The right tools for the job.
As a pastime I enjoy carpentry. I'm supposedly quite good at it. One thing you learn in carpentry is that each tool has a specific job. For example, a router is great for edging material with rebates or patterns, etc, while a miter saw is great for cutting larger material across grain in a controlled manner. If you asked me to cut the legs of a table I would choose the miter saw. If you asked me to rebate the edge of wood I would choose a router. I would not cut table legs with a router or cut rebates with a miter saw. Similarly, if you were to show a carpenter a piece of furniture and ask him if he could create it, he would not start by asking what tools the original was made with.
What has this to do with photography? Well, often in online forums and other blogs I see people that put the equipment before the image or assume that their list of equipment is the right equipment.
For example, there are often questions in the forums in the form of "I want to take some photographs, what do I need?" Well the trite answer is a camera, but the true answer is that unless you specify what you want to photograph the question is meaningless. A fashion photographer will not choose a 300mm lense or a Holga.
The point I'm trying to make is that as photographers, like carpenters, we should look at the image we want to create and then choose the equipment we want to achieve those results.
Don, over at Hotel Room Nudes, is a master of his genre. He has perfected his use of equipment, film and lense and takes awesome images. However, if I had to shoot in a hotel room I would not ask Don how I should do it. Don does it his way, I would do it my way and choose the equipment I needed to create the look I wanted. My images would not look like his and I would to want them to, I want to create my own style, not duplicate someone else’s.
This does not mean that you don’t need to understand how the tools work, I know how each piece of my carpentry tool set it used as well as my photography tools, but the tool should not define the image. The photographer should define the image and choose the appropriate tools for the job.
So the next time someone asks what equipment they should get, ask them what they want to photograph and how they want it to look, then the answer will have some meaning.
This is one reason why I never list my equipment for a shot. I could list all the equipment in the world, but unless you know how to use it to get that type of shot you want it would be a waste.
The photo for this entry features HolliB, Lance and Bump. It was shot in my studio, with a digital camera and some lights.
What has this to do with photography? Well, often in online forums and other blogs I see people that put the equipment before the image or assume that their list of equipment is the right equipment.
For example, there are often questions in the forums in the form of "I want to take some photographs, what do I need?" Well the trite answer is a camera, but the true answer is that unless you specify what you want to photograph the question is meaningless. A fashion photographer will not choose a 300mm lense or a Holga.
The point I'm trying to make is that as photographers, like carpenters, we should look at the image we want to create and then choose the equipment we want to achieve those results.
Don, over at Hotel Room Nudes, is a master of his genre. He has perfected his use of equipment, film and lense and takes awesome images. However, if I had to shoot in a hotel room I would not ask Don how I should do it. Don does it his way, I would do it my way and choose the equipment I needed to create the look I wanted. My images would not look like his and I would to want them to, I want to create my own style, not duplicate someone else’s.
This does not mean that you don’t need to understand how the tools work, I know how each piece of my carpentry tool set it used as well as my photography tools, but the tool should not define the image. The photographer should define the image and choose the appropriate tools for the job.
So the next time someone asks what equipment they should get, ask them what they want to photograph and how they want it to look, then the answer will have some meaning.
This is one reason why I never list my equipment for a shot. I could list all the equipment in the world, but unless you know how to use it to get that type of shot you want it would be a waste.
The photo for this entry features HolliB, Lance and Bump. It was shot in my studio, with a digital camera and some lights.
posted by Richard at 2:01 PM
1 Comments:
.. if I seemed a bit harsh on MM I appologize. I do like your work and simply tried to make a roundabout point of being true to one's work. I hope you can see my point. I like the blog.
-Marek Mezyk
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