3 Purchases of $100 or Less that Have Drastically Helped Improve Our Photography
After reading an inspiring article on Medium.com, we had the thought that there are some inexpensive purchases that can really help to better shape the future of your photography. We have been in the “buyer’s seat” on many occasions – sometimes dropping a ridiculous amount of money on gear in the name of advancing our pursuits as professional photographers.
A few important things we’ve come to learn through all of these purchases is that well researched purchases tend to come with less buyer’s remorse, and that sometimes more affordable things provide a lot of value – some of which isn’t always immediately clear.
Below you will find our list of 3 products you can buy today for less than $100 to drastically improve your photography.
1). Book – Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs by Henry Caroll
One of our first photography investments was into the book Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs.
Created by Henry Caroll, this is a very informative and educational book, structured in a very streamlined and simple way. Often, books on photography can feel more like textbooks – in fact some actually are as they are used in college photography courses. While the in depth and very technical aspects of photography are important, the average person doesn’t want to sift through a book that feels more complicated than taking photos themselves.
With this in mind, the book’s best features include a playful writing style (it doesn’t feel as drab as other writings on photography out there), and the use of beautiful images created by well known photographers including Henri Cartier- Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, and Martin Parr.
This is a book fundamentally geared towards beginners, so the use of the content will become limiting as you become more aware of how to use your camera and some technical aspects that are discussed. If you fall into the group of people just starting out, though, this is a must buy.
If you like the style and approach to photography education captured in this book, you may also want to check out his other books including:
- Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs of People
- Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs of Places
- Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous
2). Flash Alternative – Magic Light Tube
We all know how daunting flash photography can be, and while there are inexpensive options – these have a tendency to be pretty complicated for many photographers just starting out. Even with more advanced knowledge, getting the exact look you want from some flashes is more difficult than it should be. This sense is what ended up leading us to upgrading to a Profoto flash system consisting of the (expensive) Profoto A1 and Profoto B1X.
With this said, another tool we like to keep handy that is very affordable (rough $80) is the Mcoplus LED Magic Light Tube. Dubbed by us to be the “photographer’s lightsaber”, we were turned on to the idea of this static light source after seeing another wedding photographer we know use it in action. We’d heard of video lights being used for portraits, but often the more affordable types had a limited area they could illuminate. Because of the shape of this light source, it is able to better illuminate a larger portion of your subject. The outputted light power intensity is also controllable, allowing you to get better settings.
As you might imagine, this Magic Light Tube is best when used with an assistant who can shine the light on your subject. It can be screwed on to many light stands, or hung from certain areas with the included hook such as tree branches, as well.
For portrait photographers especially, this is a really great way to get good shots without needing the complexity flash photography can bring.
3). Editing Preset(s) – With Love & Embers and More!
As beautiful as images taken in camera can be, a part of the fun of photography – and where we are able to really define our style outside of how we approach our photos (ie: the photo taking process) – is in post processing. Editing your images can help you to really define your style, and if you are looking to give consideration to keeping a good deal of consistency in both color and tone in your only portfolio and social media pages – photo editing is something that will end up becoming an inevitable necessity.
Many preset packs that can be purchased for programs like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop tend to run less than $100. Early on in our time as wedding photographers, we dabbled with a number of different presents ranging from free to a hundred or so dollars.
Over time, as we began to better define our own editing style, we started to put aside the presets of others and have been using our own. Still, this is something that takes time to get “right” and to maintain consistency across the different types of lighting and environments your images will face.
If you want to explore some great preset options on a budget, consider any of the following preset brands to be excellent starting points. Check them all out and pick the one(s) that most suit your current aesthetic. You can apply the presets and tweak to get exactly what you want – far easier than trying to figure it all out from scratch for each photo you edit.
Conclusion
Sometimes the best purchases don’t have to be the most expensive. You can make significant changes to the quality of your photography by being better educated, having some low cost gear additions, and adapting your photographs into something even more spectacular when edited well.
What are some low cost purchases you’ve made that have impacted your photography? We’d love to hear!
