Wasting All Your Money On A Camera

I would like to discuss budgeting. I know it’s not sexy nor creative but this is important. In my time speaking with beginners both online and in person, I’ve come across this question a few time… “My budget is £2000, what’s the best camera I can buy?”. I then proceed to ask them another question in return… “Is this your camera or photography budget?”. In most cases people don’t know what to reply and it is in fact their photography budget. They will set aside £2000, buy a camera for that amount and then have nothing left to spend on photography. They will take photos around their house of random things before eventually retiring their camera to a shelf in their office. This is why it’s important to distinguish between your camera budget and your photography budget.

Photography is a lot more than just having a camera and below are the items that should be included in your photography budget:

Camera + Lens
Key accessories
Education
Photography trip
Monthly Running Costs

Of course you need to set some money aside for your camera and lens. How much depends on your budget and what you want. If we assume £2000 as mentioned earlier then anywhere between £500 and £750 will be a good amount.

Next are some key accessories such as a spare battery, memory card, wrist or neck strap, a sling or some way to carry your camera and a hard drive to back up your photos. I assume you already have a laptop or if not at least a phone you can use for now to transfer and edit photos. I would set aside around £100 for these.

Moving to education and you can purchase a workshop with a photographer you like or even purchase a book just like this one. YouTube is an amazing source of information however it’s time consuming to sift through the noise. A workshop is a direct method of learning from someone more experienced. I would set aside around £250 for one or two workshops plus a couple books.

Next set aside a budget for a photography trip ideally not long after you buy the camera. What’s the point of having a camera if you can’t use it? Set aside about £500 - £750 for a dedicated photography trip. Not a piss up or a romantic getaway with your partner, but a proper solo photography trip. Book a last minute deal to a photogenic location nearby and go shoot. This will give you so much more enthusiasm for your new camera and photography in general.

Finally whatever money you have left over can go into your monthly running costs. This can be an Adobe Lightroom subscription or bus tickets to your local town to shoot. This budget is designed to facilitate frequent photography because there’s no point having a camera that you can only use once a year. Well, technically there is a point, just don’t expect to become a better photographer that way.