Your gear is making you a shit artist!
Okay, so my title is a bit tongue in cheek. Your equipment needs to be good enough to give you consistent results. Particularly if you're getting paid for your work. But sometimes it's hard to tell if we're creating or consuming. I'm more guilty than most. I get fixated on my process for creating. That manifests as gear acquisition syndrome (GAS).
Some of you will be very familiar with its effects. The symptoms are:
Frequent uncontrollable searches for new gear.
A collection of underused stuff.
An uncanny availability for correctly estimating the used value of your friends' property.
More money than sense
I've bought a lot of stuff only to end up selling it again without actually getting much use out of it. It got to the point that I keep a record of how much I paid for things to tell if I've lost money.
I hear you asking "What's the fuck are you talking about Dan? You said gear is making me worse!" As you should, in my lucid moments, I remember my creativity is more important than my tools. Using beautifully crafted tools is exciting, but it doesn't seem to have a proportionate impact on your outcomes. Let me give you a couple of examples...
I play the guitar. I've got a few I'm very fond of. But would an "expensive" guitar make my songs better than any other "lesser" guitar? The notes are the same, and they all sound like guitars, so they can't be wildly different.
This habit also bled into my photography. I bought a top of the line camera that didn't suit my workflow. I thought the camera would improve my photography, I convinced myself I needed it to get paid work. Sure, the photos looked brilliant, the dynamic range was insane, the colours looked natural had depth, the lenses were the best I've used.
BUT the camera got in my way. I spent longer adjusting things than being present and making good photographs. It was big and noisy, so it attracted a lot of attention when I took photos on the streets. I had all my money wrapped up in it, and the thing looked precisely the way you imagine a "professional" camera. My 35mm lens looked like a telephoto.
You see, the object I spent so long saving for wasn't right for me. It didn't add to my art. At points, it seemed to take away. So I made the difficult decision to bail.
Since then, I've "downgraded" to another pro system that costs almost half of the first one. Sure, the image quality isn't as good, but I'm making better photos now. All because this camera suits my workflow and doesn't feel like it's in my way. It allows me to focus on the quickly changing scene in front of me. It doesn't draw unwanted attention by being obnoxiously big and noisy. And do you know how many people have noticed the difference in image quality between the two cameras? Just one, me.
"I'll finally get down to creating if I buy this."
Have you ever been suckered into I've blowing money on something, in the hope you'll be more likely to use it? Sure, Having nice stuff can inspire you to use it. But often, that inspiration is fleeting. And once it wears off, you're straight back on the internet looking for your next fix.
Try not to get caught up in the tools of the trade. They aren't anywhere near as important as your creativity. When you purchase a tool, remember it owes you art, it needs to pay you back. Use it as much as you can, use it exclusively for a while. Don't become bored with it.
Invest in creating instead of new gear. A new camera can easily cost as much as a plane ticket. A new instrument can cost as much as a couple of weeks travelling around the country gigging. You get the idea.
The reason we love to create is the satisfaction of making something from nothing. Having experience will give you more pleasure and inspiration that any purchase. You'll be a better artist for it. Also, I don't want to be a downer, but one day you will die, I will die, everyone, you know will die. How many people do you think have contemplated the purchase that got away in their last few seconds? I bet it's less than the number of people who wish they'd done more with their lives!
"Quit it with the guilt trip already! I do actually need to replace my old broken gear."
Of course, nothing lasts forever. Particularly when you use it for paid work!
If you need to invest in new gear, make sure you spend money on the best tool. It's better to get your hands on the thing before you part with your hard-earned cash. Ask yourself the question, "if I could only use this tool for this job for the next ten years, would I be happy?" If you've answered 'no' you should consider why not. How do you think you'd get on if I gave you the gear you started with? I bet you'd still have your defined style rather than your experience immediately receding back to your beginner days.
The right gear doesn't need to have the best specs on paper. It needs to inspire you to make good art.
Out with the new, in with the old!
In fact, let's reflect on your first price of gear for a minute. Remember how long you used it for? How it made you fall in love with your medium? How the learning curve kept you far too busy to develop a case GAS? If you still own it then do it a favour. For the next two weeks, that's the only thing you use for your personal work (and professional work if you're up to it).
I'd love you to send me you come up with, I promise to check out and report back. Bonus points for sending the stuff you ever did when you started to show where you care from.
