Asking the wrong questions

I have a photography blog with a medium sized traffic of roughly 8,000 unique visitors per month.  As you can expect, I receive quite a few questions from random people all the time.  The sad part is, they always ask the wrong questions - questions about equipment.  What camera should I buy?  Nikon or Canon?  Prime lenses or zoom lenses?  and so on. What's wrong with questions about equipment?  Well, there is really nothing technically wrong with an equipment question.  I even ask questions about equipment from time to time, but people need to understand two related issues.  For one, the choice of equipment is a highly subjective matter, similar to choosing a spaghetti sauce (more to be explained).  As for the second issue, equipment does not enhance one's skills as a photographer.  Practice does.




(Picture of death valley, taken with Nikon D40x and 18-55mm kit lens.  Both the lens and the camera are cheap and outdated, but the picture is not)


Camera and the Spaghetti Sauce

According to Howard Moskowitz, a psychophysicist who revolutionized America's food industry, there is no such thing as the perfect spaghetti sauce; there are only perfect spaghetti sauces. When Campbell's soup came to Moskowitz in an effort to revitalize their struggling Prego spaghetti sauce during the 80's, Howard told Campbell's that there was no such thing as the perfect spaghetti sauce.  He went on to gather mountains of data from all over the United States and came to a conclusion that Americans like their spaghetti sauce in one of three varieties: plain, spicy, or extra chunky.  Out of the three, extra chunky was the most significant for no one sold it during that period.  Following Moskowitz's advice, Campbell's began to manufacture extra chunky spaghetti sauce, which resulted in a net profit of $600 million throughout the next decade.  Indeed, there was no such thing as "the perfect sauce," but only "perfect sauces."

Camera equipment, just like spaghetti sauce, is highly subjective.  I understand how people are drowning in the sea of over-information, but that does not change the nature of the question; large part of choosing a camera equipment involves an opinion.

Let's look at a very typical question I receive:  the prime vs. the zoom lens question.  Prime lens, also known as the fixed focal lens, deliver higher quality picture but lacks the ability to zoom.  Zoom lens, though slightly lacking in quality most of the time, tends to be more convenient due to its ability to zoom.  Which one is better?  Lens that delivers quality?  or lens that delivers convenience?  The answer is, it depends.  Even professionals are split on the matter.  There is no perfect lens; only perfect lenses.  My opinion has nothing to do with other people's taste in camera equipment.




(understanding lighting, not equipment, will help people enhance their photography skills)


Practice, Practice, Practice

Cameras do not take pictures.  People do.  Instruments do not play music.  People do.  Whether Joshua Bell uses a multi-million dollar Stardivarious or some cheap $300 violin, it will have no effect on his skills.  Michael Jordan did not become the greatest player of all time because he had nice equipment.  He became the greatest through practicing countless hours.  In order to enhance photographic abilities, people should practice, not buy another lens.  Let's face it.  Practice is boring.  Practice involves endless repetition of a task one cannot perform well.  Practice, however, improves.




(batch of pictures from my earlier days.  People often say I have talent, but they do not realize I practiced by taking 200~500 pictures of the exact same subject everyday, to improve my composition and understanding of lighting.)

Christopher Andersen of Magnum Photos only shoots with an outdated point and shoot camera yet his still takes some of the best pictures in the world. Clearly, his camera does not give him the edge against other photographers.  His skills do.  How people always ask about equipment but not technique bedazzles me. 



The right questions

So what is the "right" question then?  Obviously, there is no such thing as a single right question.  But, I believe people should start with questions that may help improve their ability.  A question about composition would be a great place to start.  How about questions about lighting or the subject?  Those would be great too.