For every professional skill, the right gears are needed to achieve the perfection of the project. The same method applies to photography. The gears are needed to capture and achieve the perfect shot.

In this piece, you will get to know essential gears for photography.

• Camera: A good camera is one of the most essential gears for photography. You should use a dedicated camera rather than using a phone. When getting a camera, buy one that uses interchangeable lenses so you can try out different types of photography easily.

• Lenses: Lenses are very important in photography as they determine what kind of pictures you can capture. There are varieties of lenses, and it depends on the genre of photography you want to venture into. For an everyday kind of photography (e.g., street), you can start with a standard zoom lens like a 24 – 70 mm or 18 – 55 mm. You should buy a telephoto lens if you plan to capture sports-based pictures. For portrait, you need lenses that don’t zoom (i.e., prime lenses) examples include 35 mm, 50 mm or 85 mm.

• Post-processing software: After capturing the picture, you will need to edit the picture regardless of what genre of photography you are into. In the beginning, you might want to use the software on your phone or computer but as you continue you may need external software like Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop. The subscription to the software is relatively cheap. Irrespective of the software you pick, you will need to learn how to use them effectively.

Other Essential Gears for Photography

1. A tripod: This is a landscape photographer’s best friend; it helps with keeping the camera stable as you capture your pictures.
2. Bags: A bag will be very helpful as different bags go for different occasions. A shoulder bag will go for street photography, a rolling bag will suit studio photography, a hiking backpack will go well with landscape photography.
3. Memory cards: These are devices used for storing pictures. When choosing a memory card, choose between 64 – 128 GB size and get a fast card if you plan on shooting burst pictures.
4. Extra batteries: Get at least one battery for a start.
5. Polarizing filter: Landscape photographers need this one more. When going for one, don’t buy a cheap one as they end up harming your pictures.
6. Flash: Flashes can be expensive, but they are indispensable for genres like portrait photography or macro photography.
7. Other equipment: There are numerous photography accessories available and you might not need them at the beginning, but as you go on, you will realize the one(s) you need and begin to get them. Examples include GPS attachments, printers etc.

The Three Fundamental Camera Settings You Should Know

The camera has different buttons and menu options used for different purposes. Some of these options once set, might need not be set again for a long period of time. There are a handful of settings you change frequently. The fundamental camera settings are important to get the perfect picture. They are;

1. Shutter speed: The amount of time your camera sensor is exposed to the outside world while taking a picture.
2. Aperture: Represents a “pupil” in your lens that can open and close to let in different amounts of light.
3. ISO: Technically a bit more complex behind the scenes, but similar to the sensitivity of film for taking pictures in different lighting conditions. It is similar to brightening or darkening a photo in post-processing.

Conclusion

The gears/equipment in photography is the backbone to producing a perfect picture. Whatever genre of photography you want to go into, these are the essential gears for photography that get the job done perfectly. It’s not enough to get these pieces of equipment, one must know how to use them perfectly and ask the right questions.