The Beginner Photography Podcast

Photographers Hate to Admit This… But It’s True

• Raymond Hatfield

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#574 In this episode of the podcast, I got brutally honest about an uncomfortable truth many photographers—myself included—often avoid: believing new gear will instantly make us better photographers. I dove into why so many of us, at some point, fixate on the idea that lack of equipment stands between us and the images we want to create. Drawing from my own experiences—like nearly convincing myself to buy a $7,500 Fujifilm GFX100 medium format camera after I left wedding photography—I shared how easy it is to fall into the "gear will fix it" trap, when what I really needed was to spend more time shooting.

I challenged listeners (and myself) to rekindle excitement by using the equipment we already own. Whether that’s taking a “camera date” or giving ourselves quirky creative assignments, the goal is to reconnect with the fun and freedom of shooting—without the pressure of perfection or the itch for an upgrade.

KEY TOPICS COVERED

  1. The Gear Myth and Creative Ruts - Raymond explains how photographers often blame their uninspiring work on having outdated or entry-level gear. He shares his own experience almost buying an expensive Fujifilm GFX100, only to realize his creative rut was due to not shooting, not his equipment.
  2. What Really Makes a Great Photo? - Instead of megapixels and advanced specs, Raymond outlines the four essential elements of great photography: moment, light, composition, and exposure. He likens the camera to a toaster—it’s the photographer’s decisions that determine the quality of the image.
  3. Practical Steps for Rekindling Creativity - To break out of gear-focused thinking, Raymond suggests simple exercises like going on a “camera date” with the least-used gear or imposing creative constraints. He also stresses the value of learning manual mode and studying light and composition.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

• Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS): The compulsion to buy new cameras or lenses as a solution to creative blocks or skill limitations; often a distraction from the real means of improvement.

DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Think back to your favorite photo you’ve taken—what role did your gear actually play in the outcome?
  2. Have you ever felt creatively stagnant and blamed your equipment? What actions could you take instead?
  3. What are some ways you can challenge yourself to see new possibilities with the gear you already own?

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

raymond-hatfield_3_06-18-2025_125107:

