Although to be a good photographer, the only thing you need should be a decent camera. These days people have even get good movies made with iphone ( for example ‘Searching for sugar man‘ which even won an Oscar)
But the things that I mention below will help you frame and take shots in a better way. You can still survive without them. But it would just makes your life a little easier and get shots with a particular look or feel that you have in your mind
Lets first look at the hardware and why I use it
Hardware
Camera : Nikon D3100 SLR
| Number | Item Description | Approx cost ( in rupees, when it was bought ) |
| 1 | AF-S 18-55mm VR Kit Lens | This one comes along with the camera and it should be enough for most photo situations |
| 2 | Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Lens | For macro photography ( using reverse mount ) |
| 3 | Simpex 333 camera stand (Supports Up to 3000 g) |
1 |
| 4 | Nikon MC-DC2 Camera Remote Control | This remote shutter helps you avoid camera shake especially |
| 5 | Memory card Sony SDHC 16 GB Class 10, 94 MBps |
Ensure good speed, especially for burst mode and while copying file from the camera to the system |
| 6 | Transcend TS-RDF8K Card Reader (Black) | 1 |
| 7 | Lenspen NLP-1 Lens Cleaner | Trying to clean the dust settled on the lens by blowing air or with your fingers results in damage |
| 8 | Hoya 52 mm Circular Polarizer Filter | Photographing glass filled with water or water surface so that the reflection does not hamper the photo |
| 9 | 52mm Lens Reversing Ring | Helps you with macro photography without spending a fortune on macro lens |
| 10 | 5 in 1 Light Reflector, 42″ Silver,Gold,Black,White and transparent |
very useful for indoor portrait photography to avoid those shadows under the eyes |
| 11 | Photography Background/Backdrop green Color CHROMA | 1 |
| 12 | Photography Backdrop Stand Kit Background Support System Kit Portable with Bag | 1 |
| 13 | CA66 Yongnuo YN140 LED Camera Lamp with Adjustable Color temperature | 1 |
| 14 | Small Studio home 39″ umbrella light setup with B-bracket and stand | 1 |
| 15 | Different types of bulb | 1 |
| 16 | Torch and Table lamp | 1 |
| 17 | Color card ( printed from my printer ) | 1 |
| 16 | 52mm MACRO close up lens kit set filter for 18TO 55 LENS | 1 |
- Table lamp, torch
- 40 inch reflector
- MC DC2 remote control
- A good memory card and USB 3.0 CARD reader
- Lens cleaner
- Hoya 52 mm lens filter
Software
- Irfan view, for quickly viewing and resizing photos with raw view plugin ( http://www.irfanview.com/plugins.htm , download iv_formats.zip)
- GIMP. Its free and has several features that could compete with Photoshop
- Adobe Light room ( one of the best workflow software out there )