No one credits the stove or the pot for cooking good food. A good set of brushes or colours is never appreciated for a good painting. Have you ever heard, “Your writing touches my heart. What pen do you use?” So many of us photographers have listened to – you click amazing pictures. What camera do you use?

Is the person asking me a question, trying to compliment me, or he/she is genuinely curious about the gear I am using? They might be interested in learning photography and looking for purchasing advice.

My two cents on the topic. A good camera or lens can make you the owner of good photographic gear, but that cannot be a guarantee of a good photograph. Good tools make the job easier but cannot replace skills. What you see through the viewfinder is most important. Find a camera that’s comfortable for you financially, and the one that you think you can manage. You should know how it works. It doesn’t matter even if it is a smartphone camera. The best camera is you, your perspective.

Technology does not convey emotions. It is the person that matters. Photographers with the same gear in the same situation would capture the same scene differently. In a low-income neighbourhood, one photographer might click an innocent child lovingly cuddling his/her mother, and the other might highlight the poverty. What the photographer saw and felt makes a difference.

If you are a good photographer, you can take amazing pictures with whatever camera you have. Even the camera of your mobile phone. You might not be able to make a big print if the camera sensor is small, but the light, composition, and subject will be as good as captured from any other camera.

Sensor size and pixel counts, f-stops and bokeh—the blizzard of technicalities can confuse you. Imagine clicking pictures in a crowded area where a fast-paced action is happening. If you keep fiddling with the camera, changing lenses and settings, lots of action will be lost. Many famous photojournalists use only one lens for the same reason.

 Good gear is a huge advantage, no one can deny that. You cannot take birds in flight without a telephoto lens. You will need a Macro lens to click a sharp close-up of an ant. It is as important as a great Chef needing a good oven to bake beautiful cakes, and good knives and plates for stunning presentations. But, delicious food was cooked before modern baking/cooking equipment was invented. Great photographers existed much before modern cameras came into being. Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier Bresson and Arnold Newman produced amazing photographs before modern cameras were invented.

There will be new discoveries, and camera gears will keep improving with time. And there will be great photographers and stunning photographs. As the great poet Sahir Ludhiyanvi said –

kal aur ayenge nagmon ki khilti kaliyan chunane wale, mujhse behtar kehne wale, tum se behtar sunane wale(In the future, there will be writers who will pen beautiful songs, better than me, and connoisseurs of good poetry better than you).”

Photos and content by Prerna Jain.