We kid ourselves, we say that it's our lack of gear. That is the reason why we don't invest more of ourselves into creating great images. But I think if we're speaking candidly here, you know that that's not really the case. Hey, welcome to the Beginner Photography podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hadfield. And today, well, I'm gonna share something that every photographer knows, but we absolutely hate to admit something that is sad but true, something that we will never tell our spouses, and we will actually openly lie about it when talking to other photographers. But first, the Beginner Photography Podcast is brought to you by Cloud Spot. If you're a photographer and you haven't signed up for Cloud Spot yet, I honestly dunno what you're waiting for. Cloud Spot has everything. Clouds Spott has the tools designed to help you as a photographer to grow your growing business and just reach your dreams. Like I know that that sounds, cliche, but honestly like from being partnered with them for the past four years and seeing the behind the scenes of how they make decisions, it is 100% based on the photographers and that's you. And don't you want a company like that to stand behind you and help you to achieve your dreams, whatever they are. If it's, start a a large scale photography business or if it just be a weekend warrior, or maybe you just wanna be able to have a fun way to send photos to friends and family clouds, spott is a way to do that, and you can get started for free with their free forever plan. It's not like a two week trial or anything like that is free forever. And then you can just upgrade whenever you and your photography are ready. So sign up for free. Grab your free forever account today over@deliverphotos.com. Now let me ask you a quick question. Have you ever stared at that brand new camera online or, maybe you were on YouTube and a video popped up at this new camera review and you're like, wait a second, what is this camera? You watch it and of course, like it's engaging, it's fun. all the photos that they're showing are just jaw dropping and like, incredible. And you think to yourself, where's this been all my life? if I just had that, then my photos would finally look the way that I want them to. Oh, you have? Yeah. Well, guess what? Me too. I've definitely been there. For me, I would say that it's less about like, dedicated photography cameras. I think I'm gonna be buried with my Fuji X Pro two. I don't know. But, for me again, it's more so like action cameras. So things like GoPro. So the Insta 360, go series, or the DGI, Osmo pocket camera or the X four, the 360 camera, right? Like I am a bit ashamed to admit that I own all of those cameras, and despite that, I still don't put out a ton of video. But there's something about these reviews that when you watch them, or even, you know, listen to them. Maybe you'll listen to a podcast where they're talking about the newest releases or reading a blog post or, whatever it is. But it just feels like an entire world of opportunity opens up with every new camera that gets released. And it's like, it's not until you stop and objectively think, like, wait a second, the new GoPro, I don't know, 14 is out, or whatever it is. It's like, but I felt the exact same way when the GoPro five was announced. It's like, so how is that possible? Because, the world hasn't become insanely better photographers and I sure haven't as well. So what's going on here? So today I just want to help you kind of pump the brakes on that kind of thinking, because as we know that just simply it's just not true. Maybe you're feeling a certain way about your own camera right now. Maybe it's a, quote unquote entry level camera, and you're feeling like, ah, I finally had a full frame camera. It'd be so much better. But think about how excited you were when you first got your camera. It felt like there was a whole new world of opportunities that was available for you to be able to shoot and create. And somewhere along the way we lost that. And it feels like a new camera is what's going to fix that, right? So today we are talking about gear, but again, not exactly in the way that you would expect. I'm not gonna be reviewing a new camera. I'm not gonna be talking about any new cameras. I feel like that just dates podcasts anyway, so what's the point? And I'm not gonna be trying to convince you to spend any money. I'm not gonna convince you to spend two grand on a new camera or you know, where we're at today. Even two grand on a point and shoot film camera. Like the context T two. Yeah. I'm looking at you. I'm looking at you. I know. But I want to talk about something more important, and that is how everything that you actually need to create great images, you probably already have, well, it's probably already in your hands, and that's not, hyperbole or anything. But I mean quite, quite literally. And it's my deepest hope that by listening to this episode of the podcast, you're not gonna want to go buy a new camera or buy a new lens. So if this episode helps save you, two grand or whatever, I will gladly take a finder sphere of 10% or whatever it is. You can just go ahead and send me a check or a money order. I'm not gonna say no. But the point is like, in all honesty, I want to prove to you in this episode that maybe you don't need to buy something new. So, to do that, I wanna start with a quick little story. If you have been a long time listener of the podcast, you'll know that I shot weddings for 10 years here in Indianapolis. And then I left weddings in, well, my last wedding was in October of 2022. And if I'm being candid with you, after leaving weddings, I felt a bit lost. There was this thing in the back