Your Tools Versus Your Craft

If you spend any time in photography circles, you probably saw a post from the PetaPixel photo blog that went viral this week.

In the post, professional photographers, weary of being asked, “what kind of camera took that amazing picture?” decided to stage a “shootout test” between pros using amateur gear and an amateur using professional gear. The goal was to have everyone shoot portraits of a professional model, in a controlled, light-filled setting, and compare their results.

The differences in the resulting images were dramatic: The shots taken by the pros with $500 kit cameras captured more detail and greater dynamic range in light and shadow, and were more expressive in composition, than the images shot by the amateur using a pro-level camera and lens.

It’s a given that the professional photographers here are skilled at mechanics like taking light readings and setting shutter speeds to capture sharp images. But also, their talent and experience informed decisions they made in the moment—framing and composing for light and shadow detail, playing with depth of focus, working with the model’s comfort level, and telling a story. Ultimately, they demonstrated that high-end gear does not replace skills and experience.

This experiment is a powerful metaphor for the audio world. Whether you work in concert sound, theatre, or a house of worship, your role as audio engineer falls at the intersection of creativity and technology. And your creativity is influenced by technology, especially in this digital age, when production gear is increasingly sold on robust feature sets designed to give you more options to get to your desired end result. This means we’re making new sets of decisions, and working on new detail levels.

Just having a tool doesn’t create an instant problem-solver. The key is knowing what you want, recognizing limitations, and working with the tools that best allow you to focus on your craft.

Production should never be a barrier to great sound. Of course, your equipment makes a difference. But, like in that photo test, it’s not a substitute for skills and experience.

I’m reminded of a famous anecdote about the great guitarist Chet Atkins, when, after turning out a ripping performance, someone gushed to him, “That guitar sounds incredible!” Atkins stopped, set the guitar down, and replied, "How does it sound now?"”

It’s a great reminder that your tools exist to serve you, not the other way around.

If you want to see the photo comparison for yourself, click the video below.

Sarah Jones is a writer, editor, and content producer with more than 20 years' experience in pro audio, including as editor-in-chief of three leading audio magazines: MixEQ, and Electronic Musician. She is a lifelong musician and committed to arts advocacy and learning, including acting as education chair of the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy, where she helps develop event programming that cultivates the careers of Bay Area music makers.