This is something that everyone in the photography world hears constantly. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. To me it seems more like an inhibitor than a helpful phrase. Obviously you need to understand the basics before you can consistently create compelling images, and that is more than likely why people started saying it, but I think that most people don't really think about it before they say it.
The situation that brings me to this topic is photographing softball. I've photographed several games, but my photos are consistently below my own standards. Upon analyzing this situation, there is one thing that stands out that really does matter. Gear.
A couple of posts back I talked about my situation with photographing softball. The games usually take place late in the evening or at night when the lighting is less than ideal. This is where the gear comes into play. To faithfully shoot these types of situations with low light, fast moving subjects, and a decent distance between you and the subject you need equipment with high ISO handling, a long focal length, and fast aperture.
It's during these types of situations when hearing "gear doesn't matter" is discouraging. It makes a person think that the reason they can't get a good photo at an event is because they are bad photographers, which is certainly not (always) the case.
Now I should state that I'm not trying to give excuses for buying the "best" simply because you want it. I'm just saying that there are certain situations where gear does matter to an extent. I also feel that beginners should not simply buy more and more gear thinking it will make them better. Learn the basics. Learn what you like. Then buy gear that suits what you need it for.
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