Gear is good, vision is better. Yes.

The best camera to have is the one with you. Yes, again.

What you hold in your heart is more important than what you hold in your hand. Yes, yes, yes.

I don’t disagree in the least with any of these remarks. As a matter of fact, I’ve championed this same premise many times myself. Developing your vision is a better investment than buying equipment, absolutely. Seeing generally trumpsbuying. Talent trumps tools. But let’s not get carried away. Gear is a critical part of this creative equation. Without great gear, you’re not going to be able to consistently realize great vision.

I’m beginning to feel, especially in social media circles, that personal vision is often glorified and exalted at the expense of gear. I do understand this rationale. To some extent, it’s appropriate and applicable. But vision is only half the story. Gearis the other half.

Let’s back up for a minute. There are two kinds of shooting. One for the wall. And one for the wallet. One is personal. One is commercial. The role of personal shooting is to celebrate creativity, originality, ingenuity. The role of professional and commercial shooting, which is less altruistic in scope, is to perform and profit – and hopefully make a client very happy in the process.

For the personal stuff, it really doesn’t matter what gear you use. Go ahead. Exhalt vision. Even at the expense of gear. Have fun since the goal is creative expression and education. Experiment to your heart’s content. Iphones. Holgas. Dianas. Lomos. Pinholes. Cheap point-n-shoots. Doesn’t matter since you’re shooting for yourself. Or perhaps for bragging rights with others. Personal vision can be artistically elevated above the authoring tools.

But shooting commercially is a totally different ball game. You need the best gear that you can afford. You need gear you can depend on. You need gear that will allow you to methodically and analytically repeat your successes. Shot after shot. Day in and day out. You need gear that works in tandem with your vision. And you don’t need just good gear – you need great gear. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Commercially speaking, if you have great vision but lousy gear…you’re in trouble. Especially if you’re being paid to deliver your vision – on time, on target, on budget, and on spec! Conversely, if you have lousy vision but great gear…you’re also in trouble. You need both. Great vision and great gear. It’s that simple. They work together. Not separately. Vision and gear are two animals harnessed together to pull the same carriage.

You don’t necessarily need the most expensive gear. That is no guarantee of getting better shots. Especially when you’re just starting out and just learning to see and develop your vision. But I do recommend buying the best gear you can afford to buy (without going into debt). Great gear, over the course of your career, will do more to help you realize your career achievements than most suspect.

I like to think of myself as a commercial artist. And that my work, to the best of my ability…represents my vision, style, voice, thumbprint. I can also say, without hesitation and apology, that I would have never realized my vision without visionary gear. And great gear, at that. Vision and gear – they go hand in hand together.

I can think of countless occasions during my career when it wasn’t my vision that saved the day – it was my gear. Plain and simple. It’s hard to get repeatable and recurring commercial results without reliable gear. I would not be the shooter I am today without the gear I’ve been privileged to own and operate.

Professional gear, as a supportive tool, helps take what is in your head, heart and eyes…and translate that to paper and monitor. Reliably. Dependably. Consistently. Your equipment doesn’t define you as a photographer. Your vision does. Absolutely. But that vision still needs some help in becoming a public deliverable. Again, what good is great vision without the ability to deliver that value to customers and your viewing public?

Don’t be fooled for a single minute – great camera bodies, great glass, and great accessories help any photographer (newbie or veteran) bring non-physical creativity and imagination into physical reality. Although gear may not make the man (or woman), it sure doesn’t hurt in becoming a successful artist.

I love my gear. I’m a better photographer because of my gear. My gear is a competitive weapon. My gear brings to fruition my imagination and my innovativeness. My gear is not a detriment or handicap to my creative vision – my gear is a benefit, a strength, a selling point to how I shoot. Even why I shoot. My gear is a part of who I am. An extension of how I see and capture the world.

To my friends at Canon, Apple, Westcott, Induro, Profoto, Sekonic, Pocket Wizard, Tenba, Elinchrome, X-Rite, Zacuto, Calument, and Sandisk…thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m a better photographer because of what you provide to me.

While many here in this space will come and go, trumpeting the virtue of vision over gear, ability over apparatus, expertise over equipment, talent over tools…I will continue to wave the flag of balance. And insist that emerging photographers relish, revel and delight in both…side by side. I am vision. Yes, I am. But I am gear, too. And equally proud of that.

This blog was written by Jack Hollingsworth, Professional Photographer. If you would like more information on Jack, you can locate him on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and also view videos on Vimeo. You can also visit his blog for more entries as well.