all that matter, not my computer.

Give me an Apple desktop with a G3 processor and a CRT monitor and I will gladly do the same work I've been doing for years.

High resolution displays are the future, there is no arguing that. Apple is the first out of the door to provide us with an affordable solution. These displays are cutting edge and are going to be better than their previous models, regardless of the resolution. Higher color gamut, viewing angles are going to be present in these new displays. If you say otherwise, you're chiming to the wrong choir because you don't know what you're talking about.

Personally, I dislike glossy displays. I like my 23" ACD, 30" ACD (older models, non glossy) and my 2011MBP (HiRes Antiglare). Apple knows these displays are glossy and after seeing the new model, it's actually fairly good under lighting conditions. I've been waiting for such solutions to come out. I do like the new IPS displays. They're much sharper, brighter and the color is more accurate, but the gloss is a turn off. I guess when I'm FORCED to use them, that's when I'll be ok with it.

Ok what have we learned from this thread? Nothing. It's page 5 right now, and there is nothing to be learned from this. Maybe the OP will realize that he needs to work on his photography skills rather than think about how to fix things later in Photoshop or Lightroom. The overall lesson that needs to be learned by the people who are fixated on computers and how fast they are from the next guy is that if you're good at your craft, computers don't mean anything. They're stupid tools. They need us, we don't need them.

Buy what you think is right for you. Return it if you don't like it. Simple, yet effective. Complaining on a forum where 95% of the people here are Apple fanatics will gain you nothing. The OP just spent 2 days replying to this thread. Couldn't you go to your local design book store or library and read a bit on the history of photography rather than talking about computers?

 

[ronron]

Bootcamp works just fine. Turn on the max resolution and optimize the window with larger font and there you have it; a high resolution windows 8 display with readable text.

 

[saberahul]

Thank you for putting up such an interesting post! It saved me so much time! I would definitely consider your advice in any future purchase from this point on! You are my savior! (ya, right).

 

[wethackrey]

Want credentials? www.alvinnguyen.com

Great work, by the way.

 

[chrono1081]

Great work, by the way.

Agreed. I love how some of the compositions break traditional rules. It makes them look fresh and appealing.

The lighting is fantastic too.

Shame on him for making his portfolio distract me from my work

 

[Textureboy]

I stopped reading after:

To be honest I can't tell the different from a non Retina (late 2011 MBP with HR-AG)vs a Retina screen from normal viewing distance unless I'm looking at the screen around 8" inch away. And who the hell sits that close to a screen at all time and edit their photographs professionally? I think it's just more of a gimmick/luxury for photography right now than any real practical use.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

blah blah blah… more crap… blah blah…

Now check the signature…

__________________
Lakyla.com
MacBook Pro 15" MacBook Pro HR-AG (Late 2011), 2.5 GHz i7 Quad, 16GB RAM, 750GB
iPhone 4S 64GB (Black), iPad 64GB (Black)

This guy has a late 2011 MBP which meets all of his needs, yet is going out of his way to post a thread on why the RMBP is not good for photographers and why he is not getting one. Given that the OP has a very recent MBP model, either he never intended to get the Retina, or he is trying to justify keeping his model at the expense of a newer one (FUD reigns supreme to these people), or he isn't a real photographer because what real photographer would ditch a computer that's less than a year old that supposedly meets all of his needs? That would be quite a bad business decision, wouldn't it?

I am a photographer - one who really photographs things using a real camera and sells his photos. The Retina MacBook Pro is a photographer's dream - it reads SD cards natively, is blazingly fast, is thin and light to carry on shoots, and will allow large portions of my images to be edited on the 15" screen at 1:1 pixel accuracy in PhotoShop. There is no image pixel doubling in any of the CS6 applications if you use the native 2880x1800 resolution.

Also, his statement about Photoshop not being accelerated for Nvidia GPUs is an outright lie. Photoshop is GPU optimized for the Nvidia GPUs in our RMBPs. Just go to Photoshop preferences and you can see that the GPU is recognized and OpenCL options are enabled.

What a nonsense.