of my head that was like, what do you shoot now? What role is photography gonna play in your life? Here I am at the time, I was a professional wedding photographer and I hosted this podcast all about photography. And then you take the photography part away up from it. And now I'm just like this guy who hosts a podcast but isn't a professional photographer. And there was a lot of like, I don't know, imposter syndrome, I guess you could say. So I had to figure out something to shoot, something to keep me busy, because in all honesty, I want photography to play an important role in my life. So I had to figure out what that was gonna look like. So I had this big idea, okay, if I'm not gonna shoot weddings, what do I want to do? I wanna shoot things on my own time, on my own terms. And then not for clients, right? I wanna sell them afterwards. Well. That's like stock photography or you can get into, commercial photo installations, like large scale commercial photo installations. So things that you would see at like hospitals or, malls or, business centers or public parks, things like that. So what did I do? I got to work. I got to work shopping for all the gear that I would need to be this fancy new kind of photographer. And right at the top of the list was a brand new Fuji film, GFX 100 Medium Format camera. Of course, you know why? Well, if I was thinking about the images that I wanted to create, I envision these images being printed not big, but huge, like creating an immersive closeup experience for the viewers, you know, where they could interact with, with the images. You might even say life size. So the resolution just had to be, it had to be, absolutely had to be incredible. I needed that GFX 100 medium format, huge sensor, ridiculous resolution. Right? A hundred megapixels. Are you kidding? And I convinced myself, I'm like, I convinced myself wholeheartedly that I need this$7,500 camera body, because it all starts there, right? That's what's gonna spark the inspiration. That's what's gonna get this thing going. But deep down, I think I knew the truth. No, I did know the truth. It wasn't, you know, I didn't think I knew the truth. I knew the truth, and that's because I experienced the exact same thing, I don't know, eight years earlier when I went from my crop sensor, Canon 40 D camera, shooting weddings to the full frame Canon five D. And it didn't change anything for me. Honestly. My, my images were still, comprised of my style, my preferences, the images would be of the decisive moments that I saw. It's funny though, like when talking to photographers in person, they'll say the same thing. When they upgraded a full frame that it didn't really like change much for them, that if they knew what their style was, it's still the exact same style regardless of crop, full frame, medium format, whatever. It's, but they would say that it didn't change anything for them, except that it made them feel more professional at the time. But image quality wise exactly the same. And there's no way that, I'm gonna tell my spouse that. It's like, wait a second, you had a camera and then you spent how much on a camera and your photos aren't any better. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm, I'm keeping that to myself. But the root of the problem was that I was just simply in a creative rut. Again, after leaving weddings, I just wasn't shooting much. I didn't have the bookings. I was, don't know, withdrawing, if you will, you know, from creative expression at weddings, you got like eight hours, 10 hours to dedicate to shooting. And in that time you can get bored and when you're bored, your brain will start racing and coming up with all these new and different and fun ideas, and then you're gonna capture something incredible, right? When that's just taken away from you, you feel estranged. So anyway, the camera wasn't the issue. The real issue was that I just wasn't getting out and, and shooting as much as I should. And so I am, so incredibly happy that I did not buy the GFX 100, not because it's not a great camera. I'm sure that it is as great as it may be. At the time, I just did not need it, and I would still say that today I do not need it. I guess, the analogy that I could come up with here is that it's like, buying a new pair of running shoes, right? You spin the extra,$50 on the fancier ones that, say that they're faster and that they're lighter and that they're gonna make you run faster. but if you never actually go on that jog, right? I mean, they don't make you go on a jog. The shoes don't make you jog. We have to get out and jog. We think of the gear though, as, as a solution, when it's really just the easiest thing to blame. And I think that that's what I mean. I'm gonna put on my tinfoil hat here. Like that is what camera makers are selling us, is that their camera is a solution to our problems because that's the easiest way to connect the dots of, oh, okay, now I see that I need to buy this thing. For me, the problem that I thought that I had was that I don't have the equipment to be able to create these, large life size, immersive images in the solution was something with incredible amounts of resolution being, this medium format camera, when, if I think about it objectively, I mean, I remember being a kid in the, early nineties in the mall, seeing the types of ins, installations that I'm, imagining here that I'm thinking about doing. And those would've just been shot on, well, probably medium format film, but like, regardless, like the scanning technology, the printing technology was nowhere where it's at today, and they were still able to do it just fine. So it's not that like, wow, today we have finally reached the pinnacle of technological