How To Master The Art of Photography. Hint: Not With Your Camera

...and the figure took me by surprise.

Little did I know, everything in my bag and including the bag added up to about ten grand.

“That’s crazy!” - I thought to myself.

But after I’ve calmed down a bit, the truth was really not that unbelievable. Camera gears are expensive, even second hand ones.

Then it got me thinking…

Have I made any significant improvement in the craft and art of photography? Have all these gear that I acquired over the years made be a better photographer?

For a while, I was struggling to explain the difference between craft and art. Then I found this article which sums up the difference between the two very well. Essentially, craft is the "how to - the act of creating" and art is the "vision behind creating".

I have a Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 sitting on my shelf. I bought it several years ago because I had read reviews that it was a great lens.

I got it on eBay as a second hand lens. I can’t remember how much I paid but I thought it was a reasonable price.

Apart from doing a few test shots after unboxing it, it’s been sitting on the same shelf collecting dust ever since. I thought of selling it but never had the will to take photos, list it and all that.

That was just one of many examples.

Back in the time before this lens, I had even more lenses that have come and gone. Thinking retrospectively, I was merely chasing shiny objects and collecting gears. I also have a bunch of M42 lenses stored in another camera bag which I don’t know if I’ll ever use them.

Sure, these would certainly look impressive on the shelf or become a topic of conversation for my visitors. But none of these shiny objects have ever made me becoming a better photographer.

When I show my images to my “non-photography” friends, the first question they often ask is “wow, what camera did you use?”.

Every. Single. Time.

I thought that was both an irrelevant and pointless question. But still, I told them what they wanted to hear.

As I gain more confidence and experience in the art of photography, I became more consistent. It is then that I learned I don’t need fancy gear to create images.

I’ve been shooting with Canon 5DMkII, mounted with either a 16-35mm f/2.8 or 70-200 f/4 for the last 5 years (I think? Maybe be more). I know these three pieces of gear in and out and they have also shaped my photography style.

It doesn’t matter what camera and lenses you have. Stick to it, learn it, let it be your best friends. Don’t succumb to the temptation of getting the latest whatever that is on the market. These are merely shiny objects.

At the end of the day, you’re the one who operates the camera, not the other way round.

This feels more like ranting than an article and you might be wondering:

What's my point here?

I’ve wasted money, time and resources chasing shiny objects. The habit is addictive, particularly with how easy it is to buy things from the internet these days. With just a few clicks and you’ll get it the next day on your doorstep!

Spending money is not going to help you improve the craft, it certain won’t make you any better in the art either. There’s a line between having better gears to create better images and having better gears to make you feel like you’re creating better images.

To me, there are two kinds of photographer. One that likes to snap everyday life pictures with expensive gear and one that likes to create images.

If you’re the latter, then you have to cut time off buying stuff and spend more time in learning the craft.

Consider the time you have in photography is 100%, if you want to learn the art, you need to give “learning” more than 50% of your time. You can’t give both equally because you’ll just become Jack of all trades and masters of none.

Personally, I’m sticking to what I have for now until I find my gear limiting what I need to achieve.

What have you decided?

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