In Focus: It’s not the equipment

Home Culture In Focus: It’s not the equipment

My camera does not take nice photos.

Just like a stove does not make good food, a good camera does not take beautiful photographs. After a delicious meal, dinner guests do not compliment the cook on the quality of her stove and the meal it made. Praise for a beautiful photograph should not be heaped upon the instrument.

A better camera does not make a better photographer. Someone with an eye for composition and a talent for expression through this medium can take a beautiful photograph with a disposable camera. Similarly, thousands of dollars of equipment does not necessarily give value to a photograph.

There is no denying that high-quality equipment is helpful. Professional lenses and camera bodies are tools to use, just as a paintbrush or expensive paint serves an artist in his craft. Photographers always desire the best equipment, not to improve their talent, but to improve the quality of their final piece of work.

People don’t hire a photographer for quality equipment, but for his or her eye and unique view of the world. As a wedding and portrait photographer, I do not advertise what is in my camera bag. No one cares what lens I use. What is captured through the lens is what really matters.

A photographer is not a camera. A photographer is a set of eyes, a mind, and a heart that sees the world in a unique way. The goal of every photographer is to present his or her vision in a compelling and profound way. It doesn’t matter how many paychecks I spend on a camera. Photographs are not beautiful because of the camera brand but because of the soul capturing them.

So next time you see work by a photographer that you really admire, don’t turn and complement the photographer’s camera.

It can’t hear you.

sodell@hillsdale.edu