Has anyone ever looked down on you because you don’t have the right tools for the job?

First lets look at what the right tools mean, if your a photographer and you don’t have a DSLR does that mean your not serious about your work? Of course not, with smart phones getting better and better there has been a boom of people taking fantastic photos on their smart phones and Instagram has build a community of people doing great things without ‘professional’ camera equipment. #NoFilter was a series by The Daily interviewing some Instagram’s biggest stars. They all use smartphones to capture their best shots.

When I started designing websites, I used to design all my web images in Pixelmator, a great image editing application for the mac. When I speak to other people who design websites or do any kind of design work they say “Oh, you shouldn’t you be using photoshop?”. Who says you should be using photoshop?

I’ve just started working freelance designing for the web. When starting out, can I justify the creative suite price tag? Pixelmator is £20 (at the time of writing this post) on the Mac App Store. If you take a look at some of the work people have produced using Pixelmator you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Of course this only works if your work is contained to just you, if you work as part of a team you may need to sent files and projects inside and out in which case you might have to invest. It all depends on your workflow and your customers requirements, but for most projects the tool doesn’t matter.

The point I’m trying to make is just because a tool is ‘industry standard’ doesn’t mean you have to bowl down and learn it. You use the tools which work for you. These are just tools, the principles will stay with you. If you know how something should look or work will Photoshop really help you achieve this?

If your just starting out do you need a new MacBook Pro or can you stay on your old PC for a little bit longer while your getting established.

The tools don’t define you, you use the tool to create your idea. You see a fantastic shot and you grab your phone camera because it’s quick and you get the shot fast because the moment might pass by.

Your passion should be your work not your equipment.