Once I had dinner with a friend of mine. She made one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. So satisfying. The next day she gave me a ride to the airport and while she drove, I snapped a few pictures of her. She saw the camera and said, “Wow. I bet that takes really good pictures.” I almost said yes, but thought about it for a few seconds, and told her that I was so grateful for the food she made last night. I told her it was so good, and said, “You must have some really good pans”. She laughed a little (thank goodness) and I think she got the point. Just because you’ve got a nice skillet doesn’t mean you’re a chef. Just because you have a piano, that doesn’t mean you’re a musician. And yet, for some reason, lots of people think that if you’ve got a good camera, you are a good photographer.
Earlier this week, I met with a wedding coordinator. He said he is seeing that more and more people are not hiring professional photographers to shoot their wedding because they have a friend or an uncle with a nice digital camera. Luckily, that trend is only seen at the bottom end of the market.
The truth is, great photography is not made in the camera, but rather, like any art form, in the heart and in the head.
The truth is, great photography will always be expensive.
The truth is, great photography will always always be in demand.
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I love that you wrote that because I totally agree with that, it is almost with every kind of sport/ everything really. I think as I get older I don’t really care so much about what people think about me and so that kind of attitude translates over into not caring about image and what others think is “cool”. There are so many people that have crazy nice cameras that don’t have an eye for it….but they do have a nice camera!
Justin,
A quote I saw the other day,
“If you purchase a Nikon it does not make you a photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner”
The pan line was great. I once sold a picture I took with my dad’s Argus (“the brick”) from his college days. The editor never asked what camera I used. I think the old saying is “the best camera is the one you have with you.” That said, I’ve noticed you usually have a nice camera with you.
Wow. Well said.
I think the pan analogy is the best one I’ve heard yet. I am an editor by trade, but do photography semiprofessionally on the side, and I get the “nice camera” line a lot too.
that really hit home for me. So many people think “if I only had a better -this or that- I would be a better …chef, photographer, driver, homemaker..etc. If only we could all BELIEVE in ourselves and the abilities we have. Thanks for the insight.
Well said! I’ll be honest, I’m a hack at photography. Thoroughly enjoy it, but never trained… read a few books here and there and then study other photographer’s works to glean any hint of their trade to fold into my own; composition, angles, etc. I’m a banker with an engineering and management degree that would rather be a pro photographer… so a huge KUDOS to the real photographers out there (including you!) that make the hacks like myself still look like hacks!
ps. I have a Nikon, but I know I’m not a real photographer
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