Great Photo You Must Have A Nice Camera!

I get that comment every once and a while when people see my prints or photos and I always let it roll off my shoulder. But, that comment begs the question....is it the camera or the person behind the lens?

My answer is that it is a combination of both. A great camera definitely helps but you have to know how to use it.

Think about these situations:

1) When Tiger Woods hits a 350 yard drive....is it Tiger or the driver?

2) When a Surgeon performs a successful operation...is it the Surgeon or the medical tools?

In the two above situations it is the "skilled" person using their expertise with the tools they are supplied to deliver the best possible result. Photography is the same way.

Just because you have a "nice" camera doesn't mean you will have exceptional photos. In photography there are so many variables (lighting, technique, lenses, color, etc) that a photographer has to deal with. The camera is a photographers tool. The important thing to remember is that it is the photographer that tells the camera what to do.

I tell the camera what to do based on the situation that I am in, in order capture the most pleasing, or desired result. The human brain and the camera brain register lighting, distance, color, etc differently. The camera tells me certain things, but I know to capture a scene as I see it through my eyes, I have to "trick" the camera and tell it what to do rather than what it wants to do. Have you ever taken a picture of a full moon that looks very large on the horizon to the human eye and when you look at the image the moon is a small dot? That is because of the way the human brain interprets what we see rather than any scientific physical principle. If I see a huge moon draped behind a city skyline I would have to perform a double exposure with the first exposure zoomed in on the moon then the second exposure zoomed back out to capture the scene. It is more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

Some SLR and DSLR cameras have different features and advantages, but in the end a good photographer is able to max out the cameras potential no matter what camera is in their hand.

To put it into perspective....after you have a good meal do you tell the cook, "that was a great meal Chef what pots and pans did you use?"

So always complement the Chef first!