If I only had “x,y,z” my photography would be so much better than it is now.
A line I hear a little bit too much in this profession. It really bothers me that people think that the gear they own makes them better photographers.
Let me ask you this what mode do you use your camera in the most? One of the scene modes, Full Auto, program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority or full manual/Bulb.
If you picked any of the full auto modes, you don’t need any pro gear, you first need to lean how to use your camera!
In some sense yes having pro gear does make a difference but the difference is so small you don’t really notice, unless of course your printing large size prints, or super high detailed fine art prints, and even then it might just be slightly more saturation on the unedited RAW file or a little less distortion, but its a RAW file your going to edit it before you print. The main advantage of pro gear is reliability I say this because that
is it, hell most beginner and prosumer DSLR have amazing image quality with some of the new beginner bodys matching and even exceeding the pro DSLR body’s.
If you don’t know what a RAW file is you defiantly don’t need pro gear. Your not unlocking your cameras full potential! A RAW is basically the film of the digital world, you don’t need to shot using it all the time, but using it will give you the mist options in post production and editing.
Back to what I was saying , people buy pro gear and some immediately think “Oh I have pro gear, I must be a pro now”. This as most people know isn’t the case. Just because you have good gear dosen’t mean you are a good photographer. It’s a huge waste of money spending maybe €3000 on a pro camera body and €1200 on a pro lens. When looking at that gear you should question what you need, what level am I at?
A good photographer will utilise what they have at hand, this could be a Lego point and shoot or it could be their own pro level DSLR and Lenses. I will guarantee they will create great images using either system. The point im getting at here is the gear is only a tool, it won’t make a huge difference, the thing that makes the biggest difference is that squishy thing behind the camera, YOU!
It takes years to develop your creative eye, in fact for some people they never develop it and can’t be creative and think outside that box, that is the typical cliché shot you get sick of. No matter how good your gear is, if your creative eye isnt developed your images might not be the best. So go and buy that entry-level DSLR kit, and develope it, let your mind wanter and test out the ideas you get, you will get great shots and you will get absolutely shocking shots. Trust me I’ve been there.
Once its developed enough that you can use your gear to its max, and its restricting you, that is the time to upgrade.
But try this first yourself, pick up that crappy point and shoot camera, or camera phone and think like you would a DSLR. Your most likely thinking I’m crazy right now but trust me. You’ll quickly realise to get the shots you want on that camera you will have to be smart, utilise whats around you, hell you might even have to grab your ND filter and a Nikon speedlite, set into optical slave and use the on camera flash to trigger the speedlite. To get that shot which was so easy to get on your DSLR. This will test your creative eye and thinking, forcing you to think outside the box. Want some inspiration watch world renowned sports photographer Chase Jarvis utilize the lego camera in DigitalRev TV’s Protog Cheap Cam challenge here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX76k-chflo
When you’ve reached that stage I’ll let you away with saying “I need this and that for my photography”, because yeah you have reached a stage that them pro lens and pro body’s will help, with advanced features, which you will now be able to take full advantage of. And you will see that the difference as I said before is reliability of the gear, and the thing that make the difference is you , the squishy thing behind the lens.
So in summary what I’m really saying is that you really don’t need pro level gear to take pro level photographs. Just get your gear out and shot! I really Believe that Henri Cartier-Besson said it the best in terms of developing your creative and photographic eye.
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Remember gear isn’t everything; learn to use what you have. Most importantly, As always get out and shoot! Enjoy your photography!