The Equipment Does Not Make The Artist!

So, I am sitting here getting some work done on a Sunday afternoon while the rest of my household is asleep. I go to check my email and (surprise) there is (another) forward from my Dad. This time, instead of a forward that makes me cry because of some sad, sweet story, or one about all the miracles Jesus performs in every day life (which he does, by the way), it was a forward about crayola. I'd like to share it here:

CHECK THIS OUT! Mr. Crayola and his masterpieces; all done with crayola!

Pretty amazing stuff, huh?

Of course, the first thing I did was relate it to photography. When I first began my business just over a year ago, I was getting great shots with my rebel t1i. Still, I felt like I was a fraud-- ANYONE can get a rebel, take a photo and call themselves a photographer (and they DO!). The difference might have been that I could shoot in manual mode, tell you the importance of 18% grey, know how to get sunflare (and how to avoid it), get dead-on focus nearly every time, etc., etc. Still, I still felt like less of a photographer because of my "consumer level camera."

Several months after the start of my business, I upgraded to the Cadillac of DSLRs. Yeah, I could see a difference in my photos because of some of the features of my newer camera (ability to handle noise at a high ISO being the most notable), but what REALLY made the difference in my photos was the confidence that that camera gave me. I no longer felt like I was "playing" photographer. I WAS a photographer! And it felt GOOD! I really believed that that camera set me apart (and maybe a part of me still does).

But, really, that's ridiculous. What is really most notable is how I spend all my free time buried in educational materials about photography, how every time I leave the house to do a session, I set new goals for myself and challenge myself in new ways artistically. I am most proud of learning how to do it right the FIRST time, IN THE CAMERA (and not having to always fix something in Photoshop). The camera didn't do any of those things; I did. Me, the photographer. The equipment really is only as good as the photographer.

After all, my son owns a box of Crayola crayons, does that mean he's a professional artist?