DIY Your At Home Photo Studio Pt. II – The Camera

Last week, I talked about how I make the most of lighting, and now we’re on to the equipment. I’ve seen so many posts about photography over the last few years, but most of the time I couldn’t take the advice because I didn’t have over $2,000 to spend. For blogging purposes, I prefer (and so does my wallet) to keep my equipment stash fairly small, and as efficient as possible! So, here’s what I use, if you care to know! CAUTION: This post is LONG.

The Camera

I recently bought a Nikon D5300. Before, I used a Nikon D40 for about 6 years (which I’d still have if I had taken care of it). It was the BEST deal on a good camera. Though I’ve used Canons a couple times, I’m comfortable with Nikon and it’s almost always more affordable. In my opinion they’re also easier to use. Jennifer uses a Canon and loves it, but she had to invest a lot more initially, so keep that in mind if you’re on the lookout for dSLRs!

My suggestion for an affordable camera? Buy the body only. It’s cheaper and if you want a really good lens, skip right past the kit. I didn’t do this the first time and ended up never using the kit lens. Instead, I purchased the Nikon body for $650, and invested in two nicer, different lenses right away (notes below), that I actually use. There are also bundles that can save you $, but after researching, I learned that this was the best route to get the right lenses.

If you’re on the lookout for a camera, take other opinions (like mine) into consideration, but make sure not to just go with what one person says. Photographers don’t all use one brand, so don’t feel like you have to go with anything specific, just what will work for you.

The Lenses

Nikkor 55-200mm zoom lens: $150 The first lens I ever got aside from the kit lens. Perfect for both portraits nature, that’s what I took photos of most of the time, so it was ideal. Since upgrading to the D5300, I’ve got two new ones, but I still love this one overall. If you blog about travels or adventure, I definitely suggest it, but this lens is also an option:

Sigma 18-250mm lens: $290-$400 You can grab this for Nikon or Canon. I purchased it because it has great reviews as a walkabout lens, which literally is what I do all the time (haha). I wanted to walk around, zoom in on something I saw, snap photos, etc. But I also wanted to zoom out to photograph Etsy stuff or DIY, so it had to be a wide range. While this is a good go-to, I actually use the 50mm below more for blogging because the lens creep on this one is REAL, making it somewhat annoying to take flaylays and such. Plus it’s heavy. Still, if you want a huge range all in one lens, this is an option.

A 50mm f/1.8 lens: $100-$200 Perfect for portraits, the 50mm lens is my go to most of the time. I’m obsessed with the lighting and clarity the Nikon version provides every damn time, on automatic, and Jenn loves her Canon equivalent. Even though I always have to stand on a chair when I use it for blog photos (like the one featured here), the result is so amazing I don’t even mind. If you style blog or have people in your shots a lot, this one is a must too.

I was able to get the perfect camera kit for me by buying the body two lenses for a total of $1350. For blogging, I’d be totally satisfied with just the 50mm, in which case I’d have my tools for under $1,000. If you’re on a budget but won’t compromise quality, I do suggest this! But, there’s one other FAB budget friendly option for blogging cameras… The iPhone 6!

The Phone

iPhone 6: I can’t speak for the 5, as I owned the 4 before this, but I’d have never taken blog photos with a phone before I got the 6. I bought it last fall because a new camera wasn’t in the budget and I needed one for work. I was submitting articles and not getting good photos to go along with them. This saved me! Plus, I went on a road trip to Big Sur right after purchasing and am beyond happy because I got wonderful photos from it. The only thing I took my SLR out for (which at the time was falling apart) was to use the 200mm to whale watch. I don’t exactly understand why, but iPhone 6 is amazing at landscapes. I always take it out at the beach. As far as blogging, this is pretty much all you need, though you will have to sacrifice zoom for the most part. Having all the above is better, but there are a ton of bloggers that use iPhone only and if you’ve got a good eye for composition, know how to work with lighting, and work to get that amazing shot, the iPhone 6 is a perfect investment to have all your tech in one place.

Going on 900 words here, so I’m going to stop! What’s been your biggest photography investment? For those of you on the fence about equipment, I hope this helps!

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