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

@death_samurai, Because it's not mostly their equipment. Just like anything else, you need to know what you're doing and how/when to use it properly to take great shots. Same goes for any sport, or trade for that matter. You can put the best racquet in the world in the hands of a tennis player that isn't good at using it, and he'll suck. Put the best camera, lighting equipment and software in the world in the hands of an amateur? Crap work

 

I guarantee you wont get amazing sashimi if you give the chef a wooden butter spreader to use as a knife, nor a wonderful bechamel sauce if all he has to cook it with is a rusty bucket

Equipment does also matter to an extent in cooking.

 

So the general consensus is that:

1) @death_samurai's presumptions are wrong.
2) Equipment is important however if you haven't got the talent to back it you will most likely take a sharp but generally **** photo.
3) A smartphone, while getting more technically capable is still limited in style of photography due to lens, aperture etc ... In the hands of someone who understands the kind of photography that a smartphone setup is capable of creating, skill would allow them to use it to create something special.

Owning an iPhone, I have to say that even with some of the apps that allow some manual control, it's still too limiting when it comes to working with light. There are conditions that, simply put, the software driving the camera cannot workout correctly.

It may be different for Android phones (I have only ever had the chance to play with the cheaper models and even then, they weren't mine so I have no idea about 3rd party apps).

I'd still choose my DSLR though especially when playing with complicated light either natural or studio.

 

I was talking about the pan post.

 

The analogy still stands. rusty bucket = crappy pan = crappy sauce.

Regarding your photography example; saying a good chef will create amazing food no matter the pan, while saying a good photographer will never take even a passable photo without the right equipment is just wrong.

Let's assume a macro lens is necessary for macro (it isn't). Good photographer + cheap macro lens = decent photos. Good chef + cheap pan = decent food.
Now back to sauces. Good photographer + wrong type of lens = no macro photo. Good chef + wrong type of pan = no sauce.*

*You can't expect a good sauce to be made on a grill pan for example.

 

Good photographer + cheap macro lens will produce amazing photos. Example, Tamron 90mm macro lens, pretty much as cheap as they get yet in a hands of a photographer who know what they're doing, they'll produce amazing shots.

A good chef will make a good sauce on a grill pan, a much better sauce than someone who can't cook, yet using expensive pans.

Anyway, why talk about rusty gear? We're talking about cheap entry level gear vs expensive gear. Not broken gear. No chef will use a rusty pan, same as no photographer will use a lens that doesn't focus, for example.

 

But could a professional racing driver driving a rusty VW beetle, beat me, in a Bugatti Veyron, in a 5 mile drag race?

Jk lol

 

As my analogy earlier, get Rossi on a GSXR600 and most of us on a MotoGP bike and Rossi will beat us everytime.
Get a decent chef on a camp fire with a empty bean tin and he will produce better than most of us on a range cooker with decent pans etc.
Get a good photographer using mid range gear and most novices using top end gear and the photographer will produce better images most of the time without a doubt.

Having good gear can never be a substitute for knowing how to use them.

 

I'd honestly like to see that...

 

^ Haha at the last few posts...

With regards to decent sauce being cooked in a $hit or wrong pan and coming out bad, this would be the question for someone like Gordon Ramsey to answer...

He'd probably tell us to fuucckk off lol!!

 

and then something like, "Taste this sauce.... NOT AN OUUUUUNCE OF SEASONING. DONKEY!" lol

 

^QFT! Haha.

 

I think it comes down to knowlage, tallent and a good eye. One could have the most expensive equipment, but it don't garrantee they will be good at it.

 

Out of curiosity death_samurai, and there is a point to this, what do you do for work or are you at school still?

 

I have been doing photography since the early 80's.....Did not switch to digital until I bought a D70s. I will just say that the OP in misinformed. Creating a nice image is still about the photographer and composition.

BTW, I still shoot film and have a darkroom. Even with digital I try and stay out of PS as much as I can....usually just color balance etc.

 

Similar to you, been into photography since my early teens in about 1982, did most of my own developing (B&W and slide) in the 90's (still have all my gear), got into digital in about 1999.

Why do you stay out of PS? I love it and think it can greatly enhance your photos from slight colour corrections to wild and whacky. I used to do similar in the darkroom, by dodging and burning or doing multi exposures etc. PS is the darkroom but in broad day light.

 

Well said mate!

 

You obviously know nothing about Photography. So there is nothing else to say or see here.

 

The DSLR gives you much more parameters to tinker with, true. That being said, if you don't know what each parameter does, then you can't take advantage of it.

Remember when Ginyu took possession of Goku's body. Despite Goku being stronger, Ginyu could not attain the same power, simply because he didn't know how to use Goku's techniques. Yes, I've just drawn an analogy using DBZ. Deal with it.

 

That's a bit of a dumb question...

I guess its the same reason drivers don't admit its their car instead of their driving skills... or chefs admitting its their equipment instead of their years of experience.

Camera is the tool, photographer the user. Camera is the hardware, photographer the driver.

I can relate this question to a popular question fans ask to professionals counter strike players: "If I use same peripherals, resolution and game settings.... will I be as good as you? :nerd:"

"They both matter" (Too lazy to quote :/)

That's right. An analogy would be playing CS at 60FPS against 200FPS. At 60 fps, I'd drop around 20 frags. At 200FPS, I'd drop 30 frags because of the obvious advantage.

But give a bad player 400FPS, and he/she'd barely drop over 15 frags.

That makes sense? No? K imma show myself the door... or close icon... :/