Build your first camera kit and take your first photos
1 h€ 500 Calm
Score the right camera secondhand and head out straight away. This playbook takes you from empty hands to your first ten real photos.
Photography doesn't have to be expensive to start. In fact, the best starter kit is often already waiting at a reasonable price on a secondhand marketplace. Someone quits the hobby, or doesn't quite know how to describe a camera, and that means you can pick up a complete little set for very little.
Here you'll learn how to search smart, what to look out for when buying, and what to bring along. Once your camera arrives, you get straight to practising. No theory for theory's sake, but a concrete assignment that teaches you to look at light, colour and composition. Grab your camera, head outside and let the fun begin.
Put together your starter list: a camera with lens, a bag, and optionally a tripod and remote shutter.
Suggestion: Start with just a camera and lens if your budget is tight, the rest can come later.Lots of great cameras go unsold because of a vague title or a typo. 'Camera for sale' attracts few buyers, yet there's a perfectly good piece of kit sitting in the box.
Search smart on your marketplace: mix it up with typos, just the brand, or part of the model name. Add words like 'hobby', 'moving' or 'circumstances' to the end.
Suggestion: Stick to a maximum of three platforms so you keep a clear overview.Buy a camera with a lens that feels right to you and arrange to meet somewhere safe. Fill in the rest of your list later.
Set the camera to automatic and head out for sixty minutes. Take ten photos, each time with a yellow object in the frame.
Suggestion: Cycle, walk or take the bus, that way you see more along the way.Look back at your ten photos and notice what the yellow object does to your composition. This eye for colour and opportunity is something you'll carry into every shoot from here on.
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by PlayTryBe team