Creative Lust List?
November 26, 2008 5:49 PM Subscribe
Attention photographers, graphic designers, and other creative professionals: What's on your ultimate wish list? Tell me what you have / what you want / what you can't live without?
I'm putting together a wish list of stuff to save for. Some things are (to me) obvious must-haves: CS4 Creative Suite, monitor calibrating hardware, NEC or LaCie IPS Panels for a multi-monitor setup, Cintiq 21UX, a fantastic DSLR + fast glass, a great desk, a large format color printer (and high quality paper); other things are totally out-of-reach lusts (Hasselblad, MILK desk) .... From practical to if-only-money-were-no-object, tell me what else makes (or would make) your creative life a little easier/happier/more fun?
I'm putting together a wish list of stuff to save for. Some things are (to me) obvious must-haves: CS4 Creative Suite, monitor calibrating hardware, NEC or LaCie IPS Panels for a multi-monitor setup, Cintiq 21UX, a fantastic DSLR + fast glass, a great desk, a large format color printer (and high quality paper); other things are totally out-of-reach lusts (Hasselblad, MILK desk) .... From practical to if-only-money-were-no-object, tell me what else makes (or would make) your creative life a little easier/happier/more fun?
I want to add that while we're sparing no expense, create a relaxing space withint the studio for bookish lounging, and fill it with lots and lots and lots of wonderful reference books about typography, fashion, international style, movies, great magazines, fine art, architecture, subculture, packaging and pop culture. A subsription to CommArts or other industry mags wouldn't go atray.
Great lighting is nice -trick the place out with lamps.
And fonts... lots of wonderful fonts. I like House Industries.
posted by lottie at 6:13 PM on November 26, 2008
Great lighting is nice -trick the place out with lamps.
And fonts... lots of wonderful fonts. I like House Industries.
posted by lottie at 6:13 PM on November 26, 2008
CF card backup, something like the Hyperdrive Colorspace. Both to clean off a card when I'm an idiot and don't bring enough memory, and to have a way to show people my shots without using the screen on my camera.
posted by theichibun at 6:46 PM on November 26, 2008
posted by theichibun at 6:46 PM on November 26, 2008
If you're doing any studio photography-- a good lighting kit. Stands, strobes, gels, backgrounds, etc.
posted by riane at 6:50 PM on November 26, 2008
posted by riane at 6:50 PM on November 26, 2008
Graphic Designer: A comfortable chair and graphically savvy clients.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:51 PM on November 26, 2008
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:51 PM on November 26, 2008
Also: clients that pay promptly.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:52 PM on November 26, 2008
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:52 PM on November 26, 2008
Seems like you covered pretty much all your bases. An insane amount of data storage, either local or in the cloud and a ticket to the yearly sale of Taschen, in German bookstores.
No other ideas on what to spend money on at the moment, but in case I get fabulously rich, I'm calling you and lottie for a consult.
posted by _dario at 6:58 PM on November 26, 2008
No other ideas on what to spend money on at the moment, but in case I get fabulously rich, I'm calling you and lottie for a consult.
posted by _dario at 6:58 PM on November 26, 2008
Web designer/illustrator/artist here.
posted by curagea at 8:20 PM on November 26, 2008 [1 favorite]
- A Cintiq 12WX (would spring for the larger ones, but eh... I like to work on my lap sometimes)
- CS4 Suite
- Macbook Pro
- a SLR (digital or film)
- great scanner
- a very comfy chair for my bad back
- a drawing desk for making comics
- lots of natural or close-to-natural lighting
- magnifying lamp
- professional colored pencils
- brush pens
posted by curagea at 8:20 PM on November 26, 2008 [1 favorite]
Freelance photographer here.
Your list is great, but I would nix the printer and paper, for now. More cost effective to use a good lab- esspecially during peak business. But if money were no object, then I would look around in the 5K range for a printer.
I would add a very nice video camera. A lot of newspapers these days, when they are interviewing someone, just videotape and edit for photos for their end result. Just a thought.
posted by captainsohler at 9:09 PM on November 26, 2008
Your list is great, but I would nix the printer and paper, for now. More cost effective to use a good lab- esspecially during peak business. But if money were no object, then I would look around in the 5K range for a printer.
