JJ Casas
San Francisco-based portrait & commercial photographer &
creative director.
Sharing my thoughts as a photographer, cinematographer, marketer, and copywriter.
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Note to self: New gear does not make money
In the midst of the pandemic, Canon and Sony announced the $3900 R5 and the $3500 A7S III respectively.
Canon’s $3900 R5 45MP camera body can produced 8K videos (albeit in shorter recording periods) while Sony’s long awaited A7SIII $3500 upgrade that’s taken 5 years is still the low light king with its 12MP sensor. Photos courtesy of B&H Photo Video.
These cameras were all anticipated for 2020 (COVID, the pandemic, and shelter in place? Not so much). And as much as I like new gear that will always outshine the specs of the old, I’m reminding myself these new cameras won’t make better images.
I mean, they actually can aesthetically given their specs on paper if you were to compare it to your older cameras.
What I meant was these new cameras won’t give you the opportunity to make better images to subsequently make you money.
Having gone full time with my own production company for the last 4 years but having been paid for my images since high school in 2003, I can attest the only person who cares about having the latest gear is yourself. No client is going to care to the level of detail you’d care for regarding the amount of megapixels, fps, or if the camera support dual memory cards. (If they ask about this first or judge you based off the camera you have, my advice: quote a higher rate than you normally would. The extra is to cover for the headache you’ll have during and after the images are made.)
The only thing that will make you money if you’re a photographer or cinematographer is your ability to sell the idea that you can deliver what the client is asking for.
The better version of this on how to make even more money: sell a refined version of the idea your client has that you can over deliver to make a lasting impression and instantly put you in consideration for their next campaign.
Once the contract is in place, then it’s time to determine how you can produce those images you said you would with either what you have or what you may need to deliver it in the highest quality and most efficient way possible.
That’s what gear is for.