You may have realised by now that photography can become a very expensive hobby. There are so many things you “can” buy, but that doesn’t mean that you need them!
There are an endless amount of accessories and gadgets in the photographic world. Some are priceless but to be honest, most are gimmicks!
I've compiled this list of items that I feel are worth considering especially as you grow in your photography! g.
Spare Battery – Sometimes batteries throw a paddy, it’s always good to carry a spare one.
Spare Memory Cards – Not only may you end up taking more photographs than you expected but memory cards can corrupt whilst shooting. If this happens to you, take it out of your camera straight away, pop a new one in your camera and then try to recover the corrupt one when you get home.
Camera Strap – Many people don’t like a camera around their neck but honestly it can be a camera saver. You can easily become distracted and your camera could slip out of your hand. If you don’t want it around your neck you could look at getting a harness strap for your shoulder or hand.
UV Filter – I advise all my students to buy a UV filter for each of their lenses as these are great at protecting your main lens glass from getting scratched or even cracking.
Camera Bag – It’s good to be organised and have everything in one place, easy to grab quickly. It might be worth getting a slightly bigger bag as I am sure you will add things to your photography equipment in time.
Tripod or Monopod – If you are shooting on slow shutter speeds you will definitely need a tripod. If you are shooting in busy areas with a heavy lens you may like to support some of that weight with a monopod, if it is not practical to take a tripod.
External Harddrive or Cloud Storage – Don’t put too much trust in your computer. Backup all your photographs! Computers do die!
There are many, many more accessories you may need as time goes on depending on what type of photography interests you. But if you are on a tight budget do some research and see if you can do a workaround, you’ll be surprised what intuitive ideas people have come up with!