Should is a really bad “s” word.

Long Exposure 2021. Anticline Lake in Pueblo Colorado.

Ahh, the good ol’ Facebook groups of anything and everything. Hop onto any Facebook group or page related to any subject and you will see the “s” word thrown around everywhere. What should my next lens be? What should my angle grind be on my pocket knife? What should my new dogs name be… I could go on and on forever. Today we will talk about this from the perspective of photography.

What should my next lens be?
What should my settings be to get a family sharp?
What should my ISO be when shooting a wedding in doors?

I know the person asking these questions has good intentions. They are truly seeking assistance for something they do not know the answer too. But the problem is… We don’t know the answer either. At least not for your particular situation. What should your ISO be for shooting a wedding indoors? I don’t know. How much light is in the building, how many windows do they have, what time of day is it, what camera are you shooting, what lens are you shooting, are all the shots stagnant or are people moving and walking? The list goes on and on and on and on. What should your next lens be? I don’t know.. What do you have right now. What types of photographs do you like taking? Are you a paid photographer or hobbies? Do you need a prime or a zoom? There are too many factors involved to know what you should or should not do.

Geez Josh. You are kinda upset and rude about this. I’m sorry if that is how you are taking my write up today. That is not my intention. It is just very hard for someone that does not know you, know the details of your situation to be able to provide you the answer to your question. It also shifts the blame from you to me. What do I mean? Well let's say I tell you to go buy a 35mm F1.4 L lens because that lens is the one I use for EVERYTHING and it is the greatest lens ever invented. You spend the $1,400 on it and you get home and realize there is no zoom. Also the lens is a little wider than you wanted. You needed a lens for photographing birds in a park. Now you are upset with me because the lens that I said was the greatest lens is not the greatest lens for you. Sure, I should have asked more question to find out what you wanted/needed but that was your job. You are the person who knew all the details.

Look, all gear these days is going to be amazing. Truly. I don’t think manufacturers put out a bad lens. They may put out a lens that is not right for you, but that does not make it a bad lens. For many years I shot on a 50mm 1.8 Nifty Fifty lens. It cost $125, was make of plastic, had no weather sealing. It was not the greatest lens money could buy. But it was a great lens for me at that time because it did what I wanted it to do.

A large amount of birds at sunset flying over the Pueblo Reservoir in Pueblo Colorado 2021.

We need to start asking better questions. Instead of immediately thinking you need a new piece of gear, maybe we start asking questions like “how can I connect deeper with my subjects to get authentic moments”. Because building a strong connection and taking a photograph that shows emotion is way more important than an image that is 9% sharper than the image you took with the other lens. Do you need a camera that can shoot 25fps when you photograph mountains that don’t move?

I encourage you to use your gear. Really push it and see what you can create. Use the heck out of it until you truly cannot get anything more and then analyze if you need something new. You may be surprised that you didn’t need the new piece of gear. Maybe you did need it. That is ok if you did need it. If it truly gives you something you need and did not previously have go for it. But you have to be the one that makes that determining factor. A stranger on the internet cannot tell you.

If you are reading all this and you question is still “what should I do”… My advice is this. Turn off the internet and go outside. I believe you should be creating more and buying less. Or click on my amazon affiliate link below and buy tons of gear. I will make a small commission and we can both go on with life. Just kidding, I don’t have an affiliate link.

Have a wonderful day and stop “s” wording all over yourselves. Create more!