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I can't tell you how many times I've had that thought, followed by obsessively searching for a new camera, then rationalizing its $3,000+ "body-only" price in my mind. But after (10) years of owning my Canon 7d (the little sister of Canon's 5d), I came to a couple simple, money-saving realizations that I'm not ashamed to share.
Realization #1: In my previous post, I briefly mentioned being shamelessly coin-operated. That attitude is just representative of my family. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs (running strong, up to my first cousins on both sides). So it's in my blood to want to make money off of anything, but it takes away from the fun of things. After reflecting on my past experiences, I realized that I don't even enjoy family or group photography. This is so evident when you compare shots like Sage (above) to event photography I have done in the past (right). They say, "lead with your passion." Well, some of us are defective and need 32 years to figure out where our passions lie. My current camera is perfectly suitable for what (obviously) fills my soul.
Realization #2: Other than coming to the conclusion that I don't want to sell my soul for money, I realized that it's not about having "inferior" equipment that hinders me from taking"quality" photographs, it's about not knowing how to use my equipment properly. This I learned from attending a free (and gimmicky) online seminar called Show Your Camera Who's Boss. While the seminar is building you up to buy an expensive photography class package, the main takeaway from it was to learn how to use your camera manually (or partially automatic, to start with). The presenter made a good point, saying that your camera in automatic mode is simply guessing at what you want your pictures to look like. While I've never shot fully-automatic, I'll be the first to admit that the knowledge and control I have of my camera is tip-of-the-iceberg level. And that's okay because admittance is the first step to recovery, henny.
How many times do we convince ourselves that we "need" xyz to successfully accomplish a goal? I think it's human nature and in our culture to want to skip to the end first. What helped me think objectively about all of the above was what I experienced in my career by two whoopsies: 1) going for what's logical vs. what "fills" me; and 2) convincing myself that I am worth more, rather than grinding down and (unpleasantly) doing the work to get where I want to be. Just food for thought, y'all.
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