1% difference
I've been emailed by quite a few people asking very specific questions, going into the minutiae of details to understand and improve their methods, processes, and photos. These people who have been asking me questions are intently focusing on the 1% details instead of trying to improve the fundamentals that make up 99% of photography.
Photography is an interesting medium, subject, profession, and hobby. It attracts creatives, storytellers, artists, and commercial endeavors. But photography also draws in the tech nerds, gadget enthusiasts, collectors, and specs experts. These are the people who constantly ask me for that special sauce, that piece of gear that will vastly improve their images, or what they think is missing in their own work. The truth is it's not my Lightroom settings, the brand of film I use, or the lens that makes my images. It's me... not the gear.
Gear vs. Photographer
Give me a Leica with a 50mm lens, and I'll take a photo that looks and fits my style. Give me a Canon 5D and a 50mm 1.2, and I'll make a photo that looks like my style. Give me an iPhone X, and I'll make a photo that matches my style. It's not the gear that makes the photo; it's the photographer. If your photos are subpar, there's a high chance it's not your gear letting you down; it's your skills as a photographer.
The funny thing is I don't tell people my methods, or should I say, my preset and developing methods down to the last detail. One reason is that I have put a lot of time and energy into developing a look and feel that I would say is uniquely mine (ego speaking here). But more importantly, if I give away my 1% methods, those specs and 1% detail nerds are going to copy them and learn nothing. They might use those methods for a day, a month, or two, but then put them aside because it hasn't vastly improved their photos as they thought it would.
Great photographs come from photographers who have learned the skill of their craft, not just the skill of processing, but the skill of using a camera, lighting, and directing a subject. Sure, processing a photo is a part of it, but I would say it's much easier to make a great photograph look good than to make a subpar photograph look great.
My argument is this: if you're a specs and details-obsessed person trying to find that one trick that will vastly improve your work, you will never change, and you will never find that Holy Grail. Because once you find something, you're soon onto the next thing or trend or gadget. But for those photographers out there working on their craft rather than their camera bag, stick with it; you will slowly develop and find your way.
It's not the oven that makes a great meal; it's the chef. And it's not a camera that makes a great photo; it's the photographer.