Camera recommendation for startup studio

[thetrue]

I'm with pixmedic on this. When I opened my body shop, I didn't go in with some tools and paint and say "alright, I'm ready to go," I started with about $50k of investments in place. Did I need more stuff? Yep but it wasn't essential until a job came in that needed it, but PM's list seems to be a complete essentials "kit" so to speak.

 

[cgipson1]

i suppose this begs the question then...what do YOU think the minimum amount of equipment is that you will need on opening day?
because everything I listed is pretty much what I would consider the bare minimum for a studio.

"Oh.... but we won't charge much at first! We will tell them that we are learning, but yes... we are still professionals!" That is the standard line, right?

 

[amolitor]

As usual, you jokers are beating on some guy because he doesn't know his DSLR models, and extrapolating from that to "he must not know anything about photography or business" based on, well, nothing much. Well done, TPF. Don't ever change!

Dude--are you not reading the posts????? "He" is a "she"...the "guy" you say the mob is beating up on is actually a "gal". Let's get things right, mmmkay???

I haven't got time to read the posts, man! Are you mad?!

 

[pixmedic]

As usual, you jokers are beating on some guy because he doesn't know his DSLR models, and extrapolating from that to "he must not know anything about photography or business" based on, well, nothing much. Well done, TPF. Don't ever change!

Dude--are you not reading the posts????? "He" is a "she"...the "guy" you say the mob is beating up on is actually a "gal". Let's get things right, mmmkay???

I haven't got time to read the posts, man! Are you mad?!

skim them. thats how u do it. you skim. THEN post. and hope.

 

[pixmedic]

what I do, is read the last post...post some outrageous response, and then randomly skim some of the other posts in the thread for keywords I can then go back and use in my next post defending my previous totally irrelevant and out of context post.

thats how 10 page threads are made!

 

[amolitor]

It's like you're READING MY MIND, dude!

 

[Justman1020]

your being ridiculed because your wanting to start a business with a huge lack in knowledge. Would be like me going into film school and saying im going to start a movie company is this $300 camcorder good?

Well it's rude and people should be able to answer questions without ridiculing others who are less experienced. Don't think that's the premise of this forum. Is it a good camera or not and why is what I wanted to know. Wasn't expecting anyone to indirectly tell me I'm too stupid to start a photography business.

How about I buy some scalpels and some scrubs, and open a Brain Surgery business? After all.. If I have the tools, that means I can do it, right? Easy Peasy, right?

scalpels don't have an auto mode.

 

[Tamgerine]

well, lets talk about business for a minute. since you are asking about equipment I will assume that you are already set up to get your business license, fictitious name registered, liability and equipment insurance, and tax ID.
once you decide on a camera, you need to get TWO of them. you cant realistically set up a business with ONE camera, ONE lens, and PRAY that nothing goes wrong. you will also need studio lighting. we do mostly weddings, and not a lot of studio work. when we DO use a studio, we rent space from a local photo shop and bring our own equipment. you will need several flashes, stands, and diffusers/umbrellas. backdrops in multiple colors, props, stools or chairs. several different types of lenses in different focal lengths. you could go with several fixed focal lenses, or a zoom or two...preferably both. a GOOD tripod and head. radio triggers if you need them. backups of your lenses. an extra extra flash or two as a backup and/or additional lighting. the list for studio equipment is as long as a wedding photographer. not only do you have to be prepared equipment/knowledge wise to shoot 1 person, or 2 people, or any number of people, but you also have to be prepared for any piece of your equipment to quit working at any given time. AND be able to grab your backup and get back to work within minutes. hopefully this is all stuff you are prepared for BEFORE you start taking clients.

The business part of it...I'm working on it. I'm aware of all I need to do to keep the business police off my back. Everybody doesn't think so but I'm taking this a step at a time. I'm not going to buy a camera and say hey I'm open. I'm starting this biz on a very low budget (don't care what anybody says about that so keep it to yourself); therefore I won't have EVERYTHING on opening day. It's my own money, no banks, no investors, no loans from family/friends. I'm only going to do portrait photography. Some of the things you mention will be gotten along the away

i suppose this begs the question then...what do YOU think the minimum amount of equipment is that you will need on opening day?
because everything I listed is pretty much what I would consider the bare minimum for a studio.

Well, let's be honest here. She's not really starting a "studio." A studio typically implies a location and in our professional a considerable amount of equipment. So in this case I think the term "studio" means a business based on solely location portraiture, a camera, a lens, maybe a flash. Best case scenario considering that budget is a cheaply set up background stand in a basement.

But there's a lot we don't know. This could be a bare bones operation where clients pay 25 dollars for all their photos with selective coloring and white vignetting. Or this could be the sort of situation where a wealthy uncle already left her a studio location filled with lighting and lenses, and by gosh the only thing left to buy is a camera.

Without more information we could see this going multiple ways. The same way that almost every other "I just bought a camera" businesses goes, or maybe it'll be a nose to the grindstone story about hard work, dedication, rising up from the ashes, and blah blah blah.

