I’m what you might call a non techie..techie!
This also may sound like it makes no sense at all, but its true, and I’ll tell you why!
Photography is very much a gear head industry, it always has been through the history of photography, after all, it started with inventors and scientists creating new ways to record history and it’s been changing ever since. People flocking to the release of of new camera or piece of equipment that is going to be the saviour of all of the problems we had while using the previous “inferior” model.
There are always new problems to face, but the trouble is we often overlook the solutions that fix them longer term. The solutions that will inevitably make our photography so much better without the need for something new. Being a great portrait photographer is more than just the gear!
Now I love my gear and of course always want to be able to give my clients (and when Im shooting my personal projects, myself) the highest quality that I can. That’s why the tools that I value the most are the tools that are inside my mind, tools that I use every day while shooting that are not going to go out of date or break down any time soon. (at least I hope)
My most important tool is being able to build a rapport with another human, interpersonal skills or soft skills that allow me to work with someone who’s in front of my camera and pull out the authentic images that no tech can ever achieve. When I ask my clients how and why they chose to stand in front of my camera and not another photographers, one of the biggest reasons that people tell me is that they felt a connection with the images in my portfolio.. People cant always put a word onto it, I often hear “There’s just something about your pictures but I don’t know what it is”. Of course this is a huge compliment, and a testament to the skills I’ve focussed on. I love giving people the unknown, something that catches them of guard and stop for a moment.
So lets stop buying new gear for the sake of trying to solve a small problem and lets start exercising the tools we have in our heads and create big solutions.. Be able to create a consistent style and wow factor whether we’re shooting a 42 uber pixel camera with or an old school 1978 film camera.. Its easy enough done!
Its more than just the gear! What’s in your tool bag?