Tech - vs - Technique
Discussion
Thought of the day.
I've just completed the Annie Leibovitz course on Masterclass (highly recommended) having dived into other similar courses online over the years from leading photographers and it occurred to me that the one thing that's never mentioned in all of these is kit. The one exception is Leibovitz who mentions that when students ask her what gear she's using, she responds by saying they're asking the wrong question (it should be how do you use it?).
Do we all get too hung up on kit? I mean, can we honestly tell if a photo's been taken on a Nikon or a Canon and for that matter, does it matter? Is a £500 Manfrotto tripod going to give a better picture than a £50 Velbon from Currys?
I think that kit is half the fun of photography. I'm not alone, I'm sure, in being genetically wired to be unable to pass a Camera Shop without at least looking to see what they've got.
But is all this at the expense of the 'art' - or part of it?
I've just completed the Annie Leibovitz course on Masterclass (highly recommended) having dived into other similar courses online over the years from leading photographers and it occurred to me that the one thing that's never mentioned in all of these is kit. The one exception is Leibovitz who mentions that when students ask her what gear she's using, she responds by saying they're asking the wrong question (it should be how do you use it?).
Do we all get too hung up on kit? I mean, can we honestly tell if a photo's been taken on a Nikon or a Canon and for that matter, does it matter? Is a £500 Manfrotto tripod going to give a better picture than a £50 Velbon from Currys?
I think that kit is half the fun of photography. I'm not alone, I'm sure, in being genetically wired to be unable to pass a Camera Shop without at least looking to see what they've got.
But is all this at the expense of the 'art' - or part of it?
Lynchie999 said:
... if gear didn't matter all the pros would be using £100 "eBay specials" ... they need the top end kit to do their job efficiently and effectively...
Some of the best photos ever taken were shot on crap cameras.That said, you would of course raise an eyebrow if the chief snapper at Vanity Fair whipped out an old D50.
Rogue86 said:
StevieBee said:
(To argue against my own point...) I've just invested in this very combo. Good, innit? Just snared a second hand 20mm as well.
Yeah it really is very good! Although creating composites with multiple 50+MB RAW frames is really taking its toll on my Mac 
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