Becoming a fashion /portrait photographer on a budget
Fashion photography by many may be considered as an expensive venture mainly because most photography equipment tends to cost a fortune. This post is dedicated to those who may want to take up fashion photography as a career but may be limited by funds to start out . this post provides and educates those who intend to take up fashion photography as a career with the necessary information to obtaining cheap camera bodies ,lenses and well as photography lighting equipment within their reach budget.
Camera bodies
Although a lot of people tend to consider getting a full frame camera body when starting out in fashion or portrait photography .it is not really compulsory as any entry level /semi-professional Dslr or mirrorless camera body of about 18 mp can be used in doing fashion or portrait photography. Example of such camera bodies include
the
canon 60d ,70d ,80d, Nikon d7000 ,d7100.
Used camera bodies usually go for about $ 300 and something dollars on Amazon or eBay.
Lenses
These usually go for about $ 95 for used lenses like 50mm 1.8 to more than $1000 for top notch lenses .for fashion and portrait photographers starting out , lenses like a 50mm 1.8 is very essential .this lens usually go for about $95 for used lenses and about $120 something for a new one. Optional lenses like 18-135 mm lens could be gotten for about $160 something for a used one on Amazon or eBay ,this lens tend to be more flexible than a 50mm 1.8 lens as it tends to cover a wide range of focal length.
Photography lighting
Although photography lighting like strobe may cost a lot ,it is advisable for photographers starting out to opt for 3rd party speedlights as this tend to be very affordable.
Speedlights like
Neewer TT560 flash speedlight goes for about $33.99 on Amazon
Altura photo AP-UNV1 bundle for $39.99 on Amazon.
Neewer NW-561 lcd display speedlight for $39.99 on Amazon.
Trigger
This are used to remotely trigger speedlights without the need of speedlight being attached on the camera. Triggers like
Altura photo wireless flash trigger goes for about $19.99 on Amazon .
Altura photo wireless flash trigger (2 trigger pack ) goes for about $29.99 on Amazon .
Modifiers
Octagon softbox modifier are the ideal modifier an aspiring fashion or portrait photographer should get ,as they could be used for both indoor shoots as well as location shoots. Octagon soboxes like
A Godox 120cm/47.2 inch portable softbox umbrella brolly reflector for speedlights goes for $29.99 on Amazon
A Godox 80cm/32 inch portable softbox umbrella brolly reflector for speedlights goes for $23.00 on Amazon .
5 in 1 reflector
A 5 in 1 reflector is one must have tool every fashion /portrait photographer should have. It could be use with natural light or lighting modifiers to shape light in photography. Reflectors like
Neewer 5 in 1 oval 80 * 120cm /31*47 inch professional collapsible multi-disc lighting reflector goes for about $19.99 0n Amazon
Neewer 43 inch/ 110cm 5 in 1 collapsible multi – disc light reflector goes for $16.99 on Amazon
Light stand
A cowboy studio set of two 7 feet photography light stands with cases cost $26.44 on Amazon