Gear doesn't matter...except when it does

The gear you have is not what makes you a great artist, photographer, filmmaker, etc. – skill, creativity and motivation will always triumph over having the latest and greatest gear.

However, that doesn’t completely erase the impact of good gear.

While well-intentioned and motivational, the phrase “gear doesn’t matter” is a gross oversimplifying of what it takes to be a professional creative. The truth is there are many situations in which gear does matter and can have a noticeable impact on the quality of your work.

Understanding the role gear plays in what is possible to create and establishing a good relationship with how gear affects what you make is one of the most essential lessons for creatives.

At the onset of your creative journey, owning the newest, shiniest camera with all the bells and whistles will hardly make starting out any easier.

What use is stunning 8k resolution video or tack sharp 45-megapixel photographs to someone that hasn’t yet learned how to expose the frame properly?

Professional gear is professional for a reason; it’s not always strictly better but often contains many features that are needlessly complex or superfluous for beginners but necessary for professionals.

I compare photography gear to art supplies – there’s a reason we all used the same cheap Crayola watercolor palette at 5-years-old. Professional brushes and high-quality paint won't magically help a child produce a masterpiece. It would be a waste of money to only result in the same squabbled mess of colors.

The same is true regarding cameras; the features and benefits of a $4000+ Camera are entirely wasted on someone without the skills and knowledge to utilize those features properly.

If you played it right and did start small, it begs the question – when is the right time to upgrade?

The answer is not when the newest model is released but rather when the gear you have impedes your ability to create. When you start dumbing down ideas, not for lack of budget, talent, locations, or time but when the gear you own makes it nearly impossible.

If you’re continuously unable to bring ideas to life or unsatisfied with the end product all from the limitations of your equipment, that is when it’s time to start thinking of an upgrade.

Once that point is reached, however, it’s still not the time to reach for the wallet. Keep pushing what you have as far as it will go, be conscious of its limitations and discover ways to create around it. Waiting to upgrade might temporarily force a few ideas on hold, but in the end, it’ll be for the best, compelling you to make within your means.

A good concept made within the means of what you can realistically achieve will always have a better end result than a great idea without the means of proper execution

Teaching yourself how to do things the hard way will set you up with the mindset of creative workarounds. Don’t let yourself grow accustomed to the “buy your way out” line of thinking.

After the gear is pushed to the limit, be smart about upgrading. So much photography/film gear is situational and tailored to certain types of work. No camera brand is objectively better than others. It’s vital to understand what you want to create and how that new gear can achieve this vision than barreling forward and dropping thousands of dollars on the first well-reviewed device.

Arguably the most important element of upgrading gear is how it can save you time and energy.

For example, I quickly saw my photography improve by upgrading from the entry-level DSLR to a full-frame mirrorless. Did the camera do anything to improve my skill? No. What it did, however, was streamline most of the shooting process.

With incredible autofocus, I no longer had to wait for the camera to slowly focus on the subject, allowing for more shots in a shorter period. With the live view, I knew precisely what the image would look like before hitting the shutter, meaning less time checking exposure and fiddling with settings. Cutting out these little time sinks meant more time on set focused on the lighting, framing, background, and posing, which in the end resulted in better photos.

Were the resolution and colors noticeably that much better? To an extent, but the real improvement and use of the upgraded features was removing as many barriers to my creativity as possible.

I didn’t miraculously gain more knowledge the moment I touched this expensive hunk of metal and glass – the same skills were still present; there was just less holding me back.

For nearly every photo and film accessory that exists, there is a cheaper or “life hack work around” out there.

A stack of books can keep your camera steady, but a tripod is a lot quicker and easier. Pantyhose or a smear of vaseline over the lens can produce the same results as a diffusion filter, the filter is a lot more consistent with less mess. A desk lamp and bedsheet can still create a beautiful soft light source but a professional light and softbox creates a stronger, even light that is far simpler to control.

There is nothing wrong with cheap workarounds. Knowing how to make do with very little can be an incredible asset on every set; even the biggest hollywood sets will use the most rudimentary slapped-together setups to get the shot. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it; if the budget option works perfectly fine, don’t feel the need to change it, especially if you’re creating as a hobby. When the hobby turns into a livelihood, that’s when it’s time to consider ways to make the job easier and more efficient.

So much of why professionals use expensive gear isn’t that it's the very best and there are no alternatives to produce similar results but rather it’s what will get the job done the quickest and easiest, leaving little barrier to do anything other than be creative.

The less time spent wrangling the equipment to work for you, the more time available to perfect what is in shot. At the end of the day, all that matters is what’s in the shot.

If you get the same frame with a light held together with bongo ties and band-aids, more power to you, but If every moment on set is ensuring your gear isn’t falling apart, it will be very hard to fulfill your creative vision.

The lesson isn’t that gear doesn’t matter; there are a million different methods to getting the same looking shot, but to know when gear makes a difference. Remember that gear, like a paintbrush, will always be a tool and is only as powerful as the one wielding it.