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New to photography, looking for guidance.
PeebzNation
Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
An avid photographer friend of mine directed me here for further direction, so here I am! First post at Digital Grin...
So, I'm looking to get into the field of photography, both as a hobby and for professional reasons. I do freelance web design and development work for local businesses, and I often find that these companies have little to no digital imagery available for me to use, and I've reached the tipping point where I am going to start doing that myself.
I'm willing to dump some money into this venture, my budget is $800. What is a good camera to start with? What type of lense should I be using as a starter lense? Sorry if this post doesn't really belong here! I looked through the forums and this seemed to be the most pertinent. My friend has recommended a Canon Rebel, though wasn't really specific when it came to lenses. Any direction is appreciate, thanks! If you need anything clarified, let me know! I'm excited at finally being able to take quality images!
So, I'm looking to get into the field of photography, both as a hobby and for professional reasons. I do freelance web design and development work for local businesses, and I often find that these companies have little to no digital imagery available for me to use, and I've reached the tipping point where I am going to start doing that myself.
I'm willing to dump some money into this venture, my budget is $800. What is a good camera to start with? What type of lense should I be using as a starter lense? Sorry if this post doesn't really belong here! I looked through the forums and this seemed to be the most pertinent. My friend has recommended a Canon Rebel, though wasn't really specific when it came to lenses. Any direction is appreciate, thanks! If you need anything clarified, let me know! I'm excited at finally being able to take quality images!
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This places you firmly in the market for used gear. As even the most rudimentary Canon Rebel with a lens is going to be upwards of 90% of your allotted budget.
Perhaps most importantly, you are going to need some reasonable instruction in how to get the most out of your camera. Particularly if you are going to be shooting for clients. Buying a decent camera no more makes a person a qualified professional photographer than buying a copy of Dreamweaver makes a person a web designer.
Given your professional skill, would it be reasonable for you to seek to collaborate with a local photographic pro? Perhaps you can trade out web services for their professional skill in photography? That might prove a far more effective plan.
Barring that, a Canon Rebel T2i (used) with the 18-55 lens that usually comes with it, might get you onto the path. Depending on what you plan on shooting, you might well need other lenses, a flash, or other items. You don't really offer enough specifics for anyone to give you solid advice.
-P
perroneford@ptfphoto.com
Business wise I would recommend a relationship with a pro-photographer while you grow in confidence and competence. No gear you could purchase will substitute for years of learning and experience even at ten times your budget.
Good luck!
I too would recommend a used Canon T2i or T3i, mostly because you should be able to find a decent used body and because there is a larger selection in used accessories.
KEH.com is a great used equipment vendor and they have a couple T3i bodies to choose from. I chose an EX+ condition body at $415USD (w/battery and charger):
http://www.keh.com/camera/Canon-Digital-Camera-Bodies/1/sku-DC029991226440?r=FE
Now add a Tamron 17-50, f2.8 ASPH DI II SP IF LD XR standard/normal zoom lens ($310):
http://www.keh.com/camera/Canon-Digital-Non-Mfg-Zoom-Lenses/1/sku-DC094018745540?r=FE
... and a very old Vivitar 285HV for a flash ($49-$53):
http://www.keh.com/camera/Vivitar-Flash-Shoe-Mount-Flashes/1/sku-VF210000047500?r=FE
Now build a DIY flash modifier (~$3 or less)
http://www.fototime.com/inv/908195739C4C0D3
Hopefully you have a recent version of Photoshop for your business. If not, I can recommend freeware like RawTherapee as the RAW converter:
http://rawtherapee.com/downloads
This software works fine on a 64 bit computer (Win/Mac/Linux).
You'll probably also need an image editor to do layers (if you don't have Photoshop):
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Depending on your needs, I would recommend the following equipment as you can budget it:
A TTL flash (or several). I use Sigma DG Super flashes professionally, as well as a couple of Canon 580EX flashes. A Sigma DG Super in either model 530 or 610 and in Canon mount would work very nicely. Even new they aren't horribly priced:
http://www.adorama.com/SG610EOS.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/741717-REG/Sigma_189101_EF610_DG_Super_Flash.html
A radio master/slave set. This lets you get the flash off the camera. They can be inexpensive/cheap for a very basic trigger, or as complicated and expensive as you wish. Tell us your needs and we can guide you better.
A true macro lens. Essential for smaller objects, but doubles as a sharp prime lens. I use an old Tamron SP 90mm, f2.8 Macro and I'm very pleased with the results. You can get one in used condition for $300-$350 or so.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
$800 is not going to cover pro quality or even high end consumer quality equipment. For example, the less expensive pro bodies from Nikon are at $3K. The better quality consumer grade bodies are nearly double your budget...and you still don't have a lens. You could eat up your $800 budget on a single lens...and you still don't have a flash. You could easily eat up most of your $800 on a flash...don't forget about a computer and editing software.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture (no pun intended). For pro quality equipment capable of daily commercial use, you could easily spend $10K or more.
