How to Save Money as a Photographer
- No Step Up Rings, No problem! Meet Revo Ring
- Revo Ring - An Inexpensive But highly Valuable Tool for Photographers
photo by RyanJLane via iStock
Photography has always had the capability of being very expensive. But you can save money as a photographer, we don’t have to spend a whole lot of money to be able to create great photographs, whether of nature, landscapes, portraits, architecture, or wildlife.
Sure, you could spend whatever you want, but you don’t have to. Any budget can make a success of high quality photographic imaging.
Money-Saving Ideas for Photographers
There are numerous ways to save money as a photographer, including simply avoiding making purchases you don’t need!
Let’s dive into a few top tips that will help you save more of your hard-earned money.
Maximize Your Existing Gear
Photo by Pok Rie from Pexels
You already have a very nice camera, but you are looking at that online ad for the newest version of the DSLR or mirrorless camera brand you use. Naturally, you start thinking that maybe the flaws that still exist in your photography are due to flaws in the equipment that having the newest gear might fix.
Well, there are upsides to buying newer cameras, lenses, and other equipment. For instance, the newer camera may have video capabilities that surpass the older versions, or a newer lens design focuses closer and is sharper. If these things are needed by you, go for it.
Other times, though, the camera or lens you are using are fantastic and we’re missing out on using it to the full because we need to figure out what features it actually has and how to access and use them.
Read the Big Manual
photo by fizkes via iStock
One of the biggest methods of how to save money as a photographer is simply not to buy something. Some features of newer gear would be nice to have, but if you don't really need the feature, it might be a good idea to hold off for now and satisfy that desire at a later time.
Our current camera might have some features we haven’t fully learned yet. The small instruction manual tells us the basics of camera operations, but it’s that giant instruction book that really tells us what our camera can do.
Understandably, those huge 400 to 1000 page manuals are intimidating, but I have found that if I am already used to the camera, sitting down for an hour or so with the full manual is actually a pretty easy and very interesting read. Just about any DSLR or mirrorless from that past few years is able to do things photographers didn’t even imagine a decade or so ago.
Clean Up and Tune Up
photo by golubovy via iStock
Among the best ways to save money as a photographer is to make sure your cameras and lenses are operating to full capacity. Imagine your existing camera gear as a high performance vehicle that has been raced for a season or two. That engine needs a tune up, preventive maintenance, and it wouldn’t hurt to wash and wax it.
When mechanical film cameras were the norm, repair shops offered a service known as CLA, clean lube adjust. Current digital cameras are powerful computers that take photographs. The new version of CLA is to update the BIOS and clean the sensor.
Some of our lenses also have BIOS updates available for them. So do flashes and other accessories. Check the manufacturer website or photography forums to see what updates are available for your equipment.
Sometimes you save money as a photographer because the newest firmware actually adds that new feature that you were lusting over. How cool is that?
A deep cleaning of all of our lenses, the camera sensors, and even dumping dirt out of our bags is a good idea. Check your giant instruction manual to see if you can also recondition the batteries.
Don’t Duplicate Unnecessarily
photo by Chushkin via iStock
Some items you need to have multiple pieces, extra batteries, memory cards, protective filters, lens hoods for each lens, and so on. Other items don’t need to be duplicated. I don’t just mean lens focal lengths. (Though a 50mm macro and a fast 50mm are exceptions to this thought. An exception to every rule.)
I’m talking about specialty lens filters like circular polarizers and variable ND filters and other similar tools. Save money as a photographer by buying one of each in the largest size needed and stepping down to your other lenses.
Even here, there are ways to save money as a photographer while also saving time and frustration. Instead of buying up and down adapters of every size in your arsenal of lenses and filters, try out the new H&Y Revo Ring.
With the Revo Ring, you can use just one adapter for most of your filters and lenses. At the most, you’ll only need three of them, read this in depth description of this fantastic new concept.
Instead of several dozen adapter rings, save your money for the important things. Like a really good video monitor for editing!
Sometimes, You Have to Spend More
photo by filadendron via iStock
In the world of digital photography, if it’s better and newer, it usually costs more. But if you look for ways to maximize what you already have, you can save some money and put it where you really need it in your photography budget.
