is light more important at some point?

Is it true that light becomes more important than the subject at some point of your career as a photographer?

I would suspect it comes at the moment that one realizes that a bad photo can have good light but a good photo doesn't have bad light and I'm an expert at getting bad light

without light you can't see...the subject.

net_tech wrote in post #9338053
Is it true that light becomes more important than the subject at some point of your career as a photographer?

Can't take a picture without EM radiation, so I figure at least a quantitative appreciation of light should come pretty darned early: "Why is my picture black?"

A qualitiative appreciation of light often never occurs to photographers--the ones who remain mediocre for their entire careers.

I recall a quote that if you've got good light you can find a good subject/composition, but I don't remember who said it.

I'm not there yet.

I don't know. It hasn't yet. Both are important. You need good light to bring out the best in a subject, but a mediocre subject does not become a masterpiece because of perfect lighting.

I like that quote someone has in their signature, forgive me I've forgotten which member has it now ..

"Beginners worry about gear, professionals worry about skill and masters worry about light"

net_tech wrote in post #9338053
Is it true that light becomes more important than the subject at some point of your career as a photographer?

Yes. Light becomes the most important aspect of a photograph as soon as you pick up the camera.

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote in post #9338256
I like that quote someone has in their signature, forgive me I've forgotten which member has it now ..

"Beginners worry about gear, professionals worry about skill and masters worry about light"

Hey, are you calling most of us "beginners"?

Maybe just unenlightened?

The word "photography" is based on a greek phrase meaning "to write with light".

Light is almost always more important.

i remember first starting off photography always thinking about cool subjects to photograph. and guess what, i would photograph them and the photos would stink. why? light. very simple, light is the single most important aspect of photography IMO. light can make or break a photo. i find that quote to be true. when i first started, it was all about the gear and this and that. i think that only with experience does the knowledge come that equipment is secondary to a persons skill and their ability to "see the image" before ever pressing the shutter. i can now take a better photo with a point and shoot than my friends with their slr's they got and leave in green box.

The knowledge of light quality is what seperates the good from the bad imho.

A great composition becomes a poor image in bad light. A poor composition can become a good image with great light (it wont make it great though).

Look at the masters of photography and you realise that they all have one thing in common, they know how to use the light. Enlightened to use Photosguy's analogy!