Back in January 2017 when I shot this wedding, I had been shooting for over 5 years and still didn’t own more than one camera body (that WASN’T full-frame, may I add) and a couple of lenses. Anytime I didn’t own what I needed to shoot, I would rent that gear. I really believed in making the most of what I had & not going into debt for what I didn’t. Sure the rental costs added up, but I it was easier for me to fork out small amounts to rent than to outright buy new gear. Plus I was living paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t afford to set aside + save the money to get new gear. I also didn’t own a single credit card & feared whether or not I’d have any discipline with one if I did.

All that to say that I didn’t have the fanciest or most expensive equipment to do a kick-butt job at taking photos. You can bet that when I actually got a nicer camera with better specs that it did make a HUGE difference in the quality of my work, especially being able to shoot in more dynamic lighting situations. BUT, at this point, I knew I had outgrown my old camera.

Maybe you are a new photographer & you aren’t sure where to start. Do some research & find some professional cameras that are in your price range with good specs. You can even rent from places like Lensrentals & Borrow Lenses to try out different brands, cameras, & lenses to see what you like the most. Don’t go spend several thousand dollars on a bunch of stuff that you don’t know how to use yet. You can always upgrade soon if you learn fast & have the money to do that.

Also, don’t introduce things you can’t reproduce. You can find some great cameras (some of the best, actually) for less than 2k. If you need a backup, it’s a lot easier to buy another 2k camera than it is to buy one that is 5-10k.

Guess what? Even with upgrades, I still don’t always have the equipment that I need & have to rent sometimes. I don’t feel guilty about it & still making my magic.

XO, Dakota Chasity