advancement that I can finally start being the photographer that I've always dreamed of being. That's just not the case. You know, we kid ourselves, we say that it's our lack of gear. That is the reason why we don't invest more of ourselves into creating great images. But I think if we're speaking candidly here, you know that that's not really the case. So then if that's not the case, right, if camera gear, new gear, fancy stuff is not the thing that you need to create incredible images. Then that begs the question of what actually does make a great image. So let's play a multiple choice, little question game here. The question is what makes a good photo? Is it a, a hundred megapixels B 14 stops of dynamic range? C, the ability to shoot, 30 frames a second, or d AI powered eye detection. I wonder if I can insert the jeopardy, music here, or if it'd be like a copyright thing and then they'd sue me. So, just imagine it in your head while you're trying to come up with an answer, but. Okay, there's the buzzer. The answer is nope. The answer is none of that. You can take a great photo with far less than a hundred megapixels. 14 stops of dynamic range is like incredible, but you don't need it. Film doesn't have that, uh, 30 frames a second burst rate when taking photos. Like, what are you shooting in the Olympics? And then like, AI powered eye detection. You want that thing to misfire and not take a photo when you're ready for the decisive moment. Like, no thanks, no thanks. None of those things are required to take a great photo, and yet they're all like, at the top of everybody's lists, So if those, again, aren't the things that are required to take a great photo, like what are the things that are required? What are the ingredients of a great image? Okay, let's break it down. It is four things. Okay? It is moment you've heard me say this moment matters most. It is light, it is composition, and it is your exposure. That's it. Moment, light, composition, exposure, those are the only things that you need to take a great photo, and if your photo is lacking for some reason, one of those things, if you improve on that, your photo will get better. I promise you, nobody looks at a photo and says like, wow, you must have shot this at 30 frames per second. I mean, maybe again, if you're shooting sports or whatever, but like that doesn't go into the photo. You know what I mean? Your camera's like a toaster. You put in the ingredients, right? The bread, which is your settings, your timing, your creative eye, and then you set the dial, and then what pops out is the result, like it did the thing, it turned the bread into toast, but you picked out the bread, you decided how long it's gonna be in there. You decided which bay it's gonna be in because you know that one, you know, gets hotter than the other is more consistent than the other or whatever it is. But like you did that, you did that. The camera doesn't make the magic. It's you. If you can control your ISO, your aperture, your shutter speed, then congratulations because you got everything that you need. Maybe you're shaking your head, you're like, oh my gosh, yes, that's right. If I think about all my favorite photos, it's because it had a great moment. The light was amazing. I had a really cool composition where like, I nailed my exposure. When you think about all your favorite photos, that's probably what you're thinking of right here. So then the inquisitive mind may be thinking, well then wait a second. Why aren't we all just shooting like entry-level cameras, that you can get for like, I dunno,$400 at Costco or whatever. It's, yeah, great question. Don't get me wrong. Okay. New cameras. They're nice. They're like really nice. They have incredible auto focus. They have like these big, bright, high resolution screens. The battery life is incredible. The shutter is silent. Oh my gosh. The first wedding, the. I shot, I remember how quiet the ceremony was, and every time I would take a photo, I was so hyper aware of how loud the shutter slap of my Canon 40 D was. And like, it's not even known as like a loud camera, but like, again, cameras are getting better and better. They're getting better and better, all of that. But all of those things, I would just simply consider them as quality of life improvements. They don't go into the image, they don't help your image be more compelling, be more beautiful. They just help you to achieve your result a bit easier. And that's it. It's not a huge solution. It's just like, yeah, a bit of an improvement here. Sweet. And again, there's nothing wrong with that just because I love my Fuji Ex Pro two probably, and I said that I was gonna be buried with, it probably means then I'm gonna have it for a long time, but it doesn't mean that it's gonna be the last camera that I own. I'll probably upgrade at some point when I feel like it, but when I do, it's not gonna be because the camera stopped making incredible images. It's gonna be because I would like some quality of life improvements in a camera. So unless you are feeling really good about how you, or I guess your ability to see light, to compose thoughtfully, to expose correctly, to see the moment, then all of those things are not going to help improve the quality of your photos. It's not gonna do it unless you already know photography. It's like, I don't know how many people are gonna get this reference, but like, it's like driving a Kunta to the grocery store instead of a Corolla. Like is it more fun? Yeah. Is it super powerful? Of course it is. But I mean, you're still just kind of picking up bread and milking eggs. So was it worth it? Like, did you need it? Did you need to take the supercar to the grocery store? No, you