“A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what is in front if it.”

Those who are professional photographers or serious enthusiasts have probably heard a comment something like the following:

“If I had your equipment, I could also take superb pictures.”

There is a modicum of truth to this and that is, in order to capture certain photographs, specialized equipment may be needed. Having said that, however, I must support the idea that the photographer and not the equipment is the most important ingredient in the creative/artistic equation.

A trained photographer creates a vision of their subject and it is often based upon that particular photographers accumulated skills and past experiences.

The YouTube video below points to the importance of the photographer, their creative vision and the experience they bring to the situation. I don’t want to “spoil” the video so watch it and I am sure you will be able to connect the dots and draw the appropriate conclusion.

In part, here are some of the comments associated with the video on YouTube:

“A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what’s in front of it.

To prove this we invited six photographers to a portrait session with a twist. ‘Decoy’ is one of six experiments from The Lab, designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens…

Special thanks to the photographers who participated in this experiment: Chris Meredith, Jin Lim, Lyndal Irons, Kate Disher-Quill, Franky Tsang & Tristan Stefan Edouard.”

If you want to read more about this and the philosophical underpinnings, Pamela Ann Berry wrote a photofocus post about. It is an important lesson to keep in mind.