Why getting in to photography is a bad idea

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ajax_andy

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Saturday will mark the 2 year aniversary of me purchasing my 1st DSLR and actually really getting in to photography.

In that period of 24 months i've spent:

£6,382.67 :eek:


And I still have about another £5k to spend over the next 2 years on a 5D Mark iii and a couple of other lenses and flashes.

Worth every penny like but still it's a VERY expensive past time to take up :lol:
 


Buying stuff brand new doesn't help like. I've probably spent about a grand on second hand stuff, plus another 3-4 on astronomy gear in the same time.
 
That is a lot of money to have spent for your finishing kit like.. :eek: you not sell your old bodies? what other lens do you have, other then your Tamron?

7d: £900
Tamron 28-75: £300
Canon 50mm f/1.4: £250
Tokina 12-24: £380
Canon 430 EX II: £210

Other stuff like stands, tripods, diffusers, backdrops, torch, filters ect ect £400

Nowt that.. :lol:
 
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its when you have a little list in your head of all the gear you'd like when you realise how expensive it could get.
 
oROSSo said:
its when you have a little list in your head of all the gear you'd like when you realise how expensive it could get.
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true that, even the thought of that 24-105 is making me feel abit sick.. :-(
 
ayesane said:
true that, even the thought of that 24-105 is making me feel abit sick.. :-(
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I'm wanting canon 17mm tilt and shift after researching what they can do, but I'm hoping work will contribute. By the time I grey import and take the VAT off, things start to look semi-acceptable.
 
oROSSo said:
I'm wanting canon 17mm tilt and shift after researching what they can do, but I'm hoping work will contribute. By the time I grey import and take the VAT off, things start to look semi-acceptable.
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yeah, that is a smart lens BUT fuck me it's not cheap.. if you can get graft to cough up then i would do it me like..
 
ayesane said:
yeah, that is a smart lens BUT fuck me it's not cheap.. if you can get graft to cough up then i would do it me like..
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well i keep being asked to photograph jobs we've done, and lots of this involves rows of light fittings that stretch the entire length of an office or warehouse. This lens seems ideal for that application. Whether or not they will is another matter buy we'll see, gaffer currently in Barbados.
 
oROSSo said:
well i keep being asked to photograph jobs we've done, and lots of this involves rows of light fittings that stretch the entire length of an office or warehouse. This lens seems ideal for that application. Whether or not they will is another matter buy we'll see, gaffer currently in Barbados.
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some would say even made for that exact purpose, actually no, it's for making people look like toys :cool:

gis a blast of it when you get it.
 
ayesane said:
That is a lot of money to have spent for your finishing kit like.. :eek: you not sell your old bodies? what other lens do you have, other then your Tamron?

7d: £900
Tamron 28-75: £300
Canon 50mm f/1.4: £250
Tokina 12-24: £380
Canon 430 EX II: £210

Other stuff like stands, tripods, diffusers, backdrops, torch, filters ect ect £400

Nowt that.. :lol:
Click to expand...

Canon 450D
Cheap Zoom Lens
Cheap Flash Gun
Tripod
Softbox
2nd cheap Flash Gun
2 x Studio Light Stands
Flash Umbrella
Wireless Flash Triggers
16gb Flash Memory Card
6 x Backdrop Support Clamps
Studio Backdrop Support Stand
White Muslin Studio Backdrop
Rechargable Batteries
Dell 2209WA LCD Monitor
Canon f/1.4 50mm Prime lens
Magnetic Whiteboard & Notice Board
Tamron A16 SP AF17-50mm zoom lens
Nissin D1866 Mark ii speedlight
Canon LP-E5 Battery
High Speed 16gb SD Memory Card
2 Microfibre Lens Cleaning Cloths
Belkin WaveRest Gel Mouse Mat
HP Premium photo paper
Canon PIXMA iP4950 Printer
Avery CD kit with applicator
Western Digital Elements 1TB External HD
Advertising
Photo Light 5 in 1 reflector
Vista Print Business Cards
Advertising
Canon EOS 7D Body
2 x San Disk extreme 8GB & 1 x Kingston 16GB Flash Cards
Professional Photographer Insurance
Advertising
Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites
Advertising
Canon Battery Pack Lp-e6
Advertising
DVD cases
Blank DVD's (100)
Advertising
Canon EOS 40d Camera
Canon BP-511A Battery Pack
Nissin D1866 Mark ii speedlight
Dual Deluxe Double DSLR Camera Strap
Advertising
8 x Eneloop AA batteries
Canon BP-511A Battery Pack
And the lived happily ever after sign
All you need is love sign
Just married sign
Mr & Mrs Bunting
Flickr Pro Account for backup storage
Studio light stand and bracket
Advertising
8 x Eneloop AA batteries
Just married sign
Advertising
Web hosting with WP-Rochen LTD
Advertising
12 x Eneloop AA batteries
Business Cards
3 x 4GB SanDisk Ultra Compact Flash Memory Cards
Avery Full Face CD Labels
1 x Canon printer ink cartridge
20 x Coral Double DVD Case
Captured by the Light: The Essential Guide to Creating Extraordinary Wedding Photography
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM Lens & Canon EF 70-200mm f/s.8 L lens
Hitachi 2TB Touro DX3 Desktop Hard Drive



