Why Great Photography Isn’t About Gear

You’ve seen them on the red carpet at fashion events, openings, and the sidelines at sporting events, photographers hauling gear. If you are a hobbyist or seriously entering the field of photography, there are forums, review sites, blogs, and social media groups and discussions about gear. Camera companies and photographic accessory companies are always introducing the latest and greatest for sharper images, faster autofocus, cleaner low-light performance, auto frame, and more. It leads to the question, is great photography about the gear?

History and experience can answer the question, “Why great photography isn’t about the gear?” The early portrait photographers in the 1800s put all they had into buying a bulky box camera. How did photographers in town with identical equipment gain a reputation as being a good or great photographer, and the other a last resort hire?

Great Photography is about Instinct, Timing, and Risk

When there were only a handful of photographers all using the same equipment, what distinguished them? Great photography is about instinct, timing, and risk. Some photographers have an intuitive knack for framing, understanding light, and taking the risk of shooting what they believe will produce a great photo.

Early in his career, while still attending college and gigging for the AP as a stringer, Michael Grecco had a 35mm camera and was shooting in black and white. Grecco was documenting the exploding Punk music club scene of the 1970s and 80s. In the darkness of the birth of Punk, with unpredictable performers and more unpredictable crowds, technical perfection was impossible. What separated Grecco among Punk photographers was his instinct, prediction, understanding of shadow and light, and being ready.

In the early Punk performances taking place in small clubs, instinct in photography was key to capturing a great photo. Crowded, dark, and confining, spontaneous interactions between the performers and audiences were unpredictable. Capturing the moment when a stage light flares, or a musician jumps, requires innate anticipation, not expensive gear.

The “Great Photograph” is there for everyone to capture. The great photographer is ready to capture it in that fraction of a second that it exists. Great photography is about instinct, timing and risk. Carrying pounds of gear does not guarantee a great or even good photograph.

Reliable Tools and Knowledge

The tools of the trade are important. In today’s digital age of photography, there is no way around specialized equipment for certain types of photography. Specialized equipment requires knowledge to use it. It must always be remembered that the best equipment does not replaceinstinct or support vision. The photographer must bring the fundamental knowledge about framing, lighting, focus, speed, and be intuitively creative.

Grecco has shared his knowledge of fundamental photography basics in his book, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography. This book is for all photographers, from entry-level to career. It is filled with case studies of how his photographswere captured.

Next time you are watching the photographers on the sidelines of a sporting event, remember that the ones who are weighed down with equipment may not capture the shot of the day. Great Photography isn’t about gear, it is awareness, curiosity, preparedness, instinct, and vision.