Dslr upgrade or not??

[nitrous642]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to figure out what is best for me to do in regards of start charging for my photography for some time now but I can't wrap my head around it that easy as we are talking about big bucks and what I am after here is to spend my budget the most wisely way I possibly can and not waste it on the urge of just buying something expensive as I know this is not how it's done.

In my case, I own a Canon 600D with a 50mm and 10-22mm for the past 5 years now. I've been shooting since then for my pleasure and as a freelancer for the past 2.5 years, never charged for my work as I am trying to build up a portfolio in order to be able to actually charge (that's my way of thinking at least). I shoot people, landscapes, events, christenings sometimes videos and looking on getting into weddings and take things a step further than just a hobby/amateur photography.

For the past 8 months I've been thinking of upgrading my gear to something more "serious" for reasons like, better overall image quality, can invest on it in regards to lenses, clients will actually take me seriously, and maybe more confidence will come along the way just to mention a few but that will cost a lot, like for example the Nikon D750/D800/D810 (it's worth the switch to Nikon as far as I looked into it), Canon 5D MKIII/IV, Sony A7R etc (I know the lenses factor and what I like to shoot is a major factor here but just mentioned some of the options I looked into)

My concern is this,

Should I? Would it be worth it and will it cover the few reasons I've mentioned above?

If I should, should I consider those options or maybe consider some mirrorless options like the Fuji or Sony line that is out now.

Or should I invest on workshops and travelling and expand my knowledge and technique and keep the gear I already have and maybe buy another lens that I want to shoot with?

I really hope my points are clear to you and thanks a lot for taking the time to read this!

Looking forward for your greatly appreciated replies!

Thanks,

Marios

 

[Overread]

You seem to be a bit all over the place which suggests money is burning a hole in your pocket. Jumping from holiday trips to training to changing brands etc... You sound all over the place a little.

I would suggest that what you need to do first is decide upon what your goal is - being a better photographer and/or being a paid professional. If you're after the latter you need to treat it as a business choice and do your numbers to see if investment is what you need right now or if you need to invest in your actual business instead.

"free to gain experience then get paid" is a sane approach but can back-fire. If you do all your work for free locally you build up a reputation and then when you go pro and charge suddenly all those free customers vanish and you've got to build up a client base again.


I think you aslo ned to show your photography and get some critique and do some self critique to best identify where your weaknesses and problems are and start to compare your work and be honest if you're ready or not to charge. Give the critique link in my signature a read as well.

 

[nitrous642]

Hey thanks for taking the time to reply!

Indeed i am a bit all over the place as i have the budget to invest on this but i want to make the best of it. And yes the ultimate goal is turning pro here and make a living out of it. The thing that mainly is poking my brain here is what my next step should be in other words what investement is more important to do now in order to turn pro in a sense. You dont just turn pro but i believe you see where im going with this

Im already working on my website at the moment and social media so this is going towards my goal.

Any other comment on that?

Thanks!

 

[sashbar]

What do you mean by turning a pro? Are you going to shoot weddings? Corporate? Fashion? What are you planning to do exactly?

 

[nitrous642]

My plan is to shoot weddings mainly for the income as its the most highest paying where i live, christenings, fashion and do various photoshooting projects.

 

[HughGuessWho]

... in other words what investement is more important to do now in order to turn pro in a sense.

Im already working on my website at the moment and social media so this is going towards my goal.

Any other comment on that?

Thanks!

IMHO, your most important "investment" you can make is in yourself and your skills. The best equipment available will not and cannot may you a "pro".
You should invest in better equipment when your current gear is keeping your skills from advancing. As you improve, you will know when time comes.

Just my $0.02

 

[PaulWog]

My plan is to shoot weddings mainly for the income as its the most highest paying where i live, christenings, fashion and do various photoshooting projects.

Here's a quick list of things:

1) Business before photography. You'll hear this from professionals on this forum. I know this first-hand. Various friends, and various family members, have all hired photographers based on factors other than their portfolios (a portfolio still matters of course). For example, an aunt and uncle of mine hired a family photographer based on her popularity, high booking cost, difficulty to book, reputation, and specialization. She specialized in family photography, was really hard to book, cost quite a lot, and she produced TERRIBLE images. She was doing something right, but it wasn't her photos. The same happened for my girlfriend's cousin's wedding... terribly out of focus photos that were composed alright, but overall poorly done stuff... but the business end was solid. My girlfriend's sister's wedding was done well, but it was mostly in photoshop after the fact; everything about it was just alright, but they threw on complicated and fairly well done edits in photoshop... kind of like a great sauce on an okay dish.

2) Two cameras, minimum. If you are solo shooting, you *need* two cameras. Ideally there should be a couple people shooting, but you need a backup.

3) The pros use full frame cameras at weddings. A smaller format can work just fine, but you *will* be compromising quality in one way or another if you don't choose full frame.

4) Some pros use primarily or exclusively prime lenses. I think that takes a lot of balls, and a specific style. I think you should have a 24-70 f2.8 lens for weddings, a 70-200 f2.8 lens, and if you are able to compose properly with it, an ultrawide as well. A macro lens is very important. Everything else is supplementary, but a 35 1.4 or 50 1.4 would be very useful.

I'll give some examples of usage:
- ultrawide for the dance floor
- 70-200 for many different purposes, including shots in the church/wherever
- 24-70 for varying situations
- macro for flower shots, ring shots, etc
- fast prime for certain situations that you want more bokeh, or need more light

5) At least a couple speedlights, plus additional lighting equipment.

