You Have It All

“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.” – Vernon Howard

There is something every photographer feels. It’s called equipment envy. I would call it just camera envy, but if you have anything invested in photography then you can be jealous of more than just the camera. We look at the photos posted on Instagram, or the post where everyone is showing off their new gear makes you want to buy more. If you are like me, then you realize that you cannot justify spending a month’s pay on something that really is just a hobby more than anything. While I might want a new camera, I know that I really do not need to buy a new camera, to have one would be nice, however it is not for me right now.

Here is how I handle equipment envy.

1) I remember that it doesn’t matter if you have the best equipment in the world, it will not make you a better photographer unless you grow your skills. I see this when people post photos, they took with their cell phones. Today’s cell phones have a very powerful camera on them. Even the lower end phones have a decent camera. If you ignore things like lighting 🔆, framing 🖼, and timing ⏲, then it doesn’t matter if you have a $5 camera or a $5,000 camera, your photos will not work.

2) Use what you have. I know I just mentioned cell phones, but you cannot ignore the abilities of a mobile phone camera. Taking photos with my mobile phone is how I became interested in photography in the first place. I wanted to take better pictures, so I went and invested in one. 📱

3) If you decide to buy a camera, make sure you stay within your budget, and be willing to shop around. Both of the cameras I purchased in the last few years were used. One I bought from a pawn shop and the other off eBay. I shopped around for a while before I settled on my purchase.

I hope these tips help you on your photography journey. How do you deal with equipment envy? Let me know in the comments.

About the photos: I took these shots when we finished looking at Linville Falls. We were on the way back, but I loved how these stairs looked. I added a black and white filter to bring out the details. I took these photos last spring break when my family and I visited Linville Falls in the North Carolina mountains. We had been there before, but it was several years ago since the last time we went. It is a beautiful set of waterfalls. There are upper and lower falls. I took these shots at the upper falls. What’s so amazing is that the falls are so loud it’s hard to hear people talking around you. The last time I visited Linville Falls, I had just purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D3200 and I took photos in jpeg. I took some pretty pictures of the falls, but I had learned so much about photography since the last time I had visited there. From angles to lighting, I knew more now than I knew then. I also now have a Nikon D7500 which is an upgrade from before. I can tell by the quality alone these are better than I took before.