Photo by Paul Falardeau
I was looking around the Lucis Art website yesterday and got a look at the prices that they have set for their new plug-ins that are currently under development ($350 for the Lucis Art 3.0 LE plug-in, twice that for the full version 6) and the thought occurred to me that this process of making pictures has really gotten expensive. This led me to just start adding up the average price of actually making a “pretty” picture from capture to print. The numbers are actually pretty staggering. Let’s add it up and see what I am talking about.
I’m not going to go hog-wild on all of the equipment but will try and stick to some middle of the road products.
DSLR Camera – $1400
18-200mm lens – $650
Memory Card – $35
Tripod – $150
Computer – $1000
Lightroom 2 – $299
Photoshop – $700
Printer – $150
Total Cost – $4384
Pretty picture – Priceless? I think not.
Photography is one of those black holes that can quickly swallow up your cash before you know it. I didn’t even get into the seemingly endless string of accessories that go along with the process. There are camera bags and flashes and ink and paper and on and on. Of course there are alternatives to all of the prices that I listed above. You can settle for using something like Adobe Elements instead of Photoshop, send your images to a printing service instead of printing them yourself. Still, overall, it’s a pretty expensive hobby to dive into.
So what is a new photographer to do? There are alternatives to some of these expensive options. If you are in the market for a camera, try looking at the used market before taking the plunge on the newest, latest, and greatest. Every time a new dSLR is introduced there is a photographer out there that will just have to have it. Many of these folks will be selling their perfectly good cameras to help fund their new purchase. I found a used Nikon D80 online for about $300, $350 less than you would pay for a brand new one.
You might still have to buy a lens because most photographers update camera bodies but keep their lenses. This doesn’t mean you have to buy the Nikon or Canon lens that will work with your used camera. There are many lens manufacturers that produce some really nice glass at a greatly reduced price from the major brand lenses such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina.
Used cameras aren’t the only bargains to be had out there in the marketplace. A quick check on eBay found a new, full retail version of Photoshop CS2 for $187.50. Let’s face it, most of the things that photographers want to do with their images don’t really require the latest and greatest version of Photoshop, especially if you are new to the software.
Probably the one area that most new photographers should really invest in heavily is their education. All of the best photographic gear, accessories, and software will not make you a better photographer. The key to getting great looking images is to know how to properly use your equipment. It doesn’t matter if you have a Ferrari or a Pinto, the results will be the same. You aren’t going to get to where you want to be unless you learn how to drive.
Knowledge – now that’s priceless!
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You are spot on ! Timely and insightful.
With LR2 and CS4 arriving recently, I bet a lot of us are facing mounting expenses. It’s easy to get caught up in gear and software mania – thanks for the reality check !