 

[thekev]

I'm surprised this thread was necroed. The OP just mentioned a lot of early issues, many of which were already corrected. I don't think Apple will return to matte coating options. These are an improvement over the reflective qualities of the earlier super shiny ones. They still reflect too much, but it seems like Apple is trying to get it to a point where they can just make one screen treatment. As for photographers, I've known plenty of them. I've seen a total of one actually use Windows or bootcamp. The rest never touch it.

 

[matrix07]

wow and secondly how f ga- y the fashion industry is. Im really happy im not apart from that, i now enjoy music industry even more! You dont have to have mac to be taken seriously...

Look at the state of music industry today.. HA! Maybe a Mac requirement is not such a bad idea. LOL.

----------

It's amazing how quickly people group together online and start ass kissing and how conversations turn from interesting to just plain amusing.

But really, it was a good show. Thanks for the laugh.

You think this thread interesting when started? Really? Seriously?

 

[DeeEss]

Ridiculous. You don't have the machine and you are giving out advice not to buy it?

I've viewed the Retina and non Retina screens instore with Aperture and saw a big difference at normal viewing distance. Infact it was a jaw dropping difference.

If you really can't see the difference...then...

I shoot with a Phase one IQ160 and 16GB of RAM and it's fine. To be honest as location machine I don't thikn you are really going to need that much more than 16GB for qthe average livespan of a laptop. I wouldn't use it as my retouching machine but not many professionals would. That's what the Mac Pro is for.

 

[rockyroad55]

I'm not a photographer, but I should note that one should not take advice from a person who does not own the product he/she is critiquing.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

To be honest as location machine I don't thikn you are really going to need that much more than 16GB for qthe average livespan of a laptop. I wouldn't use it as my retouching machine but not many professionals would. That's what the Mac Pro is for.

While agree with your other points, I disagree with the above. You are suggesting that serious photographers must have a Mac Pro for retouching and a Retina MacBook Pro for field location work. The Retina MacBook Pro contains more than enough CPU muscle and RAM to be used not only in the field, but also as your primary "retouching machine". How can you say that "not many professionals" would use a single machine for both purposes? I know many professionals who use a previous generation MacBook Pro as their primary work/retouching machine and they are perfectly happy.

 

[stevelam]

While agree with your other points, I disagree with the above. You are suggesting that serious photographers must have a Mac Pro for retouching and a Retina MacBook Pro for field location work. The Retina MacBook Pro contains more than enough CPU muscle and RAM to be used not only in the field, but also as your primary "retouching machine". How can you say that "not many professionals" would use a single machine for both purposes? I know many professionals who use a previous generation MacBook Pro as their primary work/retouching machine and they are perfectly happy.

too bad theres not much professional software you can actually use right now on the RMBP without needing an external monitor. if you're on the go a lot and actually have professional editing needs, you're better off just waiting for the next gen RMBP. by then, software will be much better supported and the machine should actually be able to run OSX without random stutters/lags due to current inefficient hardware.

the rmbp has lots of cpu/ram power. too bad just powering the screen takes up an immense amount of resources.

 

[thekev]

I shoot with a Phase one IQ160 and 16GB of RAM and it's fine. To be honest as location machine I don't thikn you are really going to need that much more than 16GB for qthe average livespan of a laptop. I wouldn't use it as my retouching machine but not many professionals would. That's what the Mac Pro is for.

I'm familiar with that back. Even with a lot of layer groups, you're unlikely to choke that machine. There just an enormous difference 2011 and onward with notebooks from what they were before in terms of raw computing speed, and 2012 made 16GB ram upgrades cheap. As for long term reliability, that is a completely different issue. There are still better displays on the market.. If you can afford a rMBP, you're not likely to be interested in the $200 display market.

 

[alexmarchuk]

At the end of the day, as mentioned before, technology changes and has been changing at an unprecedented rate. In less than 6 months the rMBP will have updated internals. Buy what makes your workflow more efficient in the interim and don't look back - you will always be "waiting" on the next thing. Why?

If you need to cut corners and really get the best deal, do so, nobody will judge your decisions unless you put it on them. Different fields require different workflows, personal preference and of course the budget.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

too bad theres not much professional software you can actually use right now on the RMBP without needing an external monitor. if you're on the go a lot and actually have professional editing needs, you're better off just waiting for the next gen RMBP. by then, software will be much better supported and the machine should actually be able to run OSX without random stutters/lags due to current inefficient hardware.

the rmbp has lots of cpu/ram power. too bad just powering the screen takes up an immense amount of resources.

