I have had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing equipment.  Whether a lighting company allowed me to use their gear for free or a different company put a fantastic medium format digital camera in my hand, there is one thing that I have come to realize:  The equipment will not make you a better photographer.

Save yourself a little money and understand that the latest and greatest camera to come out is probably not going to make or break you as a shooter.  It is your talent that makes a huge difference.   Place more emphasis on fine-tuning your talent and less time updating your equipment.

I am not saying that your gear is completely irrelevant.  You do need good equipment, but price is not always the benchmark for quality.

When I first started to shoot models 20 years ago, I had a very inexpensive Nikon 35mm film camera.  I constantly lived in a state of camera envy as I looked at the equipment  other photographers around me were using.  Slowly but surely I upgraded.  A little here.  A little there.  Then came the day.  A photographer brought in his camera bag and opened it in front of me.  Sitting inside the bag was not one but TWO brand new, shiny Nikon F4 camera bodies.  I swear when he opened his camera bag, light shot out of it and angels sang!  I remember the day so clearly.  I knew I would NEVER get equipment like that.  I would never be THAT good.

Several years later, after working day after day and fighting, biting and scratching to make a go at it, it happened.  I picked up a phone, called B&H, and placed the order of a lifetime.  I ordered an F4.  My F4.  I then waited forever for the delivery.  Finally that magical day arrived, and I became the proud owner of an F4.  Angels sang again.

You may think I am about to tell you I was disappointed by the camera.  No, I wasn’t.  I think it is still my favorite camera of all time, although the Canon 5D certainly competes.  What I did realize is that my pictures did not get markedly better.  The camera felt nicer in my hands than my old camera.  I felt more important, but my pictures were not really affected.  Just like before, I still had to know how to see light.  Just like before, I still needed to use the shutter and aperture to capture a moment with impact.

Let’s be honest.  Equipment is not entirely irrelevant.  Your lenses are more important than your camera, but you do need a camera that can capture a good image.  A good 24-70mm lens and a good 70-200mm lens will pretty much get you by.  You don’t need lenses that talk, beep, vibrate, play mp3s, or have a GPS attached.  You don’t need a camera that shoots images so big that your hard drive chokes at the input.

I no longer hear angels when I see the latest and greatest equipment.  I hear cash registers screaming “cha-ching!”  I DO get impressed when someone shows me a great image.  If you feel the resolution of your images is good enough for the work that you do, then don’t be dazzled by the latest and greatest.  You don’t have to have it.  You simply WANT it.

When you are awed by images, and they are better than the ones you take, don’t think the equipment took the shot.   Remember, the photographer did.