Ok so some of that is advertising but that still only probs makes up about £200 of the total cost :lol:

Yeah sold my Canon 450D but haven't sold anything else as need 2 cameras.
 
ayesane said:
some would say even made for that exact purpose, actually no, it's for making people look like toys :cool:

gis a blast of it when you get it.
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If, big if. A lad can dream though.

my next purchase will be the 24-105mm

then a couple of months probably the 7D. See even the 7D once you get it grey, don't pay the VAT and sell my current body and crappy lenses could be mine for about £450. Canny chunk of money but its a lot of camera for that price.
 
christ Andy, when i've just gone through your list i had missed a load of purchases aswell.. printers, printing, flash, batteries and so on.. urg.. makes you feel sick thinking about it..

oROSSo said:
If, big if. A lad can dream though.

my next purchase will be the 24-105mm

then a couple of months probably the 7D. See even the 7D once you get it grey, don't pay the VAT and sell my current body and crappy lenses could be mine for about £450. Canny chunk of money but its a lot of camera for that price.
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it never ends.. :lol:
 
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ayesane said:
christ Andy, when i've just gone through your list i had missed a load of purchases aswell.. printers, printing, flash, batteries and so on.. urg.. makes you feel sick thinking about it..



it never ends.. :lol:
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aye its bottomless pit. Even the thought of buying a Lee SLR beginners kit and polariser etc makes me angry.
 
I guess there's no way I could have justified it unless I was actively setting up as a business... I mean it's a hell of a lot of cash to spend, but equally I'm hoping that in a few years time I'll be turning over up to £10k from it and then it ends up actually paying for itself and then some.

On monday I was back to being 'solvent' in regards to having made as much as I'd spent... my overdraft looked healthy and I could finally not stress about being a shit load in debt until all my clients paid up.

So to celebrate I went to Jessops and blew £1.8k on lenses, and then bought a new external hardrive from eBuyer :lol:
 
ajax_andy said:
I guess there's no way I could have justified it unless I was actively setting up as a business... I mean it's a hell of a lot of cash to spend, but equally I'm hoping that in a few years time I'll be turning over up to £10k from it and then it ends up actually paying for itself and then some.

On monday I was back to being 'solvent' in regards to having made as much as I'd spent... my overdraft looked healthy and I could finally not stress about being a shit load in debt until all my clients paid up.

So to celebrate I went to Jessops and blew £1.8k on lenses, and then bought a new external hardrive from eBuyer :lol:
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do you do the weddings solely to fund your photography or was it something you actually wanted to get in to?
 
ajax_andy said:
I guess there's no way I could have justified it unless I was actively setting up as a business... I mean it's a hell of a lot of cash to spend, but equally I'm hoping that in a few years time I'll be turning over up to £10k from it and then it ends up actually paying for itself and then some.

On monday I was back to being 'solvent' in regards to having made as much as I'd spent... my overdraft looked healthy and I could finally not stress about being a shit load in debt until all my clients paid up.

So to celebrate I went to Jessops and blew £1.8k on lenses, and then bought a new external hardrive from eBuyer :lol:
Click to expand...

My ambition was to slowly wind down from my day job and eventually quit, and not lose a penny. Doing the maths I would have to do 45/50 weddings a year to get close to my day job, so I've knocked the idea on the head... far too much like stress..
 
oROSSo said:
do you do the weddings solely to fund your photography or was it something you actually wanted to get in to?
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Bit of both tbh... I love doing weddings, I'm good with people and after getting married myself felt it would be a really nice thing to be involved in... however it also pays for all my kit and I couldn't buy half of what I do unless it was because it would benefit the business (even if sometimes I buy it because I want it and use the business aspect as an excuse lol).

ayesane said:
My ambition was to slowly wind down from my day job and eventually quit, and not lose a penny. Doing the maths I would have to do 45/50 weddings a year to get close to my day job, so I've knocked the idea on the head... far too much like stress..
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I reckon if I can clear £1k a wedding in a few years time, and do maybe 18 a year, then do some commercial stuff on top of that and make another £3k, then add a few family shoots in, baby bump etc I can make about £25k a year which is decent and about what I'm on now.

Might do a bit of part time photography teaching too which would add to the yearly income and as I'm a qualified teacher it's something I should be able to find work doing I think / hope.

It's not something I could ever turn over £50k a year doing I wouldn't imagine, but I'd love what I did and sometimes that's more important IMO
 
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Starting what I did 12 years ago I doubt would make economic sense now. As long as people know it's unlikely dlsrs will ever recoup the outlay on them. Ironically if I'd been able to start 20 years earlier in the golden era of film I'd have made a fat pile of cash.
 
Icarebecauseyoudo said:
Starting what I did 12 years ago I doubt would make economic sense now. As long as people know it's unlikely dlsrs will ever recoup the outlay on them. Ironically if I'd been able to start 20 years earlier in the golden era of film I'd have made a fat pile of cash.
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Of course you can recoup the outlay on them.

I only need to do 2 weddings at £550 each and that's my 7D paid for.

Admittedly I need more than that to pay for the rest of the kit like but should hopefully get them in.
 
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