Its not about the camera

I was watching the Michael Jordan Nike ad the other day. And for us photographers there’s nothing that’s more true…

Its not about the camera

Its never about the camera. A good camera is important, but just having a good camera does not automatically result in you taking stunning photos. The camera sees what you see. What YOU see. The camera is a mere tool, the creativity, the composition, the moment is yours and yours alone.

Sure a big zoom lens will get you close to the action, but is there a better perspective by not zooming in? Sure, more megapixels and high end lenses will get you a sharp image, but did you get the emotion of the moment?

Professional photographers will take close to 100 shots, before they get that one shot that just might make it to National Geographic, and even then that’s optimistic. So don’t fuss that you’ve not got that fancy dSLR with all those buttons and settings. When you take pictures, focus on that, taking pictures. And take lots of them. Trash lots of them. Proficiency comes with practice, not with great tools alone.

If you’re going to go out and buy a new camera, stop a while if you’ve already got one. Pull out that old one, see all the setting options. Did you use all of them?? Do you know what each one does?? Did you do something creative with that camera? Did you experiment with all the settings?? Now postpone that new camera purchase till you’ve done all you can with the old one.

Its never about the camera. Its always about the eye behind the viewfinder and the finger that presses the button.