I saw on Reddit someone asked why the majority of discussion topics around photography are gear-related. Many people ask this, and I used to contemplate this question, too. I was frustrated at the lack of photography content that wasn't gear-related and thus it was more difficult to improve my own skills. Today, let's talk about gear talk culture. I'm probably going to get flamed for this.
First of all, one simply cannot do photography if they don't understand the gear involved. Everyone must start out with understanding gear and how it relates to the end result. Consequently, gear talk becomes prevalent because it is something to discuss when one first starts out. This is further magnified by the democratization of knowledge and that everyone can share their opinion online, regardless of the value. The truth is, the excessive gear talk is just a reflection of the overall skill of the photography community and how most people are beginners.
Second of all, gear talk is easy because it's both highly quantitative and highly structured. There are concrete specs and topics around gear and anyone can participate in the conversation. Unlike art, it's not subjective nor open-ended - for gear, there's a clearer right or wrong, better or worse. It's easy to talk about. Everyone can have an "opinion", even though it often really seems like facts being treated as "opinions".
For YouTubers and photography celebrities, gear talk is guaranteed income. So long as camera companies keep releasing new stuff, they will continue to get sponsorships, and they can consistently produce content. Besides, there's a naturally much larger audience when the topic relates to gear for the other reasons mentioned. It’s all understandable, but just frustrating if the goal is to learn more about art and skills.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that this isn't necessarily a bad thing - it makes photography accessible. More importantly, it keeps the camera companies alive, giving us optionality and competitive pricing. But gear talk does gets repetitive and boring really fast. That being said, there's nothing wrong with being passionate about gear and gear collecting. I think in photography there’s a hobby of collection and a hobby of creating.
Creating isn't easy. Photography, like many other mediums, is just a vessel for the expression of an idea. It often takes years for a photographer to develop a great idea, and then it takes just as long to execute it. I find a lot of excellent photographers have brilliant ideas, and these ideas transcend the medium itself. To focus on the art of photography is to focus more on ideas rather than technical skills and tech specs. Time and time again, it's been proven that a great artist will produce great art with any tool. Like any art form, photography is about the artist and the idea, not the gear. In general, I find these people are harder to find because they're busy and they're working.
I think the reality is that many people get so obsessed with gear that they cannot progress to the next level of producing quality photos that convey great ideas. And it's understandable. Ideas are extremely hard to come by and thus rarely show up in public discussions. It takes a lot of patience and years to become an artist. Great things don't come easy, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!
There's a saying birds of a feather flock together. I think to meet photographers who have a focus on art, one needs to become the change they want to see. When engaging with other photographers, try to steer the conversation away from gear. There are plenty of other interesting topics to talk about, such as projects people are working on and their inspirations.
If the goal is to have more conversations around art, more time should be spent understanding and creating art instead of looking at and understanding gear. Instagram is a terrible place for this since the platform encourages fast scrolling. There's tremendous value in staring at a photo longer to understand the artist's intent and why it works. After understanding good art, it'll be easier to incorporate new techniques into your own work and also be able to spot mistakes in your own work. I firmly believe that producing art and talking about art requires a good understanding of the history of art.
Similar advice and observations can be found in almost all hobbies and fields. It's always easier to talk than to do. Just like gearhead photographers, there are fitness guru who knows every exercise in the textbook but aren't serious about the act of working out. Like anything difficult and rewarding in life, photography requires deeper motivation and some association with your core values. Just wanting to "take good pictures" is not enough - everyone wants to take good pictures, just like how everyone wants to be successful and how everyone wants to be fit. Dreams and wants are not tangible and don't translate into motivation. Ultimately, to be motivated to progress beyond gear talk, you must figure out why you like photography.