So to recap:
THP Tip #1: Portrait Photography and the topic was Bokeh.
THP Tip #2: Portrait Photography and the topic was on making your model/subject/client comfortable.
THP Tip #3: Portrait Photography and the topic was on communication.
THP Tip #4: Portrait Photography and the topic was on being professional.
THP Tip #5: Getting Known (Web)
Hey,
I just thought I would share some advice on gear since there are many thoughts, opinions, and questions out there on this topic and I hope I answer some of them. I decided to break this topic up a little and therefore make each tip shorter, and easier to understand.
First off I guess I should say that having "the best" gear isn't always the key for getting the best shots. There are some specialty lenses that help you best capture the scene/subject etc, but won't guarantee good photos. You can't give a beginner or amateur a pro body and pro lens and expect their photos to exponentially increase in any area other than maybe resolution due to more MP, maybe. However, I think there is one disclaimer here. If you are a good photographer, and know what you are doing, gear upgrades can help sometimes. I will give an example from my personal experience before people start disagreeing with me haha. My first lens was a 18-105mm Nikkor lens. I could zoom to 105mm and try to do "macro" work however it would never be true macro. Here is an example shot with my 18-105mm:
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| 18-105mm - Pasque Flower |
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| Tamron 90mm - Pasque Flower |
As I am sure you can see, one has definitely a little more punch to it. So I think that yes, my 18-105mm kit lens can do the job and take a nice shot of a flower however, a macro lens can just do it better. If you don't know how to take good shots of flowers and were given a macro lens, that might not actually help. So this is a semi-rare case where gear can take a better shot if you already know what you are doing. Now what I mean by better here is what I was judging the photo on. I am sure with the 18-105mm, you can take an even cooler shot of a flower however a macro lens just takes a better photo of a flower for what I personally wanted in my photos. For instance it got a tighter shot, had better colour rendition, better detail, and better bokeh. So if you want your photos to have other qualities other than those, then I am sure my "better" won't match yours.
Anywho, there are rare cases where have a better lens/gear actually helps. So don't think if you upgrade you will therefore get better shots all the time. This also includes people just buying the best gear thinking that will make them a good photographer. The camera/gear doesn't make the photographer, however it does help, but it the gear are only tools and you have to know how to use them. Sometimes better tools help, but you can still do some photos with the "best" lens or another lens.
So to sum this tip up, I think that no, gear does not instantly make you a better photographer. However if you have used a lens/gear to it fullest ability and you still don't capture shots the way you want, like my macro example, then upgrading might work. This doesn't mean, "ahh dang, I took a shot and it didn't look good... I need a better lens." When I got new lenses, one example is the Tokina 11-16mm because 18mm was not wide enough for my landscapes that I wanted. 18mm was just a snapshot of what I saw. Therefore it was a limitation so I got a specialty lens almost for landscapes. The landscapes with my 18-105mm were not that much different in quality to my tokina however my tokina just captured the perspective I wanted. Picture quality didn't drastically change enough that when I got the Tokina I just took better shots. So to be a cost effective photographer, really think hard about what you buy and why. This way you won't sell as many lenses down the road, and save money in the long run too. We all know how expensive this hobby/passion/job/etc is, so if you can save money by not buying a bad lenses and having to upgrade them within a year, it is a good idea. I would love to have bunch of lenses but I know I don't need them.
So be careful when you are deciding if you are going to get more gear/upgrade. Think about why you actually need it. Of course you want it, but why do you need it. I knew a photographer, if I can call him that, who wanted to buy a 17-55mm and a 15-85mm along with a Canon 7D. Hopefully you see that the 17-55mm, though better glass with the constant f/2.8, is completely overlapping with the 15-85mm. You really don't want that overlap nor did this person "need" both those lenses. Yes, I am being judgemental but it was also outrageously silly. So my tip is to use your gear until it no longer can do what you want with your photography, then try to decide the best next step.
Hope that helps.
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