The essential photography kit for beginners

The photography market is awash with cameras, accessories, and gear that all suggest that as an amateur or a pro, you must have. This is not the case, and sometimes with so much on offer and so much that you may think you need, it can be quite overwhelming.

The truth is, as a beginner, having the latest accessories and gear isn’t as important as it’s made out to be. You’re still effectively learning and it’s important to fine-tune your skills to the basics before moving on to more professional products. Below is a list of essential kits for beginners, which are imperative to increasing your skills and sending you on your way to becoming a professional.

Camera Body

Of course, the most important piece of kit for any photographer, beginner or professional, is the camera body. A decent body starts at around £300-£400 and can go up to anywhere around the £1,500-£2,000 mark as your skills grow and your needs for more features grow also. 

It would be better for you to allow your camera to grow with you as a photographer. If you start with an expensive, bursting at the seams with technology type of camera, then you’re going to struggle to learn the basics of photography. Using a camera that suits your level, will help your learnings and you can outgrow it. As you become more skilled, you can then move on to more tech-filled camera bodies.

Lenses

Another vital piece of kit is the lens. As you progress, you’ll play around a lot more with different lenses. As you’re just starting out it’s important to look for a lens that suits the style of photography you’re shooting, however, this may take a bit of research and perhaps even testing. 

It’s very rare that a camera body comes without a lens, so you’ll already have one to start your photography journey. However, it’d be good as a beginner to have at least one or two other lenses just so you can see the difference and the importance of using the right lens has further in your career. Check out our range of lens accessories here. 

Tripod

Many photographers won’t leave home for a shoot without a tripod, and some have one in their home they can’t find as they haven’t used it in years. The tripod is a tool that divides opinion amongst photographers. It’s important as a beginner to bring one with you on a shoot, as a tripod does increase your accuracy and stability when taking a photo. As you grow, you may find that you and your work prefer to not use a tripod, which is absolutely fine. We do a great range of tripods on our website here. 

Remote shutter release

When using a tripod, a remote shutter release is absolutely vital for the perfect shot. It allows you to set up the angle and frame of the shot you want to take, and capture it without touching the camera. That may not seem like much but by pressing a button on a camera, it can completely ruin the shot with camera shake and accidental blur. Check out our range of remote shutter releasers here.

Editing Software

Having editing software is extremely useful for correcting minor exposure errors, colour management and much more. Getting the shot is only half the job in a lot of cases. A lot of final images come together in the edit. That’s why it’s important to familiarise yourself with editing software early on in your photography journey; to see what program you feel is best for you and your workflow and also to be well trained in using editing software as a whole.

The most popular software is perhaps Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, which can be bought with a subscription. However, there is a wide range to choose from if you don’t feel like Photoshop and Lightroom are for you. 

As a beginner, above is all the gear you essentially need to start your photography journey. Depending on your genre and style of photography, you may need more or possibly even less of this gear, however, if you are just starting out, this is a good base of gear to have in your arsenal. 

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