didn't. You are still able to do the exact same thing. Bring home the milk, bring home the bread, bring home the eggs in the Corolla at a much, much more reasonable price point. So again, just as a reminder, like the gear. The gear is never gonna inspire you, it's the shooting that is going to inspire you. We feel like we have all these great ideas before we even get started in something. I mean, I've just realized this about myself. All of the incredible ideas that I have for photos, at least what I feel are incredible ideas for photos, are predicated on a piece of gear. And maybe that's because I like things compartmentalized. I have a camera that I would shoot for weddings. I have a camera that I would shoot for personal work. I had a, the GoPro that I used, I would take. If it was ever gonna be wet, somewhere like that would be the type of image. So it's like, I would always put my cameras into these little boxes. So whenever I see this, not a new style of photography, but something that I want to try or get into, almost my first reaction is like, oh like what camera would be best for that? Like, oh, you can only capture it with that type of camera. So another example is like, oh man, I can't believe I'm saying this is like, recently I've been looking into buying an intrepid camera, which if you don't know, is a four by five film camera. Like, think old school, like 18 hundreds. You put the blanket over your head and you compose the image and then you, take a shot. Why? Because, you can do six by 17 wide panoramic photography on there. And that just seems so cool, you know, on film. Like it's this actual thing and it's a relatively cheap camera too, but like, again, my head goes to the gear more so than being able to get the result with whatever gear that I currently have. And I, I told you earlier, you know, I have all those action cameras. The, the GoPros, so many GoPros, the Insta 360 go three s, the X 4 360 camera. The DJI Osmo Pocket three. And you know, the thing is that they're all great. They're all like really, really great. I like them all. They are fantastic cameras. And when the UPS driver shows up to the house with that new package, I get so excited. I will track it like the day before. What time is it gonna get here? I'm gonna like, I get so excited, I rip it open. It's this huge hit of dopamine to just like hold it in your hands for the first time. you know, I'm imagining just all the new types of images that I'm gonna be able to create with this brand new camera. And, in a weird way, it even feels like you are progressing in your photography. Like you're growing into this role. Like you've invested in yourself and now it's finally about to pay off, you know, something like that which that sounds, ridiculous, you know, saying it out loud, but it does feel like that there's this element of excitement, and newness, but when you open it up, you gotta first do the software update of course'cause that's the world that we live in now. And then, you take a few shots and you take it with you on a trip and, it does fine. And then you realize, you're like, oh, wait a second. I'm still capturing the exact same images. I'm not taking any different photos. They're still exactly the same with just a different package. You know, no crazy new shots. Nothing that I saw in those hype videos. No immediate superpowers unlocked with this new camera. It's still the same photos, just a different camera, so the excitement kind of, it wears off. And, again, while it's a totally fine camera, like no complaints, it's like you find that it just sits in your bag probably a little bit more than you thought that it would. And when that happens, well, you're not doing anything for your photography. If your camera sits in your bag, you're not growing as a photographer. If you're not taking any photos, how are you supposed to grow your skills as a photographer? It's not doing anything for you. So here is my recommendation for today, because maybe you're thinking to yourself, oh my gosh, Raymond, I am in the exact same spot right now. I got this, I don't know, lens that I bought. I bought this camera or something, and, I thought that it was gonna change everything for me and it didn't, or vice versa. You're thinking, oh yeah, but there's all these great photos that I want to take, but I need this amazing camera. To be able to do that, I need the faster auto focus. I need, you know, all these things. I gotta go full frame, I gotta be able to do that, to take these photos. So you're just kind of not shooting with the camera that you currently have. Well, here's my recommendation for you. It's a simple one, but it's not necessarily easy. And I want you to go on a date with your camera. Plan a little camera date. Get dressed up. Get your camera dressed up. No, I'm just kidding. But seriously, take your camera somewhere new. Take your camera to a park, take your camera to a coffee shop. Somewhere you've never been. Take it to a local event like, well, it's summertime. Take it to a fair, take it to a college football game, softball game. Take it to the Strawberry Festival. You know, whatever it is. Even if it's just your backyard. Even if it's just your backyard, just go out and shoot for fun, right? Just go out and have some fun. Try to have a good time, If you have a least used piece of gear, use that, try to force yourself to do something just a little bit different. Turn off the screen. Don't look at the screen at all. You know, shoot old school. Don't chimp, just look through the viewfinder, take the photo and it is what it is, Try to give yourself some weird challenge, like only reflections or only one color. I don't know. Come up with something, give yourself a challenge, and