After a little over ten years as a photographer, I want to share something about one of the questions I’m asked the most: “What camera should I buy?”
Here’s the truth:
Your camera matters much less than you think.
Some of my most beautiful photos, the ones that mean the most to me or the ones that have been shared the most, were taken with lower-quality cameras or simply with my phone. And honestly, you’re never going to be 100% satisfied with what you have. There will always be a better camera available. Whether it’s prettier colors, better stabilization, or something lighter to carry.
I recently went on a mountain biking trip in Peru carrying only my phone. A girl in my group came up to me and said, “Your photos are so beautiful, what iPhone do you have?” I told her I have the 14. She turned to her friend and said, “See? We should be able to take good photos with the 17!” But that wasn’t the point.
The photos she liked didn’t come from having the right iPhone. They came from years of practicing how I see. Photography is about feeling and observing. It’s noticing something and deciding how you want to share it.
And how do you learn? You take a lot of photos, including bad ones. It’s true when they say the only way to not suck at something is to suck at it first!!
If all you have is a phone, start there. If there’s an old camera sitting somewhere in your parents’ house, dust it off. Photograph whatever moves your heart and experiment with how you see it. That’s more than enough to begin.
With love,
Anna Nicole
