When someone tells a photographer that “their camera must be really good,” chances are the photographer will respond with an eye roll. The debate surrounding gear verses skill in the photography world is a tired albeit consistent discussion. Let’s not kid ourselves, gear does in fact matter. However, does a photographer need top of the line equipment to produce mind-blowing images? Take a look at this collection and decide for yourself.

Last week while I was in Puerto Rico, I met a couple who was familiar with my work. They asked if I would take pictures of their adorable ten year old daughter. I would have loved to take her pictures but to my luck, I decided to leave my gear at home in hopes of taking a real vacation from photography. They mentioned that they had a Canon t4i and an 18-55mm lens that I could use. At first, I dismissed the idea because I’ve been spoiled with my Nikon D800 & prime glass. But truth be told, the idea of the challenge was very appealing to me and let’s be real, I was having separation anxiety from photography. I agreed to take a few photos. Here's a few:

While shooting, I found that using lower-end gear can prove to be difficult to work with. Mainly, I had a hard time with the fact that I was using an 18-55 lens and the lowest F-stop was a 5.6 at 55mm. Additionally, there weren’t enough focus points for me to use. That being said, it did not stop me from using everything else I’ve learned outside of the gear department. After the shoot, I realized that skill is a crucial part of photography. I incorporated everything I knew about expressions, posing, composition and even post-processing to produce quality images.

The primary goal of this article is to give encouragement to go out and shoot without worrying about what gear is in the bag. As is with all art, photography is subjective. It’s important to remember that there is a huge range of gear between what is considered beginner and advanced. There is no way to draw the line between what is considered beginner and professional gear.

^ Tri Joko  Canon 550D - 18-55mm & Nikon D90 - 70-300mm ^

Светлана Беляева Nikon D3100 & 50mm 1.8

Anna Theodora Canon T1i 18-55mm

Benjamin Williamson T2i 18-55mm

Danilo Faria T1i 10-20mm Sigma

Hien Luong D5000 50mm 1.8

James Wheeler D5000

Lars Korb D3200 18-55mm

Laura Mar D3000 18-55mm

Nicodemo Quaglia D3200 18-55mm

Pauly Pholwises T2i 85mm 1.8

Roberto Inetti T3i 18-55mm

Tim Palman D3200 35mm 1.8

Vit Vitali vindu D5000 18-55

Aaron Karnovski D90 50mm 1.8

Diogo Glovatski Canon T4i 10-20mm Sigma

Marianna Roussou Nikon D3100 18-55

^Harald Ferber Canon T4i 55-250^

Mandar Deshpande  Canon T4i 18-55mm

Ivan Mankevich D3100 50mm

George Dikhamindjia Nikon D3200 85 1.8

Robert Edmonds Nikon D90 35mm

Noam Galai Nikon D70 28-80

I'm sure there are many more amazing images out there taken with entrey-level gear, feel free to share a link to them below!

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