It's quite possible that this women lives off her spouse and doesn't have much incentive to make her business successful, so why not have fun and make a couple bucks on the side? There's no risk of not being able to put food on the table, or the pressure to make rent. Like so many stay-at-home-wives selling Scentsy products, or Pampered Chef. They don't really HAVE to work - so why not put in a few hours a week and get half off a cheeseball mix in the mean time?

The fact of the matter is that this category of people eventually either get bored and unsuccessfully fade from the market or have an epiphany about their business, change their ways, and become better competitors in the market.

I don't know the full circumstances of the original poster but I will say this: If you're putting all your eggs in this basket, I would go get a different basket. Unless you're set for life from a rich family member, your spouse makes a ton of money in a stable job, or you've saved up a ton of capital just to live off of, don't consider making this your day job.

 

[12sndsgood]

And that is why I signed up to this forum.

I know you may be a seasoned photographer but that is no reason to ridicule someone who is not. I'm a film student but I'm into photography. I've taken a photography class. But because I'm a film student that doesn't mean I'm ignorant to photography. Sorry my photography class didn't cover cameras and it's specific details and features.

I came here for advice on a camera which, obviously, you think the t3i is not a good fit. But I'll await opinions from others.

your being ridiculed because your wanting to start a business with a huge lack in knowledge. Would be like me going into film school and saying im going to start a movie company is this $300 camcorder good?

Well it's rude and people should be able to answer questions without ridiculing others who are less experienced. Don't think that's the premise of this forum. Is it a good camera or not and why is what I wanted to know. Wasn't expecting anyone to indirectly tell me I'm too stupid to start a photography business.

when my 7year old comes and asks me a question and I notice his shoes untied I will tell him. it doesn't relate to the question he asked but its just as important, a person running a photography business should at least know the bare basics about cameras and photography in general. maybe it is a bit rude, but at the same time when you come onto a site with guys who have several years of experience running there own business. guys who have studied, learned the in's and out's of photography ,business, editing, marketing, contracts, and all the other aspects of the business and go, "hey im going to start a business to, what do I buy" it's kinda like a slap in the face to them. food for thought. also, if you think the light banter in here was rude, your in for a big shock when you get your first unhappy customer.

 

[gsgary]

Ok, I plan on opening up a photography studio in the near future and would like to know if there are any camera recommendation for a startup. I've been eyeballing the canon t3i for a while - it's inexpensive and has great features. I feel that it can do the job.

What do you all think?

You must have a very basic camera if you are looking at the T3i

 

[gsgary]

It should. The camera should be your first line purchase. You can skimp a bit on lights, shoot outdoors only and use yor macbook's monitor until you can upgrade, it's not ideal, but the camera is going to be yor most important tool.

Lights and lens is more important than camera

 

[TheStar]

when my 7year old comes and asks me a question and I notice his shoes untied I will tell him. it doesn't relate to the question he asked but its just as important, a person running a photography business should at least know the bare basics about cameras and photography in general. maybe it is a bit rude, but at the same time when you come onto a site with guys who have several years of experience running there own business. guys who have studied, learned the in's and out's of photography ,business, editing, marketing, contracts, and all the other aspects of the business and go, "hey im going to start a business to, what do I buy" it's kinda like a slap in the face to them. food for thought. also, if you think the light banter in here was rude, your in for a big shock when you get your first unhappy customer.

That's cool and all but I only wanted advice on the camera, not the business. I hate that I responded to the replies that didn't answer the question. This thread has more posts than I expected and I'm not about to go through them all so if you gave a decent answer (that really answered my question), thanks.

 

[unpopular]

It should. The camera should be your first line purchase. You can skimp a bit on lights, shoot outdoors only and use yor macbook's monitor until you can upgrade, it's not ideal, but the camera is going to be yor most important tool.

Lights and lens is more important than camera

Disagree on lights, but lens definitely - and kind of clump those together in my head.

 

[Justman1020]

when my 7year old comes and asks me a question and I notice his shoes untied I will tell him. it doesn't relate to the question he asked but its just as important, a person running a photography business should at least know the bare basics about cameras and photography in general. maybe it is a bit rude, but at the same time when you come onto a site with guys who have several years of experience running there own business. guys who have studied, learned the in's and out's of photography ,business, editing, marketing, contracts, and all the other aspects of the business and go, "hey im going to start a business to, what do I buy" it's kinda like a slap in the face to them. food for thought. also, if you think the light banter in here was rude, your in for a big shock when you get your first unhappy customer.

That's cool and all but I only wanted advice on the camera, not the business. I hate that I responded to the replies that didn't answer the question. This thread has more posts than I expected and I'm not about to go through them all so if you gave a decent answer (that really answered my question), thanks.

Lol did you even google at all or do any research before you asked your question??
Dont answer that. I know the answer.

Why don't you go to a local studio and try to get a job as a shop hand and learn from them first?

 

[12sndsgood]

good luck with running a business if reading a few pages of text is too much work.