Photographers On A Budget: Beginners Guide for a Craft

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  By Michael Moodie
Photographers On A Budget: Beginners Guide for a Craft www.sleeklens.com

Photography is often seen at face value for the beautiful work that can be produced through having a great DSLR or mirrorless camera, as well as all the tricks that can be done through amazing software such as Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. This inspires young creatives and aspiring photographers to take interest in the field of photography and learn the skills needed to produce similar or even better work. However, you often find some of these creatives and aspiring photographers discouraged from pursuing this interest due to the high price tag placed on doing photography. I would be lying if I said photography is a cheap career path because my wallet would be a witness to oppose that. However, there are ways around this high price tag that is often perceived by others. In this article, I aim to give you some valuable tips on how you can become a photographer without putting a dent in your purse or wallet. There will be some things you can’t get around in terms of paying a fair price but I will be sharing some secrets with you.

1. Get A Used Camera Body

The desire to own the latest camera from Canon, Nikon or Sony is definitely something I can understand. They are built with the latest technology and a bunch of features that may just be of some great help to you in producing some pretty amazing images. With all these updated features and fancy things, comes a pretty hefty price tag. The price tag you will see on some of these cameras is almost equivalent to you buying a used or earlier modeled camera at least twice or three times.

Turn your focus more on to websites or sellers that can show you a camera capable of providing the same high-quality images with an amazing sensor and great autofocus. It won’t be the same as getting a new camera in the box with plastic wrap all around it and that new smell but It will get the job done. Think of it like this, if you wanted a new bike but could only afford a used one. You would notice they both fundamentally do the same job but one might just have more bells and whistles than the other. Once you’ve started to get into the groove of photography and built your clientele, you will then start to reap the rewards of your hard work and be able to obtain all the fancy bells and whistle you’ve always wanted.

2. Get Crafty

There are some tools in photography that can actually be made yourself for a fraction of the cost to buy it online or cost you nothing at all. You often find yourself scrolling through Amazon or other websites that offer premium equipment such as reflectors, diffusers, lights or light tents. The list can go on and on with all the things you can actually make by yourself.

Buying some of these tools online will more than likely cost you more than you’d spend just buying the material to make them. I can’t tell you how many times youtube has saved me from spending on something I could do with my own two hands. Take the time and watch some tutorials as to what it is you can make with things you can generally find in your home. You’d be surprised as to what you can create with just a few things. For example, you could easily make a simple reflector with some cardboard and a few sheets of foil paper. So don’t be afraid to get innovative and save each penny you can.

3. Make Use Of What You Have

This point kinda ties back to the second point I made but from a different perspective. As a beginner, you will start to learn about the shortcomings of not having a certain mode on your camera, a certain option or even the lens you probably want. A perfect example of this can be seen in different DSLR brands such as Canon and Nikon. There is often something offered by one brand that the other lacks, but these shortcomings shouldn’t discourage you from figuring a way to achieve the same or similar effect as the other camera or lens.

Speaking of the lens, you should also learn to use each lens to its full potential. Regardless of how unappealing and dull your kits lens may seem, it is very useful. Explore different options and shots you can achieve with your kit lens before looking to purchase others. Once you’ve mastered the full potential of your lenses, you begin to appreciate them just a bit more than when you just assumed they were no good.

Photography can indeed be expensive if you’re not willing to compromise or settle for anything less than what you want. However, if you’re comfortable being innovative and making use of the things around you to get the job done then you have no worries. I hope this article helped to give an insight as to how you can successfully do beginners photography on a budget.

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Michael Moodie is a Freelance Photographer and Photojournalist. He Enjoys Lifestyle Photography and Traveling while doing all things creative!

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