Doing More with Less?

Doing More with Less

“Do more with less!” I used to hate that phrase. When I worked in a large organization, the battle cry was ridiculous. “Do more with less!” They’d have seminars and pep talks on it and I always thought “Are you kidding me?” What we’re doing is already challenging and next to impossible and you want us to do MORE with LESS resources?! Really?! What about doing more with “just the same amount” of resources, or investing in more (whatever more is: more equipment, more money, more training, more staff) so that we can actually DO more. But to have less and less of something (i.e equipment, money, training or staff) and be asked to do MORE?!

Unbelievable!

The funny thing is, now I embrace that line of thinking, at least as it applies to some areas of my life, photography being one of them. You see, I’ve been through the glut and have come out the other side. I started off having very little photo gear. As circumstances presented themselves, I acquired new photo gear, more and more photo gear. Over time, however, I noticed something: I was taking and crafting fewer and fewer pictures. The reason was simple, the camera gear that I had acquired was simply too bulky and cumbersome to carry around all the time.

IF ONLY THERE WAS A SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT CAMERA THAT I COULD ALWAYS HAVE WITH ME!

Then the smartphone came along.

The camera on my first smartphone was just OK, but over time it got better and better and guess what? I was taking more photos again. Over time, however, I noticed something: I missed the capabilities of my bigger gear. Although I used my smartphone camera a lot, I felt limited on what I could create. I couldn’t “really” zoom in, I couldn’t change lenses, the sensor size was microscopic, it didn’t do well in low light, I couldn’t adjust the aperture or shutter speed or ISO. I couldn’t use an external flash, etc. etc. on and on. The smartphone was great for quick grabs, snapshots, practicing composition and there nothing wrong with that. It’s the easiest, quickest camera that I always have with me. Ready to pull out of my pocket and take a photo. BUT, once I got home I would sometimes feel … unfulfilled and disappointed. I’d wish that I had my “better” camera at the time to “really” capture that sunset or get a sharper image of my son riding his bike.

IF ONLY THERE WAS A SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT CAMERA THAT I COULD ALWAYS HAVE WITH ME AND WAS AS CAPABLE AS MY DSLR!

Then the Mirrorless Cameras came along.

Now I carry LESS and make MORE photos. Why? Because I always have my camera with me. Because I’m not limited by my equipment. Because I’m delighted with the results I’m getting. With LESS bulk, I find myself energized to creatively explore MORE photographic challenges. With LESS weight, I’m not weary and am MORE willing to try MORE techniques, visit MORE places and create MORE noteworthy photos.

I’ve sold off all of my heavy DLSR gear: My big lenses and my bulky camera bodies. I now have a small, lightweight mirrorless camera that I have with me all of the time. It’s amazing how many photo opportunities I can now capture in high resolution quality that I would have missed had I only a smartphone or no camera at all.

Unbelievable!

Photo opportunities are all around you, waiting for someone with the skills, vision and capable gear to capture it and share it with the world.

That someone might just be you. Get out there and make MORE with LESS: Mirror LESS!

(See what I did there?)