PORTRAIT AND CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTO WORKSHOP

Chapter 2. ACCESSORY EQUIPMENT

• Lenses and Filters

• Batteries

• Tripods

• Reflectors and Diffusers

• Lights and Flash

• Backdrops

• Camera Bags

• Media Storage and Viewing

• Odds'n Ends

After the photography bug has bitten, your life changes in many ways due to your new passion. You see the light in a different way, compositional elements are much more obvious, your direction skills are enhanced, and last but not least, you begin researching and planning for camera accessory purchases. Although the quality of photographs depends more on the vision and creativity of the photographer than on the equipment, you need some basic accessories to begin, and you need to plan for other accessories as your photographic skills increase.

When I began photographing, I had very little money, but I did possess a lot of desire and passion to capture life moments and express my unique creativity in a photograph. I thought that if I only had the very best equipment, I could be a better photographer. I quizzed my instructors and my peers on what to purchase and was overwhelmed with the varying opinions and the astronomical costs associated with becoming a "good" photographer. I soon discovered that photography is an evolving process; your knowledge increases, your creative vision changes, technology transforms, and the world is constantly in flux. I could dream about, plan for, rent, or borrow what I could not afford at any given ...