"That's a great photo! You must have an awesome camera!"

Does anyone else see the irony in that statement? I mean, I realize it's supposed to be a compliment, but people who just don't know usually miss that mark, so I've gotten used to it.

But let's think about it for just a minute:

On the one hand, it's an acknowledgement that the camera is obviously a tool of the trade. Without it, there is no photograph. Someone who is not into photography will immediately reach for what they know about it, and for most people it is simply that a camera is involved. Chances could be likely that they are not familiar with things like shutter speed, aperture, focal length, ISO, off-camera flash, or perhaps what you would use bounces, skrims, softboxes, or domes for. Some may have never operated a tripod before. For this reason, I usually give people a pass. After all, they're just trying to be friendly.

On the other hand, when you really think about this statement, you start to realize just how short-sighted it really is. It would be very much akin to a surgeon coming out to inform that the surgery of a loved one went great, and me responding by thanking his scalpel. Or like telling a carpenter that the house he built is beautiful and that he must have a really great hammer. Or that a sous chef who makes excellent meals must have a fantastic set of pots and pans. You get the idea. In other words, it almost completely repudiates credit for any skill involved in the craft. As if anyone could go out tomorrow and buy a scalpel, a hammer, a set of pots and pans, or a camera, and take up any one of those professions overnight just because they bought a tool of the trade.

There's a meme that floats around in the photography community periodically which I find contains a big message that should be stated as loudly as possible:

If you look around on Facebook a bit, for example, you will find a plethora of photography business pages for just about any locale from someone who obviously just bought/received their first camera sometime in the previous 12 months. Don't get me wrong, I admire the fervor and eagerness, but one should give themselves time to master what they're trying to do before charging people money for it. Because what you think looks great with your new DSLR or mirrorless camera today is merely a step beyond what you've been doing with images on your iPhone or point & shoot, and you'll look back in 5 years - hell, even just 1 year - and realize that what you thought was your pinnacle at that time only turned out to be what you experienced by simply moving up to the next level.

Feel free to look around at what other, more established photographers are doing and find a roundabout look that you like and want to achieve with your images, then pursue that. Put in the effort to learn proper framing, lighting, posing, shooting angles, what lenses would work best for each situation, when to use artificial vs natural light, how to properly edit the images afterwards, etc, etc etc. Once you get there, you'll find you've done it with your own personal flair that no one else can truly reproduce.

^{©2016 Kent & Carolyn Photography}

And by then you'll realize....there are many levels. There is no "reaching the top", because you're always learning. There's that saying that success is not a destination, but the journey itself. That's very true in this industry, because there is no "set way" to produce a good image. The industry demands are always changing, always progressing, so it would behoove any photographer to follow along and progress with those demands as best they can while retaining that signature look that's exclusive only to you in order to remain successful.

^{©2016 Kent & Carolyn Photography}

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