So, you want to get into photography. Unfortunately, a great camera alone is not enough. With a million different pieces of camera equipment out there, it can be very overwhelming for beginners to know where to start. However, learning photography can open up many doors for you, especially if you’re a passionate content creator. Or perhaps you just want to do it for your own personal amusement – that’s fine, too! As a full-time content creator, I had to spend a lot of time learning about photography and camera equipment and then even longer testing out what actually worked for me. That’s why I’ve created this simple guide to the best camera equipment for beginner photographers so that you can get snapping ASAP.

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Tripod 

A tripod is one of the most important pieces of equipment for beginner photographers because it keeps your camera totally still, so you don’t have to worry about camera shake with any of your shots. This is especially important with certain types of lenses, including telephoto and macro lenses. 

Using a tripod also allows you to experiment with slower shutter speeds, allowing sharper photos and far better low lighting shots. You can also create overlay shots far more easily, like this picture from my Maldives trip.

The Manfrotto Compact Action tripod is great for beginners looking to get into travel photography, as it’s lightweight and works well with compact or mirrorless cameras. 

If you’re just starting to learn photography, you may not be ready to invest in a super expensive camera yet. That’s totally fine – a lot of people start out using their smartphones these days, and I still create a lot of my travel content on my iPhone. The Joby Gorillapod is very affordable and works well with smaller cameras and iPhones, so it’s an ideal piece of photography equipment for beginners. 

Meanwhile, if you’re already working with a DSLR camera then the MACTREM Camera Tripod is a good choice to get you started. 

Drone 

Okay, now whether or not you really need to get to grips with a drone depends on the type of photography you’re interested in. If you want to learn food photography, it’s unlikely you’ll need a drone for that. However, drones have become a staple of travel and landscape photographers. 

I highly recommend learning on an inexpensive drone. They’re fairly easy to crash and you do not want to watch thousands of dollars worth of equipment fall into the sea (fun fact: this actually happened to me in Bora Bora. It was devastating.) 

To get you started, I would advise learning on the DJI Mavic Mini. I’m a big fan of this brand and I use their OM 4 Gimbal to create a lot of my iPhone content. This compact drone is easy to operate, relatively affordable and will produce clear and stable footage. 

Remote Shutter Release 

A remote shutter release allows you to take photos without actually touching your camera, which is great if you’re a content creator out on a solo shoot, trying to photograph easily startled wildlife or want to avoid casting a shadow. It also reduces the risk of any shake or interference. 

Canon, Nikon and Sony have their own remotes which work for most of their respective camera models, but be sure to double check this before you buy! 

Memory Cards 

Perhaps the most crucial piece of equipment for beginner photographers is a memory card. The SanDisk Extreme Pro is widely considered to be the best option, but some photographers prefer to divide their files up across different memory cards. If you’re not ready to invest in a more expensive card just yet, the 32GB SanDisk should be fine to get you started. 

Camera Bag

Once you’ve shelled out for a camera and equipment, you’ll definitely want to keep it protected with a good camera bag. Peak Design make sleek bags to keep your camera safe or Billingham Hadley Pro are another great choice. 

Once you’ve captured your amazing shots you’re going to want to edit them with software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. For more on this, check out my post on the top tools for content creators.