Poll on what makes a good photog. Luck, Money or Skill

I'm interested to know what some of you think about the following :

1.Lets, face it some of us can produce great images just by luck (being in the right place at the right time)

2.some of us can produce great images because we can afford to buy some outrageously priced gear, (all those 1D & high priced L owners out there)...

3.And then some photogs can produce great images because they understand the mechanics of photography and can apply the first two points to the best that the situation allows..

which category do you fall in ? 1; 2 or 3

Actually I think it's a mixture of all three..

Luck is basically when oppurtunity and preperation meet. I'm fairly new to the sceen here and have been in luck....everyday i walk the streets I see things that can be interesting to photograph. so luck happens when your prepared, but that goes with anything not just photography.

in terms of your question you need all three

I think all 3 play a role in the final outcome of pictures, but ultimately it's the skill of the photographer that produces great photos.

I've seen magic done with P&S 3 mega pixel cameras, and I've seen mediocre pictures from 1Ds.

I will address each as follows:
1) If you believe in luck, then fine, sometimes it is luck. I think some of us keep our eyes peeled and the camera with me continually for taking advantage, else, there is not point to seeing it (if you wanted to photograph it).
2) Camera gear has very little to do with great photographs (quality may be a different question). Even cardboard cameras in the right circumstances are useful tools.
3) It is important that if you are going to buy the gear, understand how to use it to the best of your ability and capacity, however, cameras are like our mouths, they are tools, not the origination of anything.

It clearly takes all three without a doubt. Oh you mean me, which do I fall into. well, I'll let you know once I get a great pic.

I think I'm number three. I sometimes think I have very little natural talent at this and persevere through sheer stupid stubborness alone

I was always told the harder you work/train/practice at something the luckier you get!!!

Sure anyone can pick up a camera and push the button and by chance capture something great. But thats probably going to happen one out of (insert insane number here). Practicing, knowing your equipment, researching your art, training your eye etc. will only increase the amount of times you capture something great. Some people are born with a great eye and feeling for that special moment, while others simply have to work harder at it.

I fall into all and none!

Actually, it's kinda impossible to answer this question. I guess I need to ask myself WHY I take pics. Money? Joy? Both?

Definitey not money...I have a 9-5.

It definitely appeals to my Gadget freak side, that's for sure. I like tinkering around with this stuff, especially with the gear that I purchased. I also like seeing that my gear can take razor sharp pics. That satisfies a side of me as well. I know that I have the capability equipment-wise to take some kick-arse pictures!

Inevitably "better" gear costs money, but it DOES make it "possible" to take great pics. Not saying I WILL...but possible...because the rest is up to me.

...and that appeals to a certain side of me as well...

So I'd like to think that I fall into all categories at the same time none...because in the end if I look at a pic that I shot and if it satisfies me then that's all that matters to me!

One can take a 'good' photograph with luck or knowledge of equipment.

To make a "great" photograph, it requires skill.

Mostly skill with a little luck. Money helps but isn't truly required.

Luck is being able to hit upon the opportunity and being presented with the subject in good light. Skill is being able to capture that moment. Luck without skill = bad pics. Skill without luck = no great pics. Skill is still the more important of the 2 though. As for money, it takes you places and gets you gear, so it helps a bit with both.

Since my skills are still work in development, I have to say I need to rely on luck a bit more than some.

It only takes TWO of them. And neither are money.

Luck: Being at the right place at the right time.
Skill: Seeing the image in your head before it becomes a photo.

What's a good camera? Or good gear. What is a good camera to you, is crap to someone else so it really doesn't matter. A user of a G7 might look at a powershot user like a 30D user might look at a G7 like a 1Ds MKII user looks at a 30D user like a Hasselblad user looks at a 1Ds MKII user. In the end, they are all holding essentially a box that collects light and does the very same thing as all those users cameras, takes pictures.

I I took this with a Powershot A85. http://christophermart​in.smugmug.com …2154535/1/11175​1948/Small Obviously it really wasnt money that play appart and it hasn't for me since spending $7000 this year alone on gear. Luck and Skill have though and I feel I get better with each passing year.

Photography is not about the gear you have at all. It is about the time you have.

The more skilled you are, the more likely you are to have good luck.
The more background you have in the subject, the more likely you are to have good luck.

Technical skill is vital, but then it of course requires some creative eye as well.

When my dad passed his Canon AE-1 and lenses/gear on to me (one of the best days of my life )...this is a direct quote from him, (it may be a quote he heard before....but this is what he wrote me...)

It's as much the man's eye as the camera's lens that makes a good picture.

And I would say that pretty much sums it up!

As a bird photographer, I think option 4 is immensely important.
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Oh yeah - you don't have an option 4!



Composition makes or breaks an image more effectively than anything else you care to mention, regardless of luck, equipment or "mechanics".

I don't see composition as part of the mechanics - it's an aesthetic thing, utterly divorced from an understanding of shutter speed and exposure, the ability to hold a camera steady, or the ability to afford the current Gitzo tripod de jour and Wimberly head...

An image that has been composed well will get your attention more effectively than anything else, regardless of the technicalities.