I had an interesting exchange today with a guy who noticed my listing to sell a Canon flash.

“Are you upgrading your photography gear?” he asked.

“Naw,” I replied. “Switching formats. I’ve fallen in love with the new micro four-thirds cameras. I’m raising funds to buy a new one that’s coming out next month.”

He wrote back: “FYi – don’t try & shoot professionally with that camera (at least in front of people) they will not take you seriously since the camera is essentially a point & shoot with interchangeable lenses.”

“I’m not a professional, so no worries there!” I wrote back.

He replied: “I was at a model shoot for a seminar and a supposed ‘professional’ photographer brought a cell phone/camera. I asked him – Is that a professional cell phone camera?  I wanted to have him kicked out of our group.”

I didn’t reply.

But I found myself thinking, who cares what someone else is shooting with? And who cares whether people take you seriously? Let your photos speak for themselves.

Maybe I’m a bit naive, but here’s my motto: The best camera in the world is the one you have with you. For me, that means something that fits in my purse. For someone else it might mean a cellphone, because that’s what fits in their pocket.

In the end, it’s not the camera—or the clothes, or the haircut—that matters. What matters is how we express the beauty we find in the world.