What I’m saying is you should really learn how to use the camera you have right now and stop buying new equipment until you know for a fact you need them.
Yes, your camera may limit you in some ways, but the sooner you understand those limitations, the better you can plan ahead and think of other ways to make that shot work. For example, one of my older Canon cameras doesn’t perform very well in low-light conditions. I could have just said it’s not good enough and bought myself a new camera immediately. Instead, I taught myself how to use an external flash properly – and that alone made me a better photographer and increased my skills. Since then I have bought another camera for shooting in low light but still, the old one produces amazingly sharp pictures in other conditions. This is what photographer Hans Rosemond has to say about it.
Here’s the thing: cameras these days are ridiculously good. The lowest DSLR camera on Nikon’s roster can outshoot a top-of-the-line camera from 10 years ago with its hands tied behind its back — if it had hands. You know what I mean. The camera isn’t the problem. A while ago, I wrote an article doing a shootout between a 36 MP camera and a 10 MP beginner camera, showcasing the differences (or lack thereof) in real-world image quality. Of course, the megapixel monster was the better camera, but the old doorstop camera held its own. “But I need a Profoto B1 with a blah blah blah to get good lighting for portraits.” No, no you don’t. “I can’t get the shallow depth of field I need with crop sensor cameras.” Yes, yes you can. “But I need at least 8 frames per second to shoot sports!” Nope.
Don’t Be Afraid of Kit Lenses
It hurts my cold, dead heart when I see beginners automatically sell off their kit lens without trying to use it first. Some of my favorite work produced has been from kit lenses. In fact, just last weekend, I shot the wedding of two world-class figure skaters, Chris Knierim and Alexa Scimeca, and did some of my favorite portraits with the Fuji kit lens. Yes, as far as kit lenses go, this one is very good, but still don’t overlook yours if you’re strapped for cash.
What Else You Could Be Spending Your Money On
With the money you could save by sticking with your budget gear, what else could you be buying? Insurance? Custom website? Educational courses? Seminars? Tripod? Filters? Plane tickets to somewhere amazing to shoot some amazing pictures? The list goes on and on. Put your money where it’s most needed. When the dollars start rolling in and you’re making a decent amount of money from photography, then start to upgrade your gear. Before that, save some money and put some extra cheese on that Whopper!
When you are making some money and it’s time to upgrade, ask yourself if this purchase will pay for itself. Will you see more work because of it? Will you book more jobs? Will you sell more prints? Or is it that you just want the latest and greatest? Those are hard questions to answer honestly, as most people can rationalize an answer that gets them the gear they want.
Read the full article over at Fstoppers.
Source: Fstoppers