I would add a very nice video camera. A lot of newspapers these days, when they are interviewing someone, just videotape and edit for photos for their end result. Just a thought.
posted by captainsohler at 9:09 PM on November 26, 2008
Here's my 'creative' wish list (I am applying as a "creative professional"):
posted by ostranenie at 9:14 PM on November 26, 2008
- A pen scanner.
- Aeron chair (or generic!).
- One of those gigantic Wacom tablet/touchscreens they have at tradeshows.
- 25MP digital camera that also does 1080p 24fps HD video. With accompanying 20GB memory cards, various lenses, slave flashes, light kits, tripods, etc., of course.
- 60" 1080p LCD monitor (or even better: an array of bezelless 60" 1080p LCD monitors arranged in a 30-megapixel video wall--yes, this can be done).
- A 900-terabyte USB disk drive that's only 2.5" and backs up incremental DVDs with one push of a button.
- Portable projector with 3000 lumen output or greater.
- Drafting table (slanted surface) with light and magnifier.
- Dye-sub printer (and media).
- Big-ass inkjet printer. Tons of cartridges.
- Screen printing kit.
- Electronic embroidery equipment.
- Vinyl cutter/plotter, T-shirt press and every color/pattern of vinyl in existence.
- Five-axis milling machine with coolant dispenser.
- Rapid prototyper.
- Airbrush kit.
- Portable HD videoconferencing unit that integrates with software on the remote side...easily. (Yeah, right!)
- Waterjet cutter.
- Polymer clay.
- Rotating table for 3D scanning.
- TIG welder.
- State-of-the-art MIDI keyboard with pedals, knobs and all that other stuff.
- Software synthesizers, samplers and sequencers.
- 3D monitor.
- A metal shop, a wood shop, a fabric shop...and a staff for each.
- Every piece of software ever by Adobe, AutoDesk, NewTek and all of my other favorite companies that make the visions more possible.
posted by ostranenie at 9:14 PM on November 26, 2008
Oooh ooh! and one of those things with the big rollers that puts glue on art so you can make stickers. That's awesome for mockups. A giant plotter thing to make banners is outlandishly nice to have too.
posted by lottie at 9:35 PM on November 26, 2008
posted by lottie at 9:35 PM on November 26, 2008
Ditto everything plus:
Ideal manual guillotine
Binding machine and accessories
Several loupes
Books, books and more books
posted by Elli at 1:50 AM on November 27, 2008
Ideal manual guillotine
Binding machine and accessories
Several loupes
Books, books and more books
posted by Elli at 1:50 AM on November 27, 2008
I stubbornly stand by my Wacom Intuos3 tablets (9x12 and 6x11, the latter is for my widescreen laptop), Painter X and my twin monitors on my primary machine. Yes, two really are better than one.
That said... I could probably stand to get a better chair and a new floor mat. And perhaps an actual camera... that in all likelihood I'd use more often to snap pictures of my cat. I'm awful like that, heh...
posted by Yoshi Ayarane at 5:52 AM on November 27, 2008
That said... I could probably stand to get a better chair and a new floor mat. And perhaps an actual camera... that in all likelihood I'd use more often to snap pictures of my cat. I'm awful like that, heh...
posted by Yoshi Ayarane at 5:52 AM on November 27, 2008
proper seating (aeron chair, whatever else you want). your back will thank you in the long run.
a large desk and a large monitor are secondary and tertiary concerns.
posted by krautland at 6:11 AM on November 27, 2008
a large desk and a large monitor are secondary and tertiary concerns.
posted by krautland at 6:11 AM on November 27, 2008
f1.4, 28-70L
huh? I know of a 24-70 f2.8 L but this lens you're describing is unknown to me.
posted by krautland at 11:47 AM on November 27, 2008
huh? I know of a 24-70 f2.8 L but this lens you're describing is unknown to me.
posted by krautland at 11:47 AM on November 27, 2008
Canon 5D Mark II and a wide format printer (with paper and ink). I want to print some nice landscapes as big as I saw them when I took the picture. Maybe a MacPro since my iMac might start to choke on 21mp images. (I'm a hobbyist.)
