“Most photographers don’t need better gear, they need better taste,” but investing in camera kit can still be a good thing

Ever so often, it’s good to be reminded that photography isn’t all about who has the best gear. You need look no further than Daidō Moriyama and his basic compact cameras to know that it’s the photographer and not the camera that makes the real difference. So when I came across a post entitled “Most photographers don’t need better gear, they need better taste,” in the r/photography Reddit, my instinct was to agree.

Granted, this isn’t a particularly profound take, it’s something that’s been said time and again over the years, but while it most definitely is sound advice – looking at some of the comments – I do think we have a tendency to look upon gear acquisition in a negative light.

In my experience, photography means different things to different people. Some engage with the technology more than anything else. They love testing out new camera gear more than actual photography. We need people like that. My mind immediately goes to Leo Fender, the man who arguably perfected the electric guitar. He never actually played the instrument, but the music industry will forever be indebted to his love of design and technology.

Some people go the other way; they can barely tell you what camera they have. To them, it’s an entirely utilitarian device through which they express their creativity. And then, of course, you have everyone in between. Those who sit in the middle, those who are simply camera collectors, those on a quest for the very greatest image quality possible, and so on.

But said Reddit post doesn’t exactly contradict any of that. As the OP says: “People jump from body to body chasing sharpness, low light, autofocus… but the photos don’t actually get better; they just get cleaner.” And I can agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. If you’re buying gear in the hope that you’ll magically become a better photographer, you’re destined for disappointment.

This certainly applies to beginners. Photography is such a huge subject, you can easily overwhelm yourself with complicated cameras, a huge variety of lenses and various editing software. I’m definitely of the mindset that a camera and a kit lens or a standard prime is all you need to start off with and anything else is an overcomplication.

However, once you’ve gotten to grips with your camera and you start to specialize, camera kit can become very important. This is especially true for anyone who wants to specialize in a particular genre. Low-light photographers need fast glass, wildlife and sports photographers need long lenses, landscape photographers need a good tripod and some filters, and so on. The move from a DSLR camera to a mirrorless camera may also be a good move for some photographers, since the EVF makes it much easier to keep tabs on your exposure settings.

But back to the Reddit post. I do agree with the sentiment that if you don’t focus on photography techniques, a new camera or lens isn’t going to inherently make you a better photographer. But then again, gear acquisition isn’t inherently bad, either.

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I certainly won’t judge if you just love buying gear. For all the camera collectors out there, check out the best mirrorless cameras and the best instant cameras. If you’d like to brush up on your camera techniques, here’s my guide to the exposure triangle.