Does better equipment make you a better photographer?

I think it depends on the person. I have friends that once they got a newer camera with more automated features have become better photographers. This is because other than having to select the preset settings, the camera does the thinking for them and in that sense it makes them a better photographer. Whereas the person that has an eye for taking pictures and the knowledge of what an f stop, film or shutter speed does can take a fantastic picture with anything from an old Kodak Brownie to any of the newest and feature enriched cameras of today.

Maybe, but I think even with a cheap disposable camera someone who has a great eye can take a great photograph. It all depends on what your shooting and there are so many ways to alter film.

I do think so to a certain degree. I switched from a 6 megapixel to 14 megapixel and already see my work looking much better. Not just in quality but also angle. I think the screen quality on the camera itself helps that situation. I could also see the other argument though

if you’re using a better equipment, it’ll help you feel the passion of the scene. a photographer has the tendency to possibly enhance his/her desires and the intensity on what he/she’s doing so obviously for me it will matter. such a great help in creating a great output.

Better equipment doesn’t really make you a better photographer but it makes your photos look better. Although it really feels good to have better equipment when doing photography. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

A photographer is just like any other artist so better equipment won’t make much of a difference. From what I now, the photographer has to be able to orchestrate the image his taking the picture of. So in an example of a model, the photographer has to tell the model to move in certain ways to capture the best image

[FONT=“Georgia”]woo hoo!.. Now that is a great question! :tup:

I’d say it’s a combination of the two, but it starts with the photographer first, especially for studio work and still-lives.

I’m talking about lights more than cameras, by the way.

As your skill improves, you’ll likely find that the equiptment you’ve been using just can’t give you the effect you’re seeing in your head. Yeah, you’ll be able to fake it to a point, like say using a window and mirrors, but then you’d be limited by what’s available and what time of day it is. Not to mention the labour it would take to force-fit what you have into what you need, and all the time in Photoshop to hide, enhance, colour-balance, etc.

When you reach that point, I think it’s time to graduate to the next level of equiptment you can afford. And so it goes.

In that way, I’ll say yes, better equiptment can make you better. But only if you’re at the skill-level where you can exploit the better equiptment. If you’re not ready for it, then it’s just a waste of cash.

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[FONT=“Georgia”]When it comes to shooting people though, I’d say better communication-skills and experience matters more.

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Though you are expert photographer if you use a bad instrument the photos will still bad. To get a better result of photos it is necessary to have a better equipment. Yes, of course, just using a better equipment does not make a better photographer. To be a good photographer it depend on the person.

Depends on what you want to shoot.
Some things don’t need to be expensive to gain great results. Just simple equipment does the trick are alright.

Anyone who wants to read something interesting about this should check out Ken Rockwell’s website. I think he states a great case for why we fall for all sorts of advertising hype without realising it. As uneducated human’s many of us are at the mercy of year’s of large companies advertising dollars telling us that more megapixels automatically = better. When learning photography I bought a fully manual film camera and it forced me to learn and not rely on a computer chip to do all the thinking for me.

well, yes a better instrument would really develop the skills of its user. So as a professional, we must first evaluate our needs before buying a certain tool we need. Try considering quality over the price…

I voted Maybe.

Better equipment helps, but creativity is up to the photographer.

Some camera has better color output and produce less noise.

No matter what in life, it is always 80% man, and 20% equipment. A bad photographer can have a 1D MkIII, and still have terrible quality photos compared to a good photographer with a Rebel series camera.

Your mind is the best equipment you have. You may want to pick up a tripod some time soon for the lower light images. OTher then that you should just keep making images.

Some time down the road when you happen to have a lot of cash on hand you may want to buy a good book or two to help understand the cameras out there

In general I wouldn’t say it is the camera, the person needs to know how to take good pictures and that can be applied to a variety of cameras. That said it may affect what you can do , a camera that just provides small pictures won’t be good for large prints or you might need equipment like having a long lens if you want to take pictures of wildlife. Perhaps a good combination is knowing the principles of taking good pictures and knowing how to effectively the camera you use.

Good equipment opens up opportunities. While it won’t make you a good photographer, it certainly goes a long way.

Every time I get myself a new lens, my pictures improve. I first got a telephoto lens, and I could take incredible pictures of animals far off. Then I got a wide-angle lens, and I could take incredible pictures of buildings and the sky. Then I got a macro lens and could take incredible pictures of things so small, you otherwise wouldn’t see them.

In retrospect, none of these simply would have been possible if I didn’t have the right equipment.