And some plane tickets so I can go take the photos. (To be honest, I'd be much happier with time off from the day job and plane tickets to go take photos than I would be the camera, I could use a much cheaper camera and still take nice photos.)
posted by Brian Puccio at 9:55 PM on November 27, 2008
And some plane tickets so I can go take the photos. (To be honest, I'd be much happier with time off from the day job and plane tickets to go take photos than I would be the camera, I could use a much cheaper camera and still take nice photos.)
posted by Brian Puccio at 9:55 PM on November 27, 2008
All this gear lust is pretty ridiculous. None of it's going to make you a better photographer or designer. Plane tickets (or a fresh perspective on your own turf) or an appreciation of good literature and cinema might do more in that respect. However, there are two pieces of software that I truly could not live without for managing my pictures. Like most other photojournalists, Photo Mechanic is a godsend to me. Couldn't imagine getting my files ready for transmission without it. Might not be useful to you, though. Another program I just started using is Microsoft Expression Media (formerly Iview Media Pro, I think) which is great for managing a huge library of images and other media. Allows for searching offline media by any file attribute (keywords and captions and the like, too). Don't know how I'd find anything in my tens of thousands of pictures without it.
posted by msbrauer at 2:02 AM on November 28, 2008
posted by msbrauer at 2:02 AM on November 28, 2008
krautland: huh? I know of a 24-70 f2.8 L but this lens you're describing is unknown to me.
Those are two separate lenses: the 35mm f1.4L and the 24-70 f2.8L
posted by junesix at 12:26 PM on November 28, 2008
Those are two separate lenses: the 35mm f1.4L and the 24-70 f2.8L
posted by junesix at 12:26 PM on November 28, 2008
None of it's going to make you a better photographer or designer
It might not make you more creative, but it sure makes it much more fun and certainly easier to accomplish your end goal. The best photographer/creative professional in the world can only do so much with crap (or lowER-end) equipment. (Could I draw any better with a Wacom? No, but I'd sure do it more and I wouldn't have to scan my sketches in and trace and fill them anymore to digitize them--they'd already be there. Now multiply that times everything I want to digitize.)
posted by ostranenie at 8:11 PM on November 29, 2008
It might not make you more creative, but it sure makes it much more fun and certainly easier to accomplish your end goal. The best photographer/creative professional in the world can only do so much with crap (or lowER-end) equipment. (Could I draw any better with a Wacom? No, but I'd sure do it more and I wouldn't have to scan my sketches in and trace and fill them anymore to digitize them--they'd already be there. Now multiply that times everything I want to digitize.)
posted by ostranenie at 8:11 PM on November 29, 2008
- Studio space, which is rare & expensive in NYC. Something that's really mine that I could get creative building sets in & not something that's rented by the hour. ($1k/mo)
- A tablet (Wacom, etc.) to make photshopping easier & reduce repetitive stress injuries. (~$200 to $2,000)
- Photoshop. ($500, or Elements for around $100-200)
- Nikon D700 for the full frame sensor & high ISO/low light ability. (currently $2k, I got the D200 for less than half that, but the D40 is also a great camera)
- Some good lenses, a lot of lenses are cheap and just as good as what's being made today for studio shooting. The 50mm f/1.8 can be had for around $100, and a few zooms can be had cheaply too, though I splurged on the 18-200mm for $800 as my walk-around lens. I'd get a few more inexpensive primes - I handled an amazing 200mm ED lens from the late 70's the other day, cost around $200-300 used... probably much cheaper than the equivalent if it was made today. Wasn't worth the money for me, though.
