Do You Have G.A.S.?

G.A.S. is the worst. Every photographer has had it, and if they haven't, they will at some point in their life. I remember getting it after I visited a local camera shop close by my house. So what is G.A.S.? G.A.S. stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Basically it's when you think you need a piece of gear even though in reality you just think you need it. This can apply to anything though. A person can think they need a new iPhone 6s, but they just want it. Honestly, I'm just now starting to get over this syndrome.


As I mentioned before, one day I decided to go to a local camera shop to look at some lenses that I could potentially buy in the future. Bad decision. The lenses on the top of my wish list were the the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 II and the 70-200mm f/2.8 II. Both of these lenses are highly recommended by professionals, and for a good reason: they produce gorgeous images. The problem was that both of those lenses had a price tag pushin' $2,000. So yeah, pretty far outside of my college kid budget.
Leaving that camera shop with my kit lens still attached to my camera sucked.

However, one day I found out that you could search Flickr for images taken with a specific lens on a specific camera body. This allowed me to see the photos that other people were taking with the gear I currently owned.

Which brings me to my main point. My photos are not lacking because of my gear, they are lacking because I do not have that much experience yet. I have to tell myself to stop thinking that I need a $2,000 lens to get better because in reality I just need to take more photos.

So whenever you're feeling like you need a new piece of equipment ask yourself "why do I need it" and then go check Flickr for the images that I currently being shot with your current setup.