“If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it’s already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer.” — Eve Arnold
There are many comments by many pro photographers throughout history reminding us that it is the six inches behind the eye that is more important than the six inches in front of it when taking photos.
I wanted to be sure everyone understands that I not only believe this but spend most of my time thinking about what I have done, will do, and am doing compared to the time I think about my camera gear.
If you want to make better pictures, for the most part, you will do better investing in a class to learn something than spending that money on more camera gear.
To take photos, you must have a camera. When you buy your first camera, the odds are excellent that if you pursue this later as a profession, this will not be the last one you buy.
Things to consider when buying a camera
Subject – Audience
These two things drive almost every decision regarding the best camera. You can find the perfect camera to own as long as these stay singular. However, the problem that typically happens is when you have:
Subject(s) – Audience(s)
The Holy Grail Camera that does it all is usually a compromise camera that will let a photographer get the images, but if they had the funds would most likely buy specialty cameras for some subjects or audiences.
Audience(s)
When we think of an audience, there are two things we should focus on that impacts what gear we purchase. First, the people and the channel will see those visuals.
If your client sells high-end vehicles like a Lamborghini, they will be more interested in the finer details than the community seeing a photo of the fire in their local paper or online. Therefore, you will be more likely to see vast prints of your images in dealerships on their walls where the customer could walk up to the print to examine it closely. People can walk up to large photographs when an extreme megapixel camera would be the best choice.
If you are shooting photos that you plan to put in a show in a museum or gallery, then the size of those prints will also demand a higher pixel and will be appreciated.
The need for super size prints is why there are 80 MP camera backs for medium format cameras. You can go even higher with the view cameras.
On the other hand, many bloggers shoot all their photos with their smartphones. Using a smartphone is because the pictures are good enough for their audience, who might absorb most of the content on their smartphone.
Subject(s)
When shooting sports like soccer, you must have a long glass due to the distance between the photographer and the action on the field. A camera like the Nikon 4s shoots 11 frames a second, and lenses like the Nikkor 600mm ƒ/4 is pretty much the standard for a sports action shooter.
Wedding photographers often need to shoot in low light and need a camera with ISO higher than ISO 1600. They also will shoot with a fast glass of ƒ/1.4 to ƒ/2.8 many times during ceremonies. Most wedding photographers must cover 28mm – 200mm for most of their work. However, they occasionally have a few photos using specialty glass to offer something different.
Portrait photographers often shoot with cameras with high megapixels for the same reason the photographer shooting a Lamborghini needs it–large prints.
Street shooters tend to want a small camera that will make them look more like a tourist than professional photographers to be able to blend in and not draw attention to themselves.
Conclusion
If you are one of those people trying to tell everyone why you own the “BEST” camera ever–please know you only show your ignorance when you open your mouth. I see these people on almost every camera forum trying to argue why they know it all, and everyone should listen to them and their wisdom.
If you are shooting one type of subject, then you can easily find out what most photographers covering this subject are using and why they choose those cameras and lenses.
If you are shooting a wide variety of images for many different outlets, you most likely will find a camera that does a pretty good covering the bases. However, many will find they need to rent or buy gear for some of their niches.
Most of all, we need to go back to where I started this blog that the photographer’s knowledge will let them do more with a simple box camera than a $45,000 camera in a novice’s hands.
You may hear that many people say invest in the excellent glass more than the camera–I say invest in yourself more than the gear, and you will be the better for it.
IMHO–most cameras today are so good that almost any camera could work in the right hands.
What I own and use
