Simplicity

A lot of photographers suffer from equipment paralysis. By that I mean they buy too much gear, especially too many lenses and drag too much gear with them out in the field, then they spend all their time thinking about their gear, their settings, etc and none of their time concentrating on their images. What happens then? They end up with crappy photos over and over again, and then keep buying more gear thinking more gear will make they images better.

Next time you go out to shoot, try taking only 1 or at most 2 lenses with you. This should be all you need and you will spend more time concentrating on your images and less time thinking about your gear and your settings.

I challenge myself and the members of my camera club all the time to go out on our monthly shoots and only take one lens to do all their shooting. Move closer or further away as the case may be to get the shot and the framing you need to make that awesome image.

The weekend I went to Ian Henderson's Antique Mall, I shot with nothing but my Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 USM

There is an old analogy I learned when I was a kid called K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid). A lot of professional photographers have learned to keep their gear streamlined and that is how they become so successful. I remember reading on SLRLounge I believe it was about a year ago about one of the most successful wedding photographers in NYC. He shoots ALL of his weddings with a pair of Canon 1Dx bodies and never uses more than a EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM and an EF 135mm F/2 L USM portrait lens and this pro makes 6 to 7 figures a year shooting weddings!

When asked during the interview why he used such a small amount a gear he said, “To be honest in most cases a photographer seldom needs more than a good 70-200mm F/2.8. It’s the number one lens sold for a reason. I also use the 135mm F/2 L USM because it creates amazing portraits with fantastic bokeh, which is something the majority of brides want in their wedding photos.”

Thinking and a simplified approach to gear is why real pros can shoot with anything, even and iPhone and take amazing photos.

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