What You Need to Start Practicing Photography

Part 2- Necessary Accessories

Last week, I discussed what cameras I believed to be the most important. A camera was an obvious choice for the most important supply for starting photography, however these accessories come in at a very close second. These may not be the most exciting or talked about pieces to photography but they are in my opinion the very next thing you should get after buying a camera.

Camera strap

The camera strap deceptively useful, do you really wanna risk dropping and breaking your nice new expensive camera when you could have avoided the whole situation by buying a cheap 6-dollar camera strap from your local camera store or on amazon. I wear my camera strap all the time to the point where not wearing it feels almost naked. Many of you may have even received a camera strap when you brought your DSLR kit. If not, I highly advise you to get one, not only does it keep your camera safe but it also frees your hands up a little. While I would not advise letting go of the camera even with the strap for a very long time, letting go for a second while you change lenses or holding it with one hand while you answer a call will probably be fine, just make sure the strap is on there, nice and tight.

SD card

If your trying to figure out why your camera isn't saving any of your photos....it might be because you still need to buy an SD card. The bad news, most DSLRs don't come with this card, the good news, SD cards are incredibly cheap. It might even be a good idea to buy two SD cards, this way you can switch cards for each photography job without worrying about filling one up. This will also allow you to add photos to your computer while taking photos with another, which will prevent you from accidentally deleting photos. The nice thing about these cards is they carry a lot of photos, I have a 32 but you could honestly get a 16 or even an 8 and still be satisfied.


Cleaning Supplies

This is a very under talked about subject. How do you keep dust out of that nice glass (lens) you have? Well if you get too much dust on the sensor you'll have to pay someone else to take care of it, a good reason to keep that nose attached with ether a lens or a body cap. However, you can and should keep the front of the lens clean, the most obvious solution is to always pack your lens with the lens cap on, it also helps to not point the lens in the direction of dust. Even with these precautions some dust and dirt will always get on your glass. The proper way to clean it is to use an air blower (no liquid) to blow any dust off the top, you then use a microfiber tissue to wipe away any extra dust, then spray it with lens cleaner and wipe it again with the carbon tissue, you can ether buy each piece separate or in a kit.


Hopefully this guide will help someone trying to get started, I'll continue with the next most important item next week.
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