Picture This
From 1990 to 2001, I was an editorial and advertising photographer. I had a decent client list (IBM, HP, Sports Illustrated) and shot thousands of frames each month. Heck, sometimes each week. I had decent gear, Hassies for medium format, a Sinar P2 for 4×5, multiple Nikon SLRs for 35mm work and enough lighting for almost any situation. I left that career in 2001 to get into internet marketing, and now I am a full time writer/editor.
At one point, however, was I a working commercial photographer? Yes, yes I was. So it stands to reason, then, that people would ask me about what is a good camera to move up to from the one that’s built into their phone, and my answer to that would be… I have no idea.
95% of the photos I took were on film. Not only that, but they were on professional-level transparency films, like Ektachrome and Fujichrome. I shot a couple of dozen rolls of color print film a year, and I used pro-grade cameras to do so. What’s the best camera for vacation photos? Well for me, it was an Olympus XA, which gave me control over focus and some control over exposure, not a point and shoot automatic.
Moreover, all my experience was on film, not digital. Don’t get me wrong, I can make a photo sit up and dance due to my thirty years experience with Photoshop, but there is a 20 year gap in my experience with professional-level digital cameras. I currently use a “prosumer” Nikon D7500, as it does everything I need it to do, but I have no idea what’s current and hot right now, nor do I care.
Now pick up everything I just said and drop it on top of military experience and firearms training. The cameras I used for my job were not the consumer cameras that everyone carries around with them on a trip. The reasons why I took pictures were not the reasons why people take snapshots. My knowledge of gear was focused on the stuff that would accomplish my goal of making money, not what was the best camera to take to Europe on vacation.
Now, was there some crossover? Sure. Lighting and composition are universal, as is the decisive moment, and the more you shoot, the better you are at taking pictures. But knowing how to position a dozen or more lights around the lobby of a hotel so you can get a great architectural photo has almost nothing in common with taking photos at a birthday party.
In the same way, knowing how to conduct small-unit tactics and call in an airstrike has very little crossover on how to navigate a dark parking lot in a sketchy neighborhood. You can be alert for the signs of an ambush, but unless you know what to look for in that environment, you’re going to get jumped.