- Some good soft boxes that can act as a *constant* light source. Constant light is much easier to work with than flash for knowing what you're going to get. If I had my own studio space, this may end up being nothing more than a few bright work lights from Home Depot & some diffusion material, such as white bedsheets or frosted shower curtains. You can do a lot with very little. (Say, $1k-1.5k worth)
- Good backdrops - white/grey seamless backdrop minimum, and then add as I get creative. ($200ish, not sure exactly)
- Some good reflectors. (say, $100 worth)
- Good grey card for setting in-camera exposure & white balance. ($3 to $30, sometimes also come with a reflector on the other side or in a pack with a variety of reflectors for $100, mine was $30 because it's collapsible so I can take it on location with me in my small camera bag)
- Gretag MacBeth ColorChecker to work out the accuracy of my studio setup -> camera -> computer -> printer path. ($70), or if I'm gong that far, I may as well go all out for the $200 "digital" ColorChecker.
- Huey monitor calibration software ($70 if I remember correctly).
- Decent monitor, say $1k, by the way my HDTV is awesome and has enough calibration settings that it could serve as a good computer monitor for photography.
- Good film scanner for all my old work & any film work I may want to do today ($600).
- Alien Bees ringflash.
Anyway, in order of importance:
#1 Studio space to muck about in
#2 good lighting
#3 good backdrops, furniture, etc.
#4 well calibrated photoshop setup
#5 good lenses & camera
Really, with a good setup, I could take great pictures with a point & shoot (like the Canon SD1100), and then I'd need a good photoshop setup so I could judge colors accurately as I'm retouching & adding interesting effects. It's the $1k/mo for a studio that I'm struggling with, all the other stuff is a cakewalk in comparison.
posted by Muffy at 9:35 PM on November 30, 2008
- A tablet (Wacom, etc.) to make photshopping easier & reduce repetitive stress injuries. (~$200 to $2,000)
- Photoshop. ($500, or Elements for around $100-200)
- Nikon D700 for the full frame sensor & high ISO/low light ability. (currently $2k, I got the D200 for less than half that, but the D40 is also a great camera)
- Some good lenses, a lot of lenses are cheap and just as good as what's being made today for studio shooting. The 50mm f/1.8 can be had for around $100, and a few zooms can be had cheaply too, though I splurged on the 18-200mm for $800 as my walk-around lens. I'd get a few more inexpensive primes - I handled an amazing 200mm ED lens from the late 70's the other day, cost around $200-300 used... probably much cheaper than the equivalent if it was made today. Wasn't worth the money for me, though.
- Some good soft boxes that can act as a *constant* light source. Constant light is much easier to work with than flash for knowing what you're going to get. If I had my own studio space, this may end up being nothing more than a few bright work lights from Home Depot & some diffusion material, such as white bedsheets or frosted shower curtains. You can do a lot with very little. (Say, $1k-1.5k worth)
- Good backdrops - white/grey seamless backdrop minimum, and then add as I get creative. ($200ish, not sure exactly)
- Some good reflectors. (say, $100 worth)
- Good grey card for setting in-camera exposure & white balance. ($3 to $30, sometimes also come with a reflector on the other side or in a pack with a variety of reflectors for $100, mine was $30 because it's collapsible so I can take it on location with me in my small camera bag)
- Gretag MacBeth ColorChecker to work out the accuracy of my studio setup -> camera -> computer -> printer path. ($70), or if I'm gong that far, I may as well go all out for the $200 "digital" ColorChecker.
- Huey monitor calibration software ($70 if I remember correctly).
- Decent monitor, say $1k, by the way my HDTV is awesome and has enough calibration settings that it could serve as a good computer monitor for photography.
- Good film scanner for all my old work & any film work I may want to do today ($600).
- Alien Bees ringflash.
Anyway, in order of importance:
#1 Studio space to muck about in
#2 good lighting
#3 good backdrops, furniture, etc.
#4 well calibrated photoshop setup
#5 good lenses & camera
Really, with a good setup, I could take great pictures with a point & shoot (like the Canon SD1100), and then I'd need a good photoshop setup so I could judge colors accurately as I'm retouching & adding interesting effects. It's the $1k/mo for a studio that I'm struggling with, all the other stuff is a cakewalk in comparison.
posted by Muffy at 9:35 PM on November 30, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Oh, and... something which dispenses caffeine in the form you like to take it. And bull-dog clips. Those suckers are like gold around these parts.
posted by lottie at 6:06 PM on November 26, 2008