Which one piece of kit...

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Lawsyd

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When I was a (very average) club cricketer I always felt that I was just the latest cricket bat, or newest innovation in cricket boots, etc, away from being a world beater.

So which one piece of kit (however expensive, or obscure) is stopping you from being a professional photographer - or if already professional, from being world famous?

PS - It's just a bit of fun, so let your imagination run wild!!
 
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Time. I know it's not kit but I have a full time job and 2 young kids and I just don't get the opportunities to get out and photograph that I would like.
 
gad-westy said:
Time. I know it's not kit but I have a full time job and 2 young kids and I just don't get the opportunities to get out and photograph that I would like.
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I was about to quote exactly the same! Am often too rushed to spend time just being out with my camera
 
Me.
 
Good Health or a time machine to go back in time to my youth..and I am only 47yrs old..
 
Some interesting interpretations of the word 'kit', so far. But hey, it's just a bit of pre Christmas fun, so why not?:banana:
 
Lawsyd said:
Some interesting interpretations of the word 'kit', so far. But hey, it's just a bit of pre Christmas fun, so why not?:banana:
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At the risk of turning it ‘serious’ that’s because photographers understand that it’s rarely a ‘piece of kit’ that limits them. ;)

When you’re a beginner, you get frustrated by your kits limitations, but those frustrations are only a bit justified, by the time you’ve been at it a while, you realise the problem is you, and that better kit* only offers marginal improvements.

*there are exceptions like wildlife where the kit required to do it well is beyond the imagination of non-photographers.

:banana::banana:
 
Phil V said:
At the risk of turning it ‘serious’ that’s because photographers understand that it’s rarely a ‘piece of kit’ that limits them. ;)

When you’re a beginner, you get frustrated by your kits limitations, but those frustrations are only a bit justified, by the time you’ve been at it a while, you realise the problem is you, and that better kit* only offers marginal improvements.

*there are exceptions like wildlife where the kit required to do it well is beyond the imagination of non-photographers.

:banana::banana:
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I think that's what I was trying to say in my opening post. When I was playing club cricket you could have given me the most expensive equipment available, got me paying on any of the great cricket grounds around the world, & I would still have been a poor (but keen) cricketer. The dreaming never stopped, though, and now I'm just transferring that dream world from the cricket field to the photo opportunity.
 
Kell said:
I'm a member of a few cycling forums too and I think the same thing applies there. People buy a £3,500 bike and are disappointed that they're not going much quicker.
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It probably depends what they're upgrading from, but changing from a lower mid-range bike to something designed to reduce drage should make a very noticeable difference. Even at MTB speeds, swapping to a Mavic wheelset with oval spokes and tubeless tyres from conventional I found to be worth at least 1 higher gear and a hike in speed. But I know what you mean - saving 50g on a carbon seatpost won't make as much difference on a hillclimb as losing 5lb from a lardy backside.
 
You're
Phil V said:
At the risk of turning it ‘serious’ that’s because photographers understand that it’s rarely a ‘piece of kit’ that limits them. ;)

When you’re a beginner, you get frustrated by your kits limitations, but those frustrations are only a bit justified, by the time you’ve been at it a while, you realise the problem is you, and that better kit* only offers marginal improvements.

*there are exceptions like wildlife where the kit required to do it well is beyond the imagination of non-photographers.

:banana::banana:
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You're right, and then you obsess about corner shaprness and realise you just "need" all the sigma ART primes and then end up snapping them up in the classifieds rather than make do with the Nikkor gold ring zooms everyone bangs on about. Law of diminishing returns, yes, but one can obsess about the small little details. I don't have kit that limits me, but I like the best I can afford and get my hands on.

