If you’re just starting out in photography, the amount of gear out there can be pretty intimidating. What do you really need when you’re getting started? You don’t want to shell out the big bucks for photography gear until you really figure out if photography is something you want to explore more, as well as figuring out what exactly it is you want to photograph. Different specialties will require different gear, but there are a few items every photographer should think about investing in, even beginners. Here’s a list of what I recommend.

1. Starter Camera Kit

I’m a big fan of the starter kits you can find on Amazon or in stores like Costco. These bundles, while maybe a little daunting price-wise, are the best way to get started in photography in my opinion. Photography is an expensive hobby, but these bundles can simplify a lot of it. I would recommend comparing a couple different brands that include the camera body, a starter lens (usually 18-55mm), and minimal other accessories. The bundles with extra accessories will of course be more expensive, so decide what it is you really need. Cleaning cloths can be helpful, as well as SD cards, but most of the other additives you can find elsewhere for a cheaper price.

2. Tripod

Whether you’re planning on practicing landscape photography, portraiture, nature, sports, or other styles of photography, a tripod can be extremely helpful. It will help you keep balance of your camera, especially if you’re not used to balancing the weight of the camera yourself. I’ve used my tripod a lot, especially in the past few months, primarily for self-portraiture, but I’ve also used it for shooting long-exposure sky photos.

You don’t need a super nice tripod– a basic one will get the job done, especially if you’re a beginner. You can find tripods that will work perfectly well for under $20.

3. Removable Hard Drive

While it may seem unnecessary, a removable hard drive can really be a godsend when it comes to photography. Anyone who works in the digital world will tell you it’s imperative to always save your work in multiple spots, and photography is no different. I always save my photos to three places: 1, Google Photos, which allows me to access my photos from any device; 2, my computer, where I’ll use Photoshop or LightRoom to enhance my pictures; and 3, my hard drive. This ensures that if one storage spot is corrupted, I won’t lose my photos forever– I always have a backup.

The hard drive I use is the Toshiba 2TB Hard Drive, and so far it hasn’t failed me. If the cost is a little high, you can always use smaller flash drives, or use your external hard drive to back up your entire computer rather than just your photography– it depends on your needs and how many pictures you have that you want to back up. Regardless, have a plan for backing up your photos in more than one spot.

4. Skylight Filter

There are endless filters that can be attached to your camera lens to give your photos cool effects, but the only one I recommend getting as a beginner is a skylight filter. These filters are meant to protect from sun rays that may warp the clarity or coloring of your photo, but in my experience there’s a negligible difference in photo outcome. The reason I suggest buying a skylight filter for each of your lenses is the same reason many people buy screen protectors for their phones: protection.

Camera equipment is expensive, as I’ve said already. I have had the misfortune of breaking a camera lens, and since then, I’ve always had a skylight filter on my lens. Since then, I haven’t broken anything else, but the $10 skylight filter is much easier to replace than a $500 lens. Just as you can replace a screen protector without replacing an expensive phone, you’re able to replace a skylight filter without replacing the entire lens. Skylight filters are relatively cheap, and often don’t cost more than a screen protector for your phone. Make sure you get the right size thread for your lens, though– these filters come in a bunch of different sizes, so check your lens size before purchasing one.

5. Extra SD Cards

SD cards are shockingly expensive. When I first started out in photography, I didn’t have the cash to spend on larger capacity cards, so I was shooting with a 2 gb SD card. This, along with my shooting style, meant my card was constantly filling up. Luckily, I had one or two extra SD cards I could switch in. I’ve now been doing photography long enough that I’ve made the investment in a couple 32 gb cards, so I rarely ever fill up my SD cards anymore. Until you are ready to make the investment in a larger capacity card, though, I highly suggest having a few different SD cards on hand. This is also nice if you ever break an SD card– I’ve chipped one or two cards in my life, and the result was that they became unusable.

I hope this list helps any beginner photographers out there! As you get more comfortable with photography and decide it is something you definitely want to pursue, you can definitely decide to upgrade your equipment or add more accessories, but these items should be enough to get you started. To all my experienced photographers out there, is there anything I missed that you would have included? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!