Canon Rebel T3i with 18-55mm IS kit lens, $599:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/753762-REG/Canon_5169B003_EOS_Rebel_T3i_Digital.html
Nikon D3200 with 18-55 VR kit lens: $547:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/856049-REG/Nikon_25492_D3200_DSLR_Camera_With.html
Getting results that non-photographers view as "professional" depends about 80% on your ability to see, use, and control light, and your ability to compose an artistic shot. Some professionals are able to shoot entire weddings with an iPhone (literally) because they are masters at this.
Next comes color, clarity, and sharpness, at which the above cameras are quite capable. Next comes producing a shallow depth of field and/or blurred background. The above lenses are somewhat limited in this regard, but they are infinitely better than any cell phone or point-n-shoot (like the Canon G-series and less). If you want even blurrier backgrounds, you can get a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for about $125 or a Nikon 50/1.8 for $216. Of these two lenses, the Nikon is better.
Either setup is plenty to get you started.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
If you are willing to take the time to learn the skills of photography, I'm sure you can get decent shots with $800 worth of equipment (so long as you don't have to do anything exotic). The question is whether this is worth your while, or should you just buy stock photography from the many vendors that sell it and focus on the design aspects of your work. My observation is that there is a lot of stock imagery available. This may not work if your clients want images of their products in action.
One other option is to just hire a pro photographer when you need one, and add this to your rates.
Or maybe the client needs motion shots. Probably going to be tricky with that kit lens. Product photos? Again, lights and a tripod.
I don't consider a couple of lights and a tripod to be exotic, but those items alone could be more than the allotted budget.
If he's looking for "pro" results, or even stuff that looks better than rank amateur stuff, a way to hold the camera still and a way to get some light on his subjects is going to rank pretty high on the need-to-have scale.
perroneford@ptfphoto.com
The clients I deal with tend to want their own unique imagery, and I want to be a well-rounded solution for them. Meaning, I want to be able to provide all of their creative services - custom web sites, original photography, graphic design, and even marketing to an extent (handling online advertising, call tracking, etc..). Typically I'll be taking shots with the focal point coming anywhere between a meter and 10 to 20 meters away (beer bottles to industrial sized equipment). I feel like photography is the biggest skill I'm missing in being able to deliver a well rounded solution. Specialization is a great thing, I could entirely focus on mocking up designs in photoshop and then implementing them in a custom Drupal theme, but I want to be a full-stack solution, top to bottom, bottom to top. I've been involved with web technology since I was 14 years old, and I just really feel that it's time that I rounded off my skillset a bit more.
I do own a full copy of CS 5.5 Master Collection, as well as Photoshop CS6... I have yet to jump on the Creative Cloud bandwagon, but that's a discussion for another day (super bitter about the SaaS model).
Anyway, what I'm taking away from this is I obviously have a ton to learn about the use of a camera and getting the most out of my equipment when it comes to applied skill, and it's obvious that Digital Grin is going to be a valuable resource for me going forward. Thank you all.
You're absolutely right, with a ludicrous budget like I have I'm in way over my head when it comes to getting the "pro" shots. This is the beginning of an investment in skill. I like to think I have the ability to "get the shots", and I really want to give this a try first before I jump all the way in, because you never know I might totally suck at it and just not get it... but, I think I will get it. I love holding a camera, and wonder why I haven't jumped into the hobby side of things to this day (I'm 28 years old by the way).
Hopefully my uncle is able to hook me up, and I'll be able to give this whole field a whirl. I talked to him very briefly this morning, so I'll know more in a couple of weeks as to the gear available for me to use.
If you can, find out which camera body your uncle will be giving you. That will allow us the opportunity to help you map out a solid path forward. Also, if you see some imagery on the interwebs that really strikes your fancy or you think your clients would enjoy, put a link here, and we can tell you what might be necessary to get a similar shot.
-P
perroneford@ptfphoto.com
As a business man I would strongly recommend you think twice about doing the photos yourself for your work. I have run a creative business for many years and hire pro-photographers when needed for a job - I would not dream of taking the shots myself despite having some decent gear and ability. My clients expect me to supply a complete solution and that means they expect me to hire professionals when needed. A good professional brings a lot of value and will try to reflect whatever vision you and your clients have in mind. There is no way a hobby photographer like myself can do what a pro-photographer does and having or not having the right gear is the least of it.
This is a good read.
www.tednghiem.com
However, she has very high end equipment and rents lights and studios when she travels (which she does for most of her shoots). I don't know the path between her initial interest and where she is now, but somehow she managed.
If I may, I'd suggest befriending a pro and ask if you can spend some time assisting him/her. I largely worked my way up the learning curve by trial and error--not always pretty--but I was never trying to make it anything more than a side profession. (And I don't do the kind of work you're interested in, so I can't be of much help.)
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