Probably we’ve all experienced this: People who after a first glimpse at our photos immediately ask which camera we use. If you name a camera with a good reputation or even only a known manufacturer, they will nod approvingly and say things like, “Oh well, of course, if you’ve got such an expensive camera, you’ll shoot great pictures.”
I hate such statements. Especially because, as every good photographer knows, an excellent camera is no guarantee for shooting excellent photos and vice versa, talented photographers can take breathtaking pictures with the simplest and oldest cameras.
A photographer is really affected by such statements even if in most cases they aren’t made with bad intentions. Having your own talent reduced to your equipment counts among the worst things that can happen to an artist. At least that’s what I think.
One guy who’s previously said this in public and spoken right from my soul is Philipp Haumesser.
He also was tired of so many people reducing his photos to the performance of his camera and so he decided to prove to them that good photography really isn’t only based on expensive equipment. Philipp bought an old, cheap second-hand Canon camera for 183 dollars and a Pentax lens for 15 dollars and began to shoot right away. Even if post-edited in Photoshop and Lightroom, the results are really amazing. In my opinion they prove that all those using a lack of money for equipment as an excuse to justify their less good pictures ought to work on their method and technique and shouldn’t keep themselves from scoring great results with the “I can’t afford top equipment”-argument.
What do you think? Have you also heard such statements?
Photos: Philipp Haumesser
