103
April 14, 2010
A few months ago I had three consultations in a row where my clients asked what gear I used. As I answered each couple, in my mind I couldn't help but wonder where this was coming from. Was the Knot telling everyone to make sure their photographers use brand new cameras this month? Each of these couples had throughly looked through my work and seen wedding after wedding that I had shot and knew the quality of images I produce. Does the camera gear I use really matter?
As a consumerist, it is all to easy to get excited about the latest product offerings. As a photographer, it's even easier to get sucked into the advertising hype. Surely I need that new Canon 1D IV to get the next shot, right? Or if I only had that fancy new tilt shift lens then I would make the big bucks. Somehow this amazing new piece of gear will erase all of my past difficulties. Sadly I am not immune to this line of thinking.
I am reminded and my first ventures with Canon's 50L 1.2 lens a few years ago. I had the chance to purchase the lens used for a good deal and couldn't pass it up. I thought that just by attaching the lens to my camera, my camera would automatically create mind-blowing imagery. It didn't. It did however, produce a lot of out of focus shots. Actually I produced a lot of out of focus shots. The truth is, I just didn't know how to properly use the tool in my hands.
The lens sat in my camera bag for quite a while, untouched at most shoots. Occasionally I would revisit the lens and I ended creating some very cool photographs with it, but when I did it had little to do with the lens. It was the result of my vision coming out in the photograph. So I sold the "professional" 50mm and downgraded to the "consumer" 50mm. Two years later and I do not have a single regret.
To be sure, I have lots of high end equipment and use it on a regular basis. But the equipment I use is a set of tools and nothing more. My cameras do not automatically create photographs on their own. It's all about using the tools for expression. No longer do I have the false illusion that high end equipment creates high end results.
The majority of gear in my bag was purchased used. Some of it is not of the "professional" line (whatever that is). One of my favorite tools is a twenty year old lens that still gets my creative juices flowing. What is in my camera bag is the collection of tools that lets me express myself
So does the gear we as photographers use really matter? Does using an expensive lens or camera body somehow impart value on the imagery that would not otherwise be there? I tend to think not. Even when I look at other photographers' amazing work, I am more inclined to as "How did they do that?" rather than "What gear did they use to do that?" To me all of this gear is just a set of tools to express my artistic vision. Vision is where the real investment needs to be.
Leave me a comment to let me know what you think!
Oh and all of these photos were taken with my "non-professional" lens collection.
Comments
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
Gear matters?
. TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://patrickpike.com/darkroom/mt/mt-tb.cgi/102
Copyright 2011, Patrick Pike
Photography Websites by ITDR
let's hear it for the 'non-professional' lenses ... or those lenses that were once professional in their heyday.
Good composition, nice balance between light/shadow and simply capturing an intimate or special moment will win out over corner-sharpness and micro-contrast anyday of the week.
But boy, if only I had that ....
cheers, great work and I like the blog layout too.
Thanks Harland for the good word. I actually brought out my point and shoot for a few shots at today's wedding just to play around, and I love the results. And just because a lens is old is no reason to think it still won't work. One reason I still love my older lenses is that they are not coated in the way new lenses are. I can really play around with lens flare in ways that just aren't possible today.
I agree. I have the resources to buy all "L" lenses and I can truthfully say, they didn't make me a better photographer. When I hit it right on, they do produce some amazingly sharp images. I, too have the 50 1.2L, I'm still learning on that one. I have seen excellent images with the consumer grade lenses - you still need to know how to use them!
You're right on the money John. Gear is great and opens up new possibilities, but you have to understand the gear first. When I first started shooting I kept looking for the "magic" lens that would take perfect photos. Now, I have been shooting the same gear for years and I know what each lens will produce without even looking through the viewfinder (or digital screen) and I am better for it. I have an understanding of how to best use each tool, it's limitations, and how to overcome those limitations.
Whenever I get asked by new photographers what lens they should use, my response is always the same; the one you have. Once you master that lens inside and out, then you can get a new one.