I think that you're gonna be surprised at how good it feels to just play with your camera again. It's fun, it's exciting, there's no pressure to take these works of art. Sometimes you feel that pressure when you're out shooting. You're like, I don't have a lot of time. I gotta make this time worth it. I better come home with a piece of fricking art, but here, I want there to be no pressure. There's no pressure to even share these photos. There's no pressure to do anything but simply press the shutter button and that's it. That's all that I want you to do and have the most fun within that. But now, just, just outside of that, right? If you're thinking, okay, great. I have a, like a, I don't know, disposable camera. I can go out and have fun with that. Fantastic. Yes, please do that. If a disposable camera's gonna give you the most amount of fun with photography, please go do that. But if you're thinking, okay. I like this idea. I want to go out on this camera date. You want to increase your skills, right? You want to, at the end of the day, get better at photography. What are the sorts of things that you should be focusing on to build your skills as a photographer? All right. Remember the four things, the four ingredients that I gave you earlier to, what it takes to make a great photo? Well, guess what? It's the exact same thing. Number one, it's the exposure triangle. Learn to shoot in manual mode, controlling your ISO, your shutter speed, your aperture master those, and you're gonna feel so free to shoot in any condition with any camera, honestly, like those settings don't change. Iso, aperture, shutter speed are the same with every camera ever. So therefore you learn how to control in manual, you're gonna be able to shoot with any camera ever, and then I think that's when you'll truly understand like, oh, wait a second. If I'm in control of the image, then the camera doesn't really matter. So, ingredient number two, right? Thing number two to work on is light. Start noticing where light is coming from. What is the quality of light? Is it hard light? Is it soft light? Is it directional light? Is it back light? Light changes everything. And if you need help, I mean, like, look it up. Ingredient number three is composition. This is where I believe that your voice as a photographer really starts to shine and doesn't even matter if you're shooting a manual or not. Like it's just how you compose your image. It's how you use things like leading lines or framing or contrast rule of thirds, all of it just to bring your viewers attention to the subject that you want them to look at, that's all that it is. You can do that with a cell phone. And lastly, it's moment, here's the thing about cameras, and here's the thing about gear. It's that it can't predict moment. Your camera cannot tell when your kid is about to burst into laughter. Your camera doesn't know when the light suddenly hits your subject just right as they're like walking through a doorway, capturing moments is being present. It's being a human. It means watching the world. It means waiting, and sometimes it means shooting through a bunch of nothing to get that one frame that feels alive. Seriously. There's a lot of time spent to get to the one frame. The moment is the heartbeat of a truly great photo. I believe that, it's not resolution, it's not sharpness. I believe that if I captured the best moment possible on a cell phone, it could still be blown up huge, and it would be enjoyed just as much as if it was shot with a hundred megapixels and it's the sharpest photo in the entire world. But none of those things require a new gear, Learning to shoot manual learning to see light learning how to compose your images, learning how to see moment. None of those things require new gear. You can do every single one of those things with the gear that you currently have that is just sitting in your drawer or your desk, or your shelf or your purse at home. That's all that you need. So while it doesn't require new gear. It does require you to shoot with intention and have a little bit of patience. So there you go. This week's challenge for you, right? If you've been listening, you got some homework to do, I want you to grab maybe your least used lens or, maybe a camera or something that you bought that you just like either doesn't work for you like you thought that it was going to, or, just use your camera despite having these reservations thinking that you need newer gear. Okay? Pick it up and just go on a 20 minute, camera date real quick. 20 minutes, go on a walk, go in your backyard, go to that strawberry festival. I'm not even like a huge fan of strawberries, but that sounds like really good right now. Maybe just'cause it's summer. And then you shoot with only that setup. Again, no pressure, no pressure at all. No new gear. No, upgrades. It's just you, your camera, and some time to play. You know, may, maybe it's your kid lens. May maybe you bought a, a nifty 50. go back and use your kit lens. Why not? Whatever it is, just use it. I want you to fall back in love with photography and do so with the gear that you got cause again, at the end of the day, the camera does not create the photographer creates. The paintbrush didn't make the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa with a paintbrush. Your camera's not gonna create an incredible photo. You're gonna create an incredible photo with the camera that you got. So don't wait for the next firmware update or the next big camera release to feel excited about photography again, seriously, you don't need a better camera. You just need to shoot. And on that note, remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Get out there, shoot and talk soon,