I'd like to improve my fitness, carrying a bag of primes and 2 bodies up Alpine trails isn't one for someone who eats Glasgow salads day in day out.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It probably depends what they're upgrading from, but changing from a lower mid-range bike to something designed to reduce drage should make a very noticeable difference. Even at MTB speeds, swapping to a Mavic wheelset with oval spokes and tubeless tyres from conventional I found to be worth at least 1 higher gear and a hike in speed. But I know what you mean - saving 50g on a carbon seatpost won't make as much difference on a hillclimb as losing 5lb from a lardy backside.
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Completely off-topic, but yes. Drag accounts for 90% of your effort... lowering drag means going faster. Buying a lighter bike will help on climbs, but nowhere else. Some people find this out the hard way.

View: https://youtu.be/QAgL1VMhJ2k?t=4m59s
 
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Money would be the biggest help I think.

I have seen RAW files of Jarad Polin ( well known pro photographer ) and they look quite ordinary.

Then he pays to send them off to professional photoshop wizkids and hey presto, they look the dogs b~~~~ks.

He then pays for the best printing services and the prints look amazing.

But the RAW files look no better than what we can do ( or at least the better photographers on this forum )
 
GTG said:
Money would be the biggest help I think.

I have seen RAW files of Jarad Polin ( well known pro photographer ) and they look quite ordinary.

Then he pays to send them off to professional photoshop wizkids and hey presto, they look the dogs b~~~~ks.

He then pays for the best printing services and the prints look amazing.

But the RAW files look no better than what we can do ( or at least the better photographers on this forum )
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To be fair he processes a lot himself, or used to - not listened lately since he killed rawtalk-ish
 
GTG said:
Money would be the biggest help I think.

I have seen RAW files of Jarad Polin ( well known pro photographer ) and they look quite ordinary.

Then he pays to send them off to professional photoshop wizkids and hey presto, they look the dogs b~~~~ks.

He then pays for the best printing services and the prints look amazing.

But the RAW files look no better than what we can do ( or at least the better photographers on this forum )
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Using Jared Polin is a bad example, as he's not a particularly good photographer. Average at best. His b&w band photos are very good, but I went through his Flickr once and most of the shots were quite poor. His interior and real estate stuff, which he used to do tutorials on, were laughably bad. But he's there to educate beginners. I don't think pros will get anything from his work.
 
Kell said:
I'm a member of a few cycling forums too and I think the same thing applies there. People buy a £3,500 bike and are disappointed that they're not going much quicker.
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In my occasion dabbling with triathlon I have seen someone around with a £5k sub 5kg (at least)carbon fibre bike....and 4 full water bottles for sprint (20km courses)....
 
As I'm retired, I have no desire to be a professional anything. But if I did, I'd want to go into a field of photography that appealed to me, and where I think that my temprament wouldn't work against me. On that basis, I'd go into landscape photography. My present photographic equipment is fully up to this, so what I'd want would be a suitable motor caravan for touring, plus the money required for insurance, servicing etc. etc.
 
StephenM said:
As I'm retired, I have no desire to be a professional anything. But if I did, I'd want to go into a field of photography that appealed to me, and where I think that my temprament wouldn't work against me. On that basis, I'd go into landscape photography. My present photographic equipment is fully up to this, so what I'd want would be a suitable motor caravan for touring, plus the money required for insurance, servicing etc. etc.
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Honestly you don't need a camper van. Just a desire to do it. All nighters, nights in the car and drives/walks/hikes through the night are part and parcel but it's fun. Servicing, learn to clean your sensor yourself - lenses - don't drop them and they are fine. Insurance, 3rd party liability is needed if you do workshops (which you will) and patience is a good quality if you are to teach people in the field.
 
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Oliver Pohlmann said:
Using Jared Polin is a bad example, as he's not a particularly good photographer. Average at best. His b&w band photos are very good, but I went through his Flickr once and most of the shots were quite poor. His interior and real estate stuff, which he used to do tutorials on, were laughably bad. But he's there to educate beginners. I don't think pros will get anything from his work.
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Photography is second to his teaching business skills, how to make money through blogging etc
 
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