Does Gear Matter When We Have Photoshop?

We have been big supported on the vision over gear approach for a long time now (1, 2), but photographer Robert Cornelius is taking this approach to the next level, basically claiming that regardless of gear used, your Photoshop skills is will  have far greater impact on the final piece that any of the gear used.

While Robert explains that he has access to all the gear in the world, he does not really care what he uses to take a picture. It is merely his raw material for a photoshop edit.

I’ve spent many years seated behind a monitor pushing pixels around and I’m convinced that there is nothing I cannot achieve if given adequate time to work it out. So, does gear really matter when you have Photoshop? No, I don’t believe it does.

Being an employee of this company [Simone Associates Inc.] allows me some pretty substantial perks. I can take advantage of privileges like free reign to use absolutely any piece of gear that my eagerly creative heart desires. I get to utilize cameras, lights, lenses and all kinds of fun photography toys that I couldn’t dream of affording myself for years, if ever.

Here is Robert’s main point though, If you have a good eye, and an artistic vision, you are far better than having a ton of expensive gear.

If you possess an artful eye, the passion to create, and my partner in crime (…Photoshop), you could shoot a picture in your garage with a point and shoot that could turn out to sell for thousands. If you use your art to tell a story and share a piece of yourself with the world, there is no reason that you have to break the bank gathering gear.

In the end, you are an artist and the tools you use to create your art are totally up to you. Heck, you don’t even have to use Photoshop. There are other editing software out there that will allow you to bend and twist images to your liking. (But come on, none of them have anything on my main squeeze Photoshop.) Really this is just my public love letter to the program that has landed me my dream job, taught me not to care about who has what piece of equipment, and helped me to form a portfolio of images that would not and could not exist no matter how many cameras I bought. My point is that IT IS NOT the gear that makes the artist. It’s the art you create…..and Photoshop.

Robert throws in a quick edit to support his point:

You can real the fuller argument over at his article on InMyBag and see portfolio (which supports his point entirely) here.