Talent v. Equipment?

I've met plenty of gearheads who obsess over the latest and greatest gear but their pictures still look straight out of a point and shoot. Definitely talent trumps gear until you get into a situation where your gear does not allow you to accomplish what you'd like to do creatively.

mackmittonz wrote in post #8729756
I've met plenty of gearheads who obsess over the latest and greatest gear but their pictures still look straight out of a point and shoot. Definitely talent trumps gear until you get into a situation where your gear does not allow you to accomplish what you'd like to do creatively.

How? so aren't in this case a gear playing a rule, ofcourse talent is so important, but what if that talent going beyond than that gear limit.
Can a top professional sports shooter using Hasselblad film or Mamyia or even large format to shoot sports? if not then why? isn't him a talented pro? Can he shoot with a point and shoot that shoot at 2fps with maximum 140mm focal length for soccer and cricket and so? if not then how come he is a pro? Can Ansel Adams shoot his amazing landscapes with 1Dmk3 + 800mm? i will give him H3DII-50 + 120 macro to shoot in Yosemite NP for landscape [no macro and no pano], can he? Now Talent is really the key, but can the talent help if you have a wrong gear and at wrong place?

D.A. wrote in post #7583091
Talent is probably one of the most important things in photography. Having a great vision and creativity is more what you need then much better glass or better camera.
Some things you can't do with kit lens and 300D but generally someone who is talented can make great pictures with more or less average equipment.

Exactly right.

But they issue nowadays, is people actually expect the results from a 70-200 f4L IS with the kit lens...

The vast majority of these were shot with a shoebox or a beer can.

http://www.flickr.com …2&w=all&q=pin+h​ole&m=text

Just saying

Kendoway wrote in post #8731513
The vast majority of these were shot with a shoebox or a beer can.

http://www.flickr.com …2&w=all&q=pin+h​ole&m=text

Just saying

Thats true but how many do you think he missed?

It works for artistic stuff. Try shooting an event with a pinhole camera...

sebmour wrote in post #8733124
Thats true but how many do you think he missed?

It works for artistic stuff. Try shooting an event with a pinhole camera...

The secret is know what tool is appropriate for which job. I have a friend that had a big show in New York a few years back with images she took with a Holga and it was the perfect tool for the subject matter and feel of the images.

sebmour wrote in post #8733124
Thats true but how many do you think he missed?

It works for artistic stuff. Try shooting an event with a pinhole camera...

I don't think Kendoway was suggesting that a pinhole camera is all you need to cover every style or genre of photography. Perhaps a pinhole won't do for an event, but nor does that mean someone needs a US$8,000 rig to cover the event either.

sjones wrote in post #8733181
I don't think Kendoway was suggesting that a pinhole camera is all you need to cover every style or genre of photography. Perhaps a pinhole won't do for an event, but nor does that mean someone needs a US$8,000 rig to cover the event either.

A DSLR isn't the perfect tool for every job either.

That is the point mackmittonz was making. A top professonal sports shooter using a large camera can do some good work. Heck I shot football and basketball with a Mamiya medium format press camera in my early days--photographers before me shot those sports with 4x5 press cameras.

At fourth down and goal, six points behind and five seconds left to play, I would be smart enough to position myself for a dramatic touchdown, and be ready to snap at the instant the running back leaped over the defense into the endzone--I'd get that picture with my Mamiya, sure enough because I could anticipate it and I'm darned good with that Mamiya "bedpan with a lens." But I would not get the game-losing fumble in the next moment because it's going to take me at least 3 seconds to wind the film and re-cock the shutter.

We got good photographs--but not of everything we would have wanted. We got good photographs within the limitations of the equipment. That's why mackmittonz said,

The photographer Chas Jarvis who is quite good and has more high end equipment than God (check out his UTube videos) has just published a book calle The Best Camera Is The One You Have and it is all photos shot with his iPhone and according to the Nikon Shooter Joe McNally, it is quite good. Chas also has a blog where he posts all kinds of iPhone photos. Bottom line is I've seen a lot of his commercial work and the guy is very good. ITunes announced yesterdY also that you can now download an app for your iPhone called Best Camera and it was put together by chas, it's pretty cool.

You can become good with any camera as long as you are able to work within it'ts limits and take advantage of it's assets. When you shoot for clients, you need the tools you're clients need you to have for the job they are offering and that generally means really good professional gear but not always.

Honestly, you should have talent to make your gear shining.