Aug 06 2009
The camera is the photographer?
Recently, a close friend of mine asked me to email her a list of “good and cheap” DSLR (digital single-reflex) cameras as she needed to draft quotations for a purchase order.
I sent her my recommendations but I couldn’t help asking her why her company, an SME (small-medium enterprise), needed to buy a DSLR.
“My boss thinks that if we have a good DSLR, we don’t have to hire a photographer,” she said.
“So, the camera has become the photographer, like the medium is the message (quoting Marshall McLuhan from Media Studies 101)?” I asked incredulously. She nodded and laughed.
But this is no laughing matter for people who earn a living from taking pictures.
The notion of “the bigger the camera, the better the pictures” has been around for the longest time. I always hear people around me lamenting that the “mickey mouse” camera (aka digital compact camera) they have means they cannot take good pictures.
On online forums, every time a nice photograph is posted, the first response typically is “Which camera did you use?”. I have also seen professional photographers telling prospective clients that they will get better pictures from them because of their “bigger cameras”. I’ve even heard of a guy who wouldn’t hire a wedding photographer who has a “lousier” DSLR than his own Canon 5D MKII.
Technology has been changing the landscape of photography since its humble beginning from Daguerreotype plates to 35mm film. Photographic equipment has become more compact and easier to handle through the years.
However, the digital image sensor is different. It has become very easy for anyone to take a photograph, as Alfred Chow succinctly expressed in response to my previous blog post that “technology is so good that the average Joe can take as good pictures as the professional”.
Even World Press Photo winner Julian Wainwright admitted that his award-winning pictures would not have been possible if not for technological advances.
These days, camera manufacturers include all sorts of fancy functions like face and smile detection in their cameras to entice consumers to part with their cash. This probably creates the perception that all everyone needs to do is press the shutter release and the camera will do the rest.
Yes, today’s digital camera is able to quickly and automatically lock on to a focus, accurately adjust the shutter speed and aperture, and give you spot-on auto white balance.
But what about intuition, situational awareness, picture composition, sense of where light is falling or fading, and the ability to add extra lights in different scenarios? These are the things that even the most advanced camera cannot comprehend, at least until camera cyborgs with human-like artificial intelligence becomes reality.
Give a high-end DSLR to a novice, and while he might give you a properly exposed picture (as long as he knows how to set the camera to auto), he would never be able to give you what a Magnum photographer (like Alex Majoli) can.
To me, it is better to have a good photographer with a lousy camera than a lousy photographer with a good camera.
4 responses so far
I so totally agree with you!!! I have a humble Canon 450D, people often questioned my ability to take good photos. There are people even suggesting me to get a better lens!
I’ve seen my friends using point-and-shoot digital camera taken hell lots of nice photos!
Second that. But to Ashley, no camera is humble – each is a marvel of engineering and art – and it is up to the photographer to use it to good effect.
Having said that, each camera has its unique features. A good photog is not one with the latest toy in town, but one who knows what he/she wants to shoot, and get the right kit to do just that, be it compact or SLR.
And as Trevor said, composition is critical. Any event photog will also testify that timing is everything, and a good one will know where exactly to be at the right time.
Thank you HL
That’s a dose of encouragement that I need. 
Thanks.
Ahhh….yes and no. It’s nice to consider that the best consistent results come from professionals. This I agree with. But…I gave a digital P/S camera to each of my 5 kids (teenagers). They take some truly remarkable pictures. Yes, they do take THOUSANDS but reliably, they always come up with some great photos that only need a bit of cropping to be worthy of framing. IMHO.
And they continue to get better. Get the better camera and learn a new craft; I say.
But, this really doesn’t argue against your point.
Cheers