I always hear a lot of people complaining about the crappy gear they have and not being able to afford that fancy new Digital SLR camera, or those expensive location lighting kits or whatever it may be. Cameras these days seems to be much more affordable and just about everyone has one, but it is still a very expensive game. This is certainly more applicable once you catch the bug and become an enthusiast, because then you can spend a LOT of money very quickly… trust me!
Click to read on more and find out where you can hire gear in Perth!
It’s Not All About the Gear…
Before I go on I just wanted to make it clear that I beleive you, as photographers should focus less on the equipment you have and more on taking great pictures. Cameras dont take photographs, people do. I don’t want to appear as one of these arty types so I’ll leave it at that, it’s just that I know a lot of people go out and waste their money on all the best gear for the wrong reasons. A great quote that used to get around from my competitive golfing days was… “All the gear and no idea”. It’s only natural though that as you progress with your photography career you are going to want to upgrade your gear and expand your equipment inventory.
So you can’t afford that fancy new camera that you want, you cant afford the location lighting that you really need for the shots you want to take, or you cant afford that telephoto F2.8 lens that you drool over… Well theres a solution. Hire it!
Pro’s Do it!
People I have spoken to were not actually aware they could hire all the gear they could think of, and not break the bank. Professionals will often hire gear because even for them it’s expensive to own everything, and you don’t always need certain items all the time. In fact on large productions like film sets and the like, equipment like cameras & lighting etc are almost always hired. I still hire a lot of gear to this day depending on my assignments, and I think as I continue to grow and continue to raise the bar I will always be hiring additional gear and trying out new products. Hiring is a great way to test-drive the gear out before you buy it, should you actually want to do that.
Where Can I Hire gear?
In Perth W.A, I hire all my gear from Camera Electronic (www.cameraelectronic.com.au). They have an entire showroom floor arsenal of camera equipment. They really do have just about everything you could need. They carry all your major camera brands like Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Pentax and they stock more accessory brands than you have probably heard of. You can hire out anything from as small as memory cards, all the way through bodies, lenses, tripods and up to powerful location lighting kits like Profoto and Elinchrom systems. I’ve made use of just about all of those things. The best part is its very affordable to hire gear, even if it is only for a day or a weekend. Just make sure you make good use of it. Did I mention they have Hasselblads for hire? They do. They are also starting to cater for all you HDDSLR video nutts out there like me. They currently stock microphones, Hoodman accessories, Zacuto rigs, a merlin stedicam and I’m told a lot more coming soon!
So don’t let me hear you complaining any more that you cant afford the gear you want. Don’t let the price tag get in the way of you shooting what you want to shoot and the way you want to shoot it. Get out and hire the gear, and save the dollars as fast as you can to buy it!
Happy shooting.
B.
Had a similar conversation with a mate in the states. Telling a similar story. What’s worse still is the people who are buying up all the best gear and then take photos on Auto and do nothing else.
When you work out the cost to buy lights and big lenses versus the actual number of times some people will use them, it’s just wasted money, and then if it fails, you have the cost of repairs and maintenance.
We all would love to have the best gear possible, but reality has to come it to it when making decisions. Use what you have to the limit of it’s ability and if you only need something a few times, hire it or borrow it.
God knows how many times I have read on various Perth forums that someone spent 4k on a body because so and so has one. So and so makes a living from his photography, you’ve used your camera 5 times in 6 months and never ventured out of auto mode while using factory settings. What a waste of money.
my gripe
Like any tool, h
Yeah thats what I have done along my journey. I made do and pushed the limits with what I had. Then I would reach a point where I was outgrowing the gear and knew I specifically wanted to upgrade to something else or something additional. Then I would save up and buy it, and in the meantime, I would hire it. In my opinion this was such a valuable learning experience, as opposed to just going out and buying the best of everything straight up.
It also meant that I have never bought anything I dont specifically need to produce the pictures I want, and the equipment I do have is specific to my needs and fits my style perfectly.
B.
Brodie,
Thank you so much for your post. I was searching the net for lighting equipment, as I’m starting up a millinery business (hatmaking) and need to photograph my hats for my website, and was stressing at the cost of it all. Will definitely be renting the equipment to start off with, may even do a half day studio. Sadly I’ll be one who will be using their auto settings. It’s a Nikon D5100. The photos will be basically product photos of my millinery on a mannequin head.
Debbie