Knowing and setting your own photographic expectations is important to understand when creating your artwork. There are three types of expectations to manage as a photographer: the expectation of gear, the expectation of artistic expression within a photograph, and the expectation of reaction to your work.

Gear expectation could result in GAS, or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. This is an affliction many photographers suffer resulting in constantly purchasing higher megapixel cameras, sharper lenses, brighter flashes or more comfortable bags, to name a few gear related symptoms. Acquiring gear with the expectation of improving your photography is a cyclical behavior driven by advertising. Each season, usually corresponding to an electronics trade show, manufacturers introduce new gear that promise new and improved features that will make your photography better. More pixels equal better pictures, better lenses equal sharper better pictures, more light from a flash equals better pictures, a better bag encourages you to carry your camera (the new one!), resulting in better pictures.

Newer equals better, unless it doesn’t. This is where the expectation of what you need, not what you want from gear, matters. Very often a simple camera used by a person making intentional photographs (I shall call this person a photographer) will be better than pictures created by the best gear in the hands of a person that is not a photographer.

While scrolling through my Lightroom catalog I happened across pictures taken about 10 years ago with the iPhone 4s. By today’s standards this is a very inadequate camera. But I like the pictures and I’m still amazed at the quality of the photographs that that early phone camera produced. I still enjoy the quality of the photographs from my iPhone 6, now 6 years old, and the quality from my 10 year old Nikon D7000. I am also happy with the quality of my Leica M5 film camera that’s 50 years old coupled with a lens that is a decade and a half older than the camera body. Some may say my gear expectations are low. I say my gear expectations fit exactly what I need because of the next expectation about artistic expression.

My expectations regarding the quality of my photography, which I define as artistic expression, are far higher than my gear expectations. I want my photographs to have good composition, have a unique way of looking at a subject, trigger an emotion and tell a story. I have learned that the gear doesn’t matter; it’s the picture that must have the higher expectation. Of the tens of thousands of pictures in my Lightroom catalog very few have risen to the expectation I set for quality. Most of the pictures I take I do not like and do not consider good enough to show any other person. What I don’t like about the pictures is usually bad composition or not conveying what I wanted the photograph to say.  Not because the gear was inadequate. Ansel Adams said, “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” He’s saying the gear is not the important part, it’s the photographer’s artistic expression that renders a good image.

Coupled with the expectation of artistic expression is the photographer’s expectation of the reaction to the picture. Here my expectation is lowest simply because I photograph for my personal artistic expression. If someone doesn’t “get” the picture, meaning there is no emotion triggered and they can’t interpret the story then that’s fine with me. My photography must resonate with me. It triggers emotions and tells a story I need to tell. Photography is an introspective exercise. If a photographer is photographing for the praise of a judge or social media likes, then their expectation of the viewer is higher than mine. Of course, if a client is involved then their expectation of what constitutes a quality photograph may be different than the photographer’s expectation. In this case it’s required for the photographer to adjust their expectation of quality to match the client, or don’t take the job.

Here are two questions to help set your own photographic expectations: is it really the gear inhibiting artistic expression, or do you need more time practicing good technique? Are you photographing for personal satisfaction or for praise from others? Setting your own photographic expectations of gear, quality of picture, and reaction will help you make decisions about what area of your photography needs the most attention.