This topic has been done to death. However, I have a slightly different take on things. I say yes and no. While many professionals might say that having better equipment will not make you a better photographer, those same professionals have the most advanced gear money can buy in their bags. So like politicians are they talking out both sides of their mouths?
I laugh at the camera phone enthusiasts that produce some very nice photos with their phones to make this point. However, when the real shoot comes the photographer is breaking out their 39+ mpx Hassie and their mobile self-cooling, on-location battery system.
The truth is, they are right but they are also wrong. They are not explaining the why. A totally green photographer may not distinguish the difference in equipment quality at first. Yet, as they grow and become more proficient the greatest challenge he or she will face is determining whether or not they have hit a ceiling with the equipment they currently have. Now wait a minute… “Better equipment won’t make you a better photographer” right? In style, in understanding light and composition, in understanding the limitations of your gear, in leading a team, in directing, scheduling and managing it will certainly not. However, all things being equal, quality equipment meaning better cameras, lighting and accessories will produce consistent quality.
At some point you will begin struggling and wondering if you’re good enough because you’re struggling to produce the same shot you captured last week. You have the same lighting, camera, and environment. What might it be? It can’t be the equipment because you read somewhere that equipment doesn’t matter. This is where you may have erred. EQUIPMENT DOES MATTER. Why? Because your F6.5 might be F8 and then F4 immediately after. It may not be you. It may be the inconsistencies in the lower quality camera or the flash units.
A better camera means among other things broader dynamic range, consistency, less noise using high ISO settings, more information in your captures for resizing and editing and producing images of crispness and sharpness as compared to lower models. Better lighting equipment means scalability, accessory access, and consistent output flash after flash after flash. It also means accessibility to modifiers and even technical support. Now asking a camera to take an image requiring ISO 6400 with a shutter speed of 1/200 in low light with no noise might be a stretch. Knowing why it didn’t produce the image you wanted is the key. But struggling to make it work with a piece of equipment that gives inconsistent results might not be telling you the whole story.
When are you good enough to discern when it’s you or the equipment is the greatest challenge. It has little to do with the equipment. But it also has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE EQUIPMENT. So the next time you see a tutorial or an article of a photographer raving about the high-end pics coming out of their iPhone, ask them what is in their other bag. Of course this photographer understands lighting and he or she wouldn’t set themselves up to produce a shot in an environment the iPhone wasn’t capable of capturing.
I know I’ve made the point on both sides but it is important to understand the seemingly blatant hypocrisy of some photographers. Now to play devil’s advocate, what do you expect a photographer that makes a living shooting to say, that it’s the equipment? Get equipment just like mine and you will be as good as I am? Not likely. A better answer might be get quality equipment to set yourself up for success if you can afford it, learn about lighting, style, photography and composition and you’re more likely to be as good or better than I am but different.
The truth is, the real talent does lie with the photographer. It’s not a lie, it’s simply not the entire truth.
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