Somebody once told me "You can't be a photographer, you need a really expensive camera for that!"
Well...maybe. But not really.
I started out with an old (and I mean old) Fuji. It wasn't even a dSLR. But I started. I took hundreds upon thousands of photos with it. The quality wasn't there in terms of image quality / megapixels, but I was developing (ha - photographer joke) my artistic vision, learning about composition and light and posing and a hundred other things photographers need to know.
That Fuji? It wasn't even mine. I have no idea how much it cost. Probably the earth since it was one of the early digital cameras.
My Olympus E-410, with a twin lens kit, cost me $1,000. At the time I bought it, it was the smallest and lightest dSLR on the market. That was my sole reason for buying it. I didn't realise until much later that it didn't have any other redeeming features. BUT...it did its job. I worked with the Olympus for seven years, and spent a bunch of money on accessories (lens and flash) before a good friend encouraged me to upgrade to Canon.
My Canon 700D cost around the same as the Olympus, but was much better technology. I instantly felt freed from the difficulties I was facing with the Olympus. I had been thinking I was a "bad" photographer for years, because so many of my shots were out of focus. I was relieved to discover that it was the camera, not operator error as I had thought all that time. (Kind of like how I thought there was something wrong with my car but it was just dodgy tyres, but that's another story.) The confidence boost I got from the Canon was worth the $1,000 alone, but it was also a nice entry level point to get into the Canon brand.
Now, I have a 5D Mk3, which is an amazing camera but it cost a pretty penny. I expect it will serve me well, and I don't anticipate needing another ungrade anytime in the near future.
My point, for all you budding photographers reading this, is that you don't need an amazing camera to get started. You may want an amazing camera, you may end up with an amazing camera, but you don't need one.
I recently showed my cousins around our studio. The youngest, Sherie, aged 16, told me she wants to be a photographer like me. That floored me. I remember wanting to be a photographer when I was her age, but for some reason it never occurred to me that others might look up to me in the same way. A further surprise was when she asked me for advice. Little old me!
Sherie wanted to get her first dSLR and asked me for a recommendation. She wants to take portraits, landscapes, anything really, and needed a kit with some versatility and a reasonable pricetag.
I recommended the Canon 1200D twin lens kit, which you can currently pick up for around $550. It is the baby of the Canon dSLR family and shares a lot of characteristics with its bigger brothers, in a compact enough package that isn't overwhelming to those starting to take photography seriously. The two lenses that come in the kit give you enough range that you can photograph just about anything, from ants to stars and everything in between.
If your budget doesn't stretch to a dSLR, don't panic, and please don't feel inferior or that you're not a good photographer. Check out this link for inspiration on what you can do with your camera phone (an entire wedding shot on a iPhone!), and scroll through Instagram to see what others, including me, are doing on their phones. If your camera phone isn't up to scratch, a point & shoot will set you back about $100 and can produce some amazing photos if you learn how to use it properly.
I'm always happy to answer any questions you may have, particularly if you're just starting out, so feel free to drop me a line here, on Facebook, Instagram, or email me..
Happy shooting!
Well...maybe. But not really.
I started out with an old (and I mean old) Fuji. It wasn't even a dSLR. But I started. I took hundreds upon thousands of photos with it. The quality wasn't there in terms of image quality / megapixels, but I was developing (ha - photographer joke) my artistic vision, learning about composition and light and posing and a hundred other things photographers need to know.
That Fuji? It wasn't even mine. I have no idea how much it cost. Probably the earth since it was one of the early digital cameras.
My Olympus E-410, with a twin lens kit, cost me $1,000. At the time I bought it, it was the smallest and lightest dSLR on the market. That was my sole reason for buying it. I didn't realise until much later that it didn't have any other redeeming features. BUT...it did its job. I worked with the Olympus for seven years, and spent a bunch of money on accessories (lens and flash) before a good friend encouraged me to upgrade to Canon.
My Canon 700D cost around the same as the Olympus, but was much better technology. I instantly felt freed from the difficulties I was facing with the Olympus. I had been thinking I was a "bad" photographer for years, because so many of my shots were out of focus. I was relieved to discover that it was the camera, not operator error as I had thought all that time. (Kind of like how I thought there was something wrong with my car but it was just dodgy tyres, but that's another story.) The confidence boost I got from the Canon was worth the $1,000 alone, but it was also a nice entry level point to get into the Canon brand.
Now, I have a 5D Mk3, which is an amazing camera but it cost a pretty penny. I expect it will serve me well, and I don't anticipate needing another ungrade anytime in the near future.
My point, for all you budding photographers reading this, is that you don't need an amazing camera to get started. You may want an amazing camera, you may end up with an amazing camera, but you don't need one.
I recently showed my cousins around our studio. The youngest, Sherie, aged 16, told me she wants to be a photographer like me. That floored me. I remember wanting to be a photographer when I was her age, but for some reason it never occurred to me that others might look up to me in the same way. A further surprise was when she asked me for advice. Little old me!
Sherie wanted to get her first dSLR and asked me for a recommendation. She wants to take portraits, landscapes, anything really, and needed a kit with some versatility and a reasonable pricetag.
I recommended the Canon 1200D twin lens kit, which you can currently pick up for around $550. It is the baby of the Canon dSLR family and shares a lot of characteristics with its bigger brothers, in a compact enough package that isn't overwhelming to those starting to take photography seriously. The two lenses that come in the kit give you enough range that you can photograph just about anything, from ants to stars and everything in between.
If your budget doesn't stretch to a dSLR, don't panic, and please don't feel inferior or that you're not a good photographer. Check out this link for inspiration on what you can do with your camera phone (an entire wedding shot on a iPhone!), and scroll through Instagram to see what others, including me, are doing on their phones. If your camera phone isn't up to scratch, a point & shoot will set you back about $100 and can produce some amazing photos if you learn how to use it properly.
I'm always happy to answer any questions you may have, particularly if you're just starting out, so feel free to drop me a line here, on Facebook, Instagram, or email me..
Happy shooting!