Can you please provide sources and/or video showing how "too bad just powering the screen takes up an immense amount of resources?" Saying it does not make it true, and you've been saying this a lot around here in an attempt to perpetuate issues that don't exist. Nobody - not one person - here at MacRumors has been able to post a video showing lag, UI choppiness or any other evidence supporting your false statement.

I am using CS6 just fine without any issues and am happily editing my photos in Photoshop without any of the issues you describe. My goodness, you must be cursed that you are having so many problems!

 

[DeeEss]

While agree with your other points, I disagree with the above. You are suggesting that serious photographers must have a Mac Pro for retouching and a Retina MacBook Pro for field location work. The Retina MacBook Pro contains more than enough CPU muscle and RAM to be used not only in the field, but also as your primary "retouching machine". How can you say that "not many professionals" would use a single machine for both purposes? I know many professionals who use a previous generation MacBook Pro as their primary work/retouching machine and they are perfectly happy.

I say that because the field I work in no one I know uses a macbook pro for both applications. Sorry, no offence intended but no, 16GB of RAM is not enough RAM for super intensive applications. Before I swapped out to 16GB modules on my 6 core even 24GB of RAM, for me, ran into a lot of page outs and hangs so I would not be able to rely on 16GB max. 48GB is doing fine now for me.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

More like a public service announcement. I will probably get one in the future, when there's a matter screen option, better software/hardware support for the retina screen and all the bugs have been iron out.

Thank goodness we have you to tell us what to do. Until now we had Republicans to do that, now we can follow a new Messiah.

 

[dmax35]

Wow.... After reading 5 pages of this thread, I became a fan of Alvin's photography skills. Very nice work young man!

 

[Joseph Farrugia]

the main reason

……a (Pro) photographer should consider not getting a rMBP is not the screen; it is the OS.

Lion is such a hindrance to a pro workflow that it isn't even nice, ML doesn't fix that. Do a google on the subject (don't expect me to do it for anybody, research your own).

The fact that I can not use 10.6.8 on the rMBP is a deal killer for me.

 

[MCAsan]

ML with LR, PS CS6, and Nik plugings seems to work for me just fine. Just like 10.7.4 and 10.6.8. on my Hack. That is why I no longer have a Hack.

 

[yjchua95]

The pro-ness of a photographer isn't based on his/her gear. It all depends on the guy behind the viewfinder. Give an amateur a Canon EOS 1Dx and crap results will come out. Give a real pro (Lee Frost, for instance) an entry-level Canon EOS 1100D and super good results will come out.

It's not about the gear. It's the skills.

PS I never use Photoshop to edit my images. I find it too complicated to use. Besides, I keep editing to a minimum (except for cropping).

 

[Beta Particle]

The pro-ness of a photographer isn't based on his/her gear. It all depends on the guy behind the viewfinder. Give an amateur a Canon EOS 1Dx and crap results will come out. Give a real pro (Lee Frost, for instance) an entry-level Canon EOS 1100D and super good results will come out.

It's not about the gear. It's the skills.

PS I never use Photoshop to edit my images. I find it too complicated to use. Besides, I keep editing to a minimum (except for cropping).

Better gear will not make you a better photographer, but better gear will absolutely give you better photographs.

There are technical limitations in low-end gear that restrict the results you can achieve, and reduce the quality of your images. Lower resolution, slower lenses, noisier images, slower framerates, less controls, more depth of field etc.

You can create a world-class image with the 1100D, but it will be much easier to achieve your vision with a 1Dx and the final results will be better.


And due to the nature of digital cameras & sensors, you should learn how to edit your images. While I do not advocate “unfaithful” editing to images (replacing the sky in a photograph with a more dramatic one for example) the controls available in Adobe Camera Raw are more akin to developing your photograph and the dodging/burning process that was applied to film, and you better believe that the “Pros” are making use of these tools.

If Photoshop is too complex or daunting for you, I would recommend looking at Lightroom. It’s far easier to understand, and is tailored to photographers shooting RAW, rather than image manipulators. There is also a great series of video tutorials available for purchase from Luminous Landscape that will help you grasp the basics, and teach you how to use the more advanced tools available.