The Top Five Things YOU NEED!
A Photography/Business Should Be 50/50
To start Photography
It doesn't matter what kind of photography you are into or want to get into; these five things are the only must for you to get started; without them, you can't do anything.
No, seriously, you’ll literally get nowhere without this stuff, and I’m not talking tripods and ND filters here; I’m talking about the good stuff.
Let me explain;
Okay then, First, this comes in two opinions.
A, a camera body or B, a camera with a fixed lens. (if you chose B, ignore No. 2).
Now you might be thinking, what’s a camera body? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s basically a box that holds everything. The Sensor/film, the shutter button, and the controls for shutter speed and ISO (ASA if you’re old).
Yes, digital cameras have a bunch of other features most of you’ll probably ignore. I know I do. Cameras have become so over complicated that they can practically take photos for you. Which is boring. I mean, where’s the art in that?
You might as well sit at your computer and use Midjourney or something to create. That stuff is getting pretty good but will never replace the human touch. Mark my words.
Number two, A Lens, yeah, no surprise there (The focal length depends on your type of photography). Landscape tends to go wide, like 14mm, and Portraits look great at about 85mm.
Street photography hits 40mm on average, but I like to use all different focal lengths for Street just to switch it up a bit. If you’re just getting started, try not to fixate on the f/Stop just yet, as lower f/stops (faster) lenses tend to cost more.
Lower the f/stop = wider the aperture; more light hits the sensor/film. I’ve found that f2.8 is low enough for most of what I shoot. But I’ll talk about the exposure triangle in a later post.
Okay, Three, a Battery. If you're using an analogue camera, a battery isn't necessary, though some use one for the light meter and shutter speeds slower than 1 second. But there is a free app for that, not ironically called ‘myLightMeter’.
I bought tons of batteries for my film cameras because, one, they’re not that easy to get, and two, they die as fast as an arthritic butterfly.
Pro Tip: if you go this route, by a lot. If you have a digital camera, it goes without saying, without a battery, you’re screwed. So buy a few extras.
As a battery is a must, that brings me neatly to number Four, an SD card or B, a roll of film. Now most, if not all, digital cameras can be set to shoot without an SD card, but why would you need to do that? I mean, where’s the photo going to go?
Start small, like 64 GB. It'll be big enough to get you started to learn the ropes and maybe just shoot jPegs. That’ll increase the number of photos you can take, but you won’t have the latitude or quality of a RAW file.
It’s better to get a card with fast transfer rates (a later blog), but you can do a quick Google search on what the numbers and letters on SD cards mean and what a fast card looks like.
But for now, look for a card with V60 on it; you should be able to shoot 4K video without any issues and shoot rapid-fire photos without buffering causing a problem.
Pro Tip: Bigger isn’t always better; a few smaller cards are better than one large card. Four 64 GB cards instead of one 256 GB card. Eggs, basket. Get it?
Five, Depending on your preference, a Strap or a Bag. Now this is just a Brucie Bonus; you don’t need one to take photos, but they are handy to have. If you’ve always got the camera in your hand all the time, it can start to hurt after a few hours; fingers cramp, thumbs get sore, it’s just not worth it, baby, get a strap or a bag. Thank me later.
You don’t need to go fancy, just something functional. Besides, if you buy a new camera or a used one in good condition, like from MPB, it will most likely come with a strap. Once you start suffering G.A.S, you can go fancy.
Okay, that's it. Now go shoot something. If you don’t have a camera yet, buy something cheap to get started; you can always sell it later. Try MPB.com if you're in the UK. You American, you’re on your own. Mostly because I have no idea where you should go, but I reckon a quick Google search will suffice.
If you’re interested in some sound financial advice, if you can’t afford to buy it twice, don’t buy it. Go cheaper. This is a practice model, after all.
Bonus, Use your phone, dude. It's an excellent way to practice composition before spending money on a DSLR or Mirrorless camera. And if you figure out how to use your phone's camera features properly, you can take some pretty incredible photos. Just do a youtube search.
I’m a Professional Photographer who dabbles in Writing and Documentary Film Making.
I’ve recently quit my job of three and a half years as a Bartender/Manager. Photography began as a hobby and quickly became a passion.
I’m a Professional Photographer, Filmmaker, Writer/Author and this website is where I’m going to document all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly.