Part FOUR: Working For Yourself

What The Hell, It's Only Money
What else can I possibly spend on?

Seriously? You bought a camera body and less or two…
… and you thought you were done?

Protect You Investment
A photographer has all kinds of additional accessories, but first and foremost, you need to make sure you bought a UV filter for each lens. No matter what else, protect your investment.

Find the literature or look up online, and see what size filter your lens takes.
most have it written on the front by the glass, on the teeny tiny threads for screwing on an adapter or filter, and it will say something like 52mm, or 58mm, or 72mm.

This ISN’T the focal length.
This is the size of the opening on the front of the threads.
For instance, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f1.4G lens accepts a 58 mm threaded filter. The Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3G2 lens takes a 95mm thread filter.

The reason why you buy a UV Filter before ANYTHING else is that you need to protect the front glass of your lens. And $25 to $100 on filters is better than replacing the $1200 lens.

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Memories
You need storage cards. MORE than one. In fact, some cameras accept two cards at once. For those that do, set up your camera for RAW in the first card and JPG in the second as a backup.

Buy at least two ore more storage cards, and don;t get the cheapest. Get the fastest, and most reliable brand. For me, I tend to shop for SanDisk. Get a price by shopping deals on the reliable brands.

Some cameras take SDHC, or SDXC, or Compact Flash.
Find out what type and what size and spend on the largest size with the fastest card. Cards are reliable, but they DO go bad, so, ALWAYS have a backup or two.

If you’re shooting wildlife, or sports, or a running model, etc, you don’t want to miss THE SHOT, because your camera is waiting for your El Cheapo memory card to write!

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Hanging Out
Next, you need some where or some way to get all your stuff from one place to the next. A good camera bag can get real expensive. For now, find a decent one but don't break the bank, and let it have enough room for you to expand. At some point, you’ll know what you really need.

Do you need a backpack? a shoulder bag? A beltpack? Only you can know for sure. Your style of photography and your favorite places to shoot will determine how much stuff you pack for the day, and what you need along with it.

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Standing Tall
A tripod is a must, and a good one is truly a must if you shoot long exposure, sunsets, stars, wildlife, or portraits.

The right tripod can make your shoot, or ruin it. If it’s cheap, and lightweight, and you’re outside, the trip will shake with the slightest wind or even from just pushing the shutter button! That’s not helping you at all.

With some tripods costing thousands, plus more for the ball head, gimbal mount or l-bracket mount, you really don’t want to rush into this part.

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Bright Lights, Big City
Are you shooting indoors? Outside at night? maybe some fill in light is needed? An external mounted flash, and not the camera’s built in, is an important step in getting more natural looking images.

Get a durable brand, and one that is flexible enough to be mounted off camera, on a stand, and can handle many functions. You may not need it now, but later, the ability to control flash form external sources is important.

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The Rest
A remote trigger is one the first things I bought to help me. Anything that reduces camera shake helps your image. NOT touching the camera when shooting certain types of shots is important. These can be wired, or wireless.

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There’s so much more… light stands, soft boxes, tripod extensions, backgrounds, lens cleaning wipes, and so much more.

Part 5 WORK for yourself: My Machine, My Hardware!
Part 3 WORK for yourself: Camera? What Camera?
Part 2 WORK For Yourself: Wait? You Charge HOW Much?
Part 1 WORK for Yourself: How Much Can I Make?