In Photography, Good Light Always Trumps Good Gear

You know all those times when I rant about how photography is not about the gear? Guess what? It’s true. When it comes to shooting, say… just about anything in the entire world, good light always trumps good gear. Still don’t believe me? Here’s another quick example.

Photo above: Shot with the Nikon D700, my top of the line pro body camera choice for years and an 85mm f/1.8 lens. Total cost for the gear used to make this photograph: Around $3,000.

Photo below: Shot a few days earlier with the Fujifilm X10, my fun little compact camera which has a built in zoom lens and only weighs 12 ounces. Total cost of the gear to make this photograph: Around $600, plus a pack of hand warmers.

If I sent both of these photos to a client or photo editor, which one do you think they’d choose? If I told them which camera body each one was shot with, do you think that they’d care? Probably not, unless they needed to make a huge reproduction of the image for professional use. Oh wait, Fuji X10 files are indeed suitable for enlargements that big, as long as you’ve got a sharp image to begin with. In fact, with today’s sensor and image processing technology, just about every camera is capable of producing photos that are suitable for high end repro.

So, whether you’re shooting Alaska snow biking, landscapes, or pictures of your kid, what do you think would matter more when it comes to consistently producing great imagery, having kick ass professional camera gear or getting yourself out there in kick ass light?

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