in the world of photo, it seems like there is a constant stream of gadgets and accessories bombarding us. no matter how much we acquire, there is always some new thing that will take our photo game to the next level. the words “take your photo game to the next level” are used so frequently i think they’ve lost some of their value. but behind that, there is some truth to the fact that cameras and lenses aren’t always enough to produce images of the highest caliber.

there is no doubt that photography is an expensive habit. so my approach has been to whittle away at my list of required accessories one month at a time, keeping an eye on the used equipment inventories at adorama and bhphotovideo for good deals. so far, that approach has paid off big time. all of my light stands are used, and i just scooped up a deal for a 13x13’ backdrop stand kit for less than half price, saving myself about $70 for an excellent-quality item that was in all likelihood used once and returned. add to that the roughly $50 of savings i’ve accumulated through buying used light stands, and about $200 worth of savings on used lenses and this thrifty method starts to show its value. the $320 or so that i’ve saves on other purchases basically amounts to a battery-powered monolight that is one of the final items on my mobile portrait studio requirements list. the final items would be an extra-large diffuser, a snoot, and a pair of light wands, the latter of which are more ‘wants’ than they are ‘needs.’ if i was only shooting portraits, i would be within $500 of spend for my needs and within $600 of acquiring my full list of desired items.

but then, i’m not only s portrait photographer, so that isn’t where it ends for me. for landscapes, i still need nd and polarizer filters at s minimum, and gradient filters would be great to have in the bag as well. i still need a drone, and i could really use some of the same filters for that. and that’s not even getting into the fact that i should really be prepping to get my hands on a 40-megapixel plus mirrorless camera body. sigh.

this right here is exactly why i have to take the approach that i do. wait for a sale or a deal on a used item, and get it when i can. it requires discipline, though, because it’s easy to see a deal on something not on my list and think, “hey, i could use one of those!” the key is knowing what you need, getting only those things, and being extremely discerning about what gets added to that list.