Why are professional photographers so afraid to admit it's mostly their equipment

Camera equipment is like driving different vehicles. Even a crap driver can drive a Ferrari fast, just they make not be able to make the most of it's sportiness. This is like a noob using a professional camera, you could still take great shots, but they won't be as good as if a professional driver (professional photographer) could do. Even on an $80 point and click camera, the professional photographer is capable of taking better shots than the noob, just like a professional driver can drive a crap car better than a typical driver. Think of Top Gear, the time set by the Stig (a professional driver) in their 'reasonably priced car' is much faster than anyone else simply because he/she has the skills to drive it better.

 

A car analogy, huh? Why didn't I think of it before?

Thank you for your well-written comparison.

 

3 photos that prove that being in the right place at the right time and/or being able to tell a story in a photo are by far the most important things.

 

People have been taking great photos for years, LONG before auto focus, auto exposure, digital cameras, photoshop..the list goes on and on. You have to know what you are doing to get a good shot, regardless of what gear you have.

 

A bit like my analogy on post 21 (over a year ago).

 

It comes all down to brain to fingers, same goes for doing good photos, regardless of how much the tools cost, there are some technical specs that can do a difference though, which you are sure to find with more expensive gear.

Besides that, some $100 guitars will make them sound as good, remember what Eddies original guitar was? ^^
Not to mention that some expensive guitars aren't up to the build quality they should have.

 

Professional photographers these days rely too heavily on photoshop to make pictures look "great". To me, photoshopped images never look as good as the raw image...

I used to have a friend that was a professional photographer. He worked for a modeling agency and a well known nature publication. He hated being forced to use Photoshop, even though he was extremely good with it. He always said that Photoshop makes images look fake...

 

They do, making models thinner, larger, shorter, taller, having bigger breasts, etc...

 

I disagree.
Photoshop can make photos looks as good or bad as the user wants them to (depending on source material).
Photo manipulation is not a new thing, it's been done for decades. I used to do it in the 80's and 90's with dodging and burning and cropping and multiple exposures and messing around with colours etc.
Yes you can make a photo look fake, but that is up to you knowing when to stop.

 

That photo is manipulated.

The Earth has been flipped 180 degrees.

 

What nonsense are you on about this time?

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1249.html

 

I aim my phone *click /done. I don't have time to care.

 

Once you know the basics listed many times above. Then you will see most "good" gear as you call it, allows a experienced photographer to spend more time planing how and what to shoot. Mastering this is what makes you a Great photographer. Knowing what gear allows you to speed hack to get the effect your after. I do tech support for DNP a Dye-sub Photo Printer Co. I speak to many photographers who only know they have great gear and don't know Sh*t about color or lighting. Most are not like that.

 

Totally depends on what you're taking photos of.

Also, about Photoshop making photos look fake. Let me tell you that most photos are "photoshopped". Even if for adjusting curves, resizing and sharpening up, after some cropping. There's nothing wrong with using Photoshop.

 

A car analogy that completely fails. Put Lewis Hamilton (or insert any F1 driver, or Stig, or anyone) in the reasonably priced car and I'll beat them all day long driving a Porsche 911, for example.

 

There is nothing wrong to use Photoshop, just don't overuse it. I think a really good photo doesn't need an intensive retouch.

 

It's not just that there's nothing wrong with photoshop, it's often necessary. Say when you're reducing a photo, a quick sharpen up to make up for the loss of detail due to resizing etc.

 

you know what they say, you can't polish a turd

photoshop won't save bad lighting, composition and boring subjects

 

Of course not, I don't think anyone is saying that.

 

It's a bit like asking - why are professional gamers so afraid to admit it's mostly their gaming gears, or why do professional musicians so afraid to admit it's mostly their instruments.