Photography is an amazing hobby to pick up, and for decades now, people have found happiness learning about this wonderful art.
Whether you are a beginner or intermediate practitioner of photography, it pays to know the different types of gear needed to perform specific actions while photographing subjects or objects.
The Camera
There are two general types of cameras in the market: the DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera and the point and shoot camera.
DSLR cameras are more expensive, but offer the highest level of adaptability when you are challenging yourself to accomplish more things with your photography.
This is not to say that point and shoot cameras aren’t dependable; the common user shoots with a PNS camera and endless photos have been produced, and memories kept, with these lower-cost cameras.
The main advantage of higher-tier DSLR cameras is they are able to render RAW files (great for post-processing) instead of just JPEG (many experts now say that high quality JPEGS are rivaling RAW files) and you have the option of switching lenses.
A good example of a camera body with an 18-55 mm stock lens, 2 pieces SanDisk 32 GB memory cards and additional photography accessories would be the Canon EOS Rebel T7 Camera Bundle.
Different kinds of lenses accomplish different feats. Your regular stock lens (the one that came with the camera body that you purchased) is usually alright for basic landscape shots, portraits, and a little macro photography if you like taking photos of flowers and smaller objects.
However, they aren’t good for taking close-ups of far away objects, and it would be difficult to shoot some wider scenes with stock lenses. For the former, you’d need a telephoto lens, and for the latter, a wide angle lens.
What about point and shoot cameras? Point and shoot cameras have just one, built-in lens and the zooming function is digital, meaning, the lens isn’t the one doing the magnification, it’s the built-in computer.
Basically, when you zoom in an image while shooting, the computer in the camera just cuts away portions of the image and magnifies it. What results is often a grainy shot with lower quality light and color.
There are different makes of digital cameras, so we don’t recommend that you get the cheapest ones as that would usually mean they sacrificed on the optics side of the gadget. Check out Canon’s 
take on the classic family point and shoot: the Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II Digital Camera that comes with a SanDisk 64 GB memory card, point & shoot camera case and flexible tripod.
The Tripod
If you are tired of shaky and bad-looking shots, it’s time you learned to shoot with a tripod. Tripods are mechanical stabilizers, and they keep everything as still as possible while making a shot. Whether you are shooting portraits or landscape scenes, a reliable tripod would be your best partner while practicing photography.
If you are rocking a DSLR with a heavy lens, we recommend sturdier tripods like the Vanguard Alta Pro or the Neewer Carbon Fiber tripod.
If you are using a point and shoot, you can still use these heavier tripods, but if you don’t want the heft, you can opt for smaller versions like the Geekoto 77” Tripod.
Remote Shutter Release
The remote shutter release connects to your camera via infrared and triggers the completion of a shot. There are wired and wireless versions of the remote shutter release. Why do you need this?
Well, some shots are better made with the image composed on the display and no one touching the camera body. Using a remote shutter release eliminates shakes/vibrations that can have small but visible effects on the final product.
Many remote shutter releases are universal, meaning they work with most brands of cameras like Nikon, Leica, or Canon. Others are made for specific families of cameras, like the VILTROX wired/wireless shutter release, which works for the Canon 80D, 77D, 60D, T6i, etc. Then we have Nikon-dedicated shutter releases like the AODELAN Wireless Shutter Release for the D5300, D5600, D7500, and so on.
External Flash Unit
While it’s true that balancing light with the cold light of flash can be difficult at times, an external flash unit is an absolute blessing when you are shooting objects and some portraits.
External flash units can be mounted on a tripod and activate when it senses the built-in flash from the camera body, or they can be triggered via IR manually using their own remote control. You can also mount an external flash unit on the camera body itself, as an alternative to the smaller and weaker built-in flash.
There are many off-brand external flash units available for photographers and each one has different features that will help enrich your experience with photography. Some great examples of these would be the Neewer TT560or the Altura Photo Professional Flash Kit.
Diffusers
Diffusers help spread light more evenly and reduce the harsh glare associated with the bright white light of camera flash. There are many types of diffusers; some are designed for the built-in flash of cameras while others are built for the external flash unit.
The most basic take on the diffuser would be the single-unit diffusers like the Movo Photo SB3 Universal On-Camera Pop-Up Flash Diffuser. Then there are more ornate designs that cover the entirety of the speedlite, like the Neewer Camera Speedlite Flash Softbox and Reflector Diffuser Kit.
The majority of diffusers are made from plastic, so they will be pretty cheap, unless you are using a ring flash, which goes around the lens of the camera. An example of this would be the PLOTURE Flash Light with LCD Display Adapter Rings and Flash Diffusers.
We suggest you get a few of them and try them out first to see which ones are the best for your specific uses. The effect of diffusers will vary slightly from one design to another, and it’s essential that you are able to compare the performance of different diffusers before settling on using one more frequently.
