Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Learning
Photography Q&A
Does Gear Matter?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Horoscope Fish" data-source="post: 633564" data-attributes="member: 13090"><p>I think something that often gets lost in any conversation about the importance of gear is that there are two sides, two aspects, to photography and, in my experience, most people who do photography fall in love with one aspect more than they do the other. There are those who are "perfectly balanced" in the love of both but in my experience most lean in one direction more than they do the other. These two aspects are the Technical and the Artistic. </p><p></p><p>On the technical side of the coin I think if we compare the outputs from two cameras, Camera "A" and "B" for example, and assume Camera A is older body, with comparatively low-resolution that has been outfitted with a poor quality, sub-par lens against Camera B which has all the latest tech, is high resolution and is equipped with a top notch, professional grade lens then from a purely technical standpoint the answer to the question, "Does gear matter?" is yes, gear matters. The output from Camera B, objectively measured by things such as resolution, sharpness and color depth, will be better and that's not going to change; the gear, from this perspective, matters. This is one side of the coin and a perspective a lot of hobbyist photographers seem to operate from. I call this the Geek Factor. A certain percentage of people who "do" photography fall in love with the geeky aspects of photography. Lens sharpness, frames per second, megapixels, pixel-peeping, the software and getting all the technical details "right" are what they're truly in love with. Not that I'm not judging these people, nor do I feel there's anything wrong with that approach to photography; as long as they're enjoying what they do, more power to 'em!</p><p></p><p>On the flip side of this coin, are the artists. I've met a certain number of this type of photographer who quite literally could not tell you how many pixels there are in megapixel. Or what a pixel IS for that matter. They may have top-flight gear, but they couldn't tell you jack about their camera's dynamic range, color depth or really much of anything on the technical front. They know how to get it to give them what they want, though, and it delivers awe-inspiring photography. In this instance I'm speaking from a purely aesthetic standpoint. I'm talking about photos that are visually compelling, that tell a story, that make you say, "Wow!". Photos that demonstrate mastery of light and shadow, form and texture, photos that tell a story and evoke emotion. Put under the microscope these photos might not hold a candle to the photos from Camera A, but this is the flip-side of the coin; we're now looking at the output from what I consider a loftier perspective. And from this perspective, one of pure aesthetics, I think the answer to the question, "Does gear matter?" is, no, the gear does not matter. The truly talented photographer could knock your socks off using a Kodak Brownie because they understand the heart and soul of what makes for a powerful photo. I don't think professional photographers got to be professional simply by using better gear, they got to be professional photographers because they have risen to a level of proficiency and have the talent to <em>leverage</em> what the best of current technology has to offer. Take that away from them, give them instead crappy gear and I'll bet you dollars to donuts they'll still produce masterful photos because, once again, they understand what makes for an aesthetically pleasing photo. The crappy photographer, one with little to no understanding of the art of photography, even with high end gear, will still produce crappy photos. They may be <em>technically clean</em> crap, but crap nonetheless because they lack power and substance. </p><p></p><p>And I know from my own photographic journey how much easier it is to throw money at photography-related gear than it is to learn to use the gear I already have in a more artistic manner, to master things like composition, lighting, tone and storytelling. Spending money is soooo freakin' easy; truly powerful photography is not. And I'll fully admit to taking the path of least resistance way too many times.</p><p></p><p>Just my proverbial two-cents on the matter.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Horoscope Fish, post: 633564, member: 13090"] I think something that often gets lost in any conversation about the importance of gear is that there are two sides, two aspects, to photography and, in my experience, most people who do photography fall in love with one aspect more than they do the other. There are those who are "perfectly balanced" in the love of both but in my experience most lean in one direction more than they do the other. These two aspects are the Technical and the Artistic. On the technical side of the coin I think if we compare the outputs from two cameras, Camera "A" and "B" for example, and assume Camera A is older body, with comparatively low-resolution that has been outfitted with a poor quality, sub-par lens against Camera B which has all the latest tech, is high resolution and is equipped with a top notch, professional grade lens then from a purely technical standpoint the answer to the question, "Does gear matter?" is yes, gear matters. The output from Camera B, objectively measured by things such as resolution, sharpness and color depth, will be better and that's not going to change; the gear, from this perspective, matters. This is one side of the coin and a perspective a lot of hobbyist photographers seem to operate from. I call this the Geek Factor. A certain percentage of people who "do" photography fall in love with the geeky aspects of photography. Lens sharpness, frames per second, megapixels, pixel-peeping, the software and getting all the technical details "right" are what they're truly in love with. Not that I'm not judging these people, nor do I feel there's anything wrong with that approach to photography; as long as they're enjoying what they do, more power to 'em! On the flip side of this coin, are the artists. I've met a certain number of this type of photographer who quite literally could not tell you how many pixels there are in megapixel. Or what a pixel IS for that matter. They may have top-flight gear, but they couldn't tell you jack about their camera's dynamic range, color depth or really much of anything on the technical front. They know how to get it to give them what they want, though, and it delivers awe-inspiring photography. In this instance I'm speaking from a purely aesthetic standpoint. I'm talking about photos that are visually compelling, that tell a story, that make you say, "Wow!". Photos that demonstrate mastery of light and shadow, form and texture, photos that tell a story and evoke emotion. Put under the microscope these photos might not hold a candle to the photos from Camera A, but this is the flip-side of the coin; we're now looking at the output from what I consider a loftier perspective. And from this perspective, one of pure aesthetics, I think the answer to the question, "Does gear matter?" is, no, the gear does not matter. The truly talented photographer could knock your socks off using a Kodak Brownie because they understand the heart and soul of what makes for a powerful photo. I don't think professional photographers got to be professional simply by using better gear, they got to be professional photographers because they have risen to a level of proficiency and have the talent to [I]leverage[/I] what the best of current technology has to offer. Take that away from them, give them instead crappy gear and I'll bet you dollars to donuts they'll still produce masterful photos because, once again, they understand what makes for an aesthetically pleasing photo. The crappy photographer, one with little to no understanding of the art of photography, even with high end gear, will still produce crappy photos. They may be [I]technically clean[/I] crap, but crap nonetheless because they lack power and substance. And I know from my own photographic journey how much easier it is to throw money at photography-related gear than it is to learn to use the gear I already have in a more artistic manner, to master things like composition, lighting, tone and storytelling. Spending money is soooo freakin' easy; truly powerful photography is not. And I'll fully admit to taking the path of least resistance way too many times. Just my proverbial two-cents on the matter. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Learning
Photography Q&A
Does Gear Matter?
Top