For example, a wedding I was at was shot like this:
- 3 people shot the wedding
- 2 people were shooting the getting-ready stuff
- 1 was on video throughout the wedding, 2 were shooting from different angles during the actual ceremony
- 2 people went out to the beach between the ceremony and the party to do golden hour shots... they needed at least their 24-70 and 70-200, and a couple of speedlights with proper umbrellas and such
- 2 people shot from about 7:30pm to midnight, they needed their 70-200 and 24-70 and flashes to get all the action including everyone mingling, then the bride and groom and the bride/groom party coming in to their table which is a big moment, etc...
- 2 people continued to shoot everything going on, they needed the 70-200 to take shots of speeches
- 2 people continued to shoot when dancing went on, they mostly used flashes and ultrawide lenses
- They had a photo booth going on set up automatically, extra charge and all that

6) It's just ****ing expensive to get all the gear you need, and get all the business down... but with proper gear, good skill, and the business end done properly, theoretically you should do well. You need to think about lots of various business costs which I hear can be quite cumbersome, and little costs like extra batteries, bags, memory cards, extra hard drives, etc.

 

[The_Traveler]

do you have a web site?

 

[otherprof]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to figure out what is best for me to do in regards of start charging for my photography for some time now but I can't wrap my head around it that easy as we are talking about big bucks and what I am after here is to spend my budget the most wisely way I possibly can and not waste it on the urge of just buying something expensive as I know this is not how it's done.

In my case, I own a Canon 600D with a 50mm and 10-22mm for the past 5 years now. I've been shooting since then for my pleasure and as a freelancer for the past 2.5 years, never charged for my work as I am trying to build up a portfolio in order to be able to actually charge (that's my way of thinking at least). I shoot people, landscapes, events, christenings sometimes videos and looking on getting into weddings and take things a step further than just a hobby/amateur photography.

For the past 8 months I've been thinking of upgrading my gear to something more "serious" for reasons like, better overall image quality, can invest on it in regards to lenses, clients will actually take me seriously, and maybe more confidence will come along the way just to mention a few but that will cost a lot, like for example the Nikon D750/D800/D810 (it's worth the switch to Nikon as far as I looked into it), Canon 5D MKIII/IV, Sony A7R etc (I know the lenses factor and what I like to shoot is a major factor here but just mentioned some of the options I looked into)

My concern is this,

Should I? Would it be worth it and will it cover the few reasons I've mentioned above?

If I should, should I consider those options or maybe consider some mirrorless options like the Fuji or Sony line that is out now.

Or should I invest on workshops and travelling and expand my knowledge and technique and keep the gear I already have and maybe buy another lens that I want to shoot with?

I really hope my points are clear to you and thanks a lot for taking the time to read this!

Looking forward for your greatly appreciated replies!

Thanks,

Marios

More on why a switch from Canon to Nikon is an upgrade, please.

 

[fmw]

The equipment isn't the issue. You have been using your stuff for 5 years. That means you understand it and know how to manage it. Whether you shoot for yourself or for a client, the stuff you have will get the job done. What is more important is finding clients who want to pay for your work.

 

[PaulWog]

The equipment isn't the issue. You have been using your stuff for 5 years. That means you understand it and know how to manage it. Whether you shoot for yourself or for a client, the stuff you have will get the job done. What is more important is finding clients who want to pay for your work.

A 600D, 50mm, and 10-22 certainly *is not* sufficient to shoot weddings. For professional work in general, that gear is not sufficient.

 

[fmw]

The equipment isn't the issue. You have been using your stuff for 5 years. That means you understand it and know how to manage it. Whether you shoot for yourself or for a client, the stuff you have will get the job done. What is more important is finding clients who want to pay for your work.

A 600D, 50mm, and 10-22 certainly *is not* sufficient to shoot weddings. For professional work in general, that gear is not sufficient.

I could do it with perfectly satisfactory results. You couldn't

 

[The_Traveler]

If this is primarily a way to justify spending more money on your equipment - and only you can know that - you are getting into a situation that is more dire than you can see from the outside.
With being a pro comes a lot of legal and professional liability that is only hedged by spending a lot more on stuff (like insurance, licenses, extra goods) that won't satisfy your desire for more fun equipment.

Become a businessman with a camera if:

• the local scene needs more photographers,
• the economy can support more.
• you want to exchange what you love for a business
• you have the actual photo skills
• you have the actual business skills

I live in the third wealthiest county in the US (List of highest-income counties in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and there are photographers crawling out of the woodwork because everyone has the money to buy cameras, the desire to amortize the costs and there is little or no barrier to entry.

Don't think that bulding a business is the key.

 

[OGsPhotography]

I figure it will be about 20k to get fully into " pro" gear.
Thats pretty cheap in the run up capital costs of starting a business.

Lens- 7k
2 bodies- 5k
Lighting- 2k
Misc-2 k
Pooter-2k
( 2k buffer)

Spending 20-50k on edumacation is about average so why not take courses/ travel etc to be a photog?

A studio is easy 5-50k.
Lets go on the low side for my demo.

75k in the popular wisdom of the internet is not a barrier to entry? Good luck keeping up if you dont make a business plan.

A car should probably be in the plan lol.

80 housand dollars and were just starting and I must have missed some critical points cause Im on my first coffee.

 

[PaulWog]

The equipment isn't the issue. You have been using your stuff for 5 years. That means you understand it and know how to manage it. Whether you shoot for yourself or for a client, the stuff you have will get the job done. What is more important is finding clients who want to pay for your work.

A 600D, 50mm, and 10-22 certainly *is not* sufficient to shoot weddings. For professional work in general, that gear is not sufficient.

I could do it with perfectly satisfactory results. You couldn't

This isn't a matter of "I could because I'm skilled." Shooting a wedding with a 600D, a 50mm, and a 10-22 is asking for trouble.

Furthermore, the "You couldn't" comment is just downright disrespectful.