I DIDN’T HAVE THE EQUIPMENT - So I learned to see
Sometimes the thing you think is holding you back becomes the thing that makes you good. I started with a Canon 600D and a cheap standard plastic lens. That was about as much as my budget could handle. I still remember how proud I was. A real DSLR. I had made it. Then came the Canon EOS 7D. Add a wide-angle lens and suddenly I felt like a professional. At the time, that was how I thought photography worked. Better camera. Better lens. Better pictures. I was wrong.
01 – There was never enough money for all the stuff.
I didn’t have a studio. I didn’t have a giant lighting setup. I didn’t have drawers full of expensive lenses. So I had to work with what I had. And when you don’t have much, you have two choices: You complain about what you’re missing. Or you figure out what you can do with what you’ve got. I chose the second. Not because I was particularly clever. I simply didn’t have much of a choice.
02 – Then a 15-year-old girl sat by my window.
It was my neighbour. She was around fifteen and came to visit. There was nothing special about the setup. No studio. No elaborate background. No lighting equipment. She simply sat by the window. And I made a portrait of her. I looked at the photograph afterwards and thought: “Fuck. That’s good.” And then came the more important thought: “How did I do that?“ I realized that I wasn’t looking at the camera anymore. I was looking at the light. And suddenly something clicked. Maybe I didn’t need all that equipment after all. Maybe I needed to understand what was already there.
03 -That changed the way I learned photography.
From that point on, I started thinking differently. Not: What gear do I need? But: What can I do here? Where is the light? Where is the shadow? What happens if I move three steps? What does the window do? What does the wall reflect? What happens if I put the person here instead of there? I had to think practically. All the time. I had to turn almost nothing into something. And that forced me out of my comfort zone. Again. And again. And again.
04 – Shortage became my teacher.
Looking back, I think that was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Because having everything would have made some things easier. But having almost nothing forced me to become resourceful. It forced me to experiment. To risk things. To make decisions. To solve problems instead of buying my way around them. And most importantly: It taught me to see.
05 – I had to make something from zero.
That’s still one of the biggest things I carry with me today. When you’re working with limited resources, there is no hiding. You can’t fix everything with another light. You can’t solve every problem with another lens. You have to look. You have to understand. You have to work with people. You have to react. And sometimes you have to take a risk and see what happens. That mindset became part of me. Not just as a photographer. As a person.
06 – That’s why I don’t talk much about gear.
Of course equipment matters. The right camera can make things easier. The right lens can give you new possibilities. Technology is fantastic. But it doesn’t replace the ability to see. The best equipment doesn’t matter if you’re fucking blind. You can own the most expensive camera in the world. But if you don’t see the light, the photograph isn’t going to save itself.
07 – And maybe that’s why I still love natural light.
Because it brings me back to where I started. There is no giant setup between me and the subject. There is simply a person. A location. A moment. And the light that’s already there. That’s enough. And often, it’s much more than enough.
08 – I didn’t learn photography by having everything.
I learned it by having almost nothing. And that taught me something I still believe today: „Don’t start by asking what you need to buy.“ Start by asking: „What can I see?“ Because limitations can be frustrating. But they can also make you better. They can force you to think. They can force you to move. They can force you to risk something. And sometimes, they can teach you the most important skill of all. To see what other people walk past.
