I like to say that you should never invest more money into your photography gear than you do into the skills it takes to use the gear.
That means if you want to buy a new $1,000 camera, you should spend $1,000 on classes to improve your photography skills with your current camera first so that, when you upgrade, you know exactly what to buy – because you know what you want it to do.
$1,000 could be an investment of money. But it could also be an investment of time if you’re short on cash.
Take a minute today to calculate what you think your time is worth (I’m guessing $50-$250/hour), and then divide $1,000 by your hourly rate to get an equivalent number of hours $1,000 is worth in your day.
Then, spend those hours taking a course online or searching through YouTube for things you don’t understand.
A simple search of these things, for example, will largely prepare you for your next step in photography…
• Photography composition tips
• Understanding camera exposure
• Focus settings on <insert camera name>
• How to set up my camera the first time
• What is white balance
• How to read a histogram
• Better photos indoors
• What is aperture priority mode
Or if you’re more advanced, try these simple searches to invest more time in your skill…
• Tips for shooting macro
• Tips for using a wide-angle lens
• Tabletop photography
• Better self portraits
• Food photography tips
• Shooting with window light
• Brush tool in Lightroom
We had some technical difficulties last week with both our order pages and the brand-new travel photography course that’s really about turning ho-hum shots into magic, so this week we’re doing a quick 3-day encore.
It’s an opportunity to improve your skills and pick up some inspiration to get out there and shoot. It’s also an incredible journey through what it takes to sell landscape images and how Nigel is doing it on YouTube.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can fund your travels and make an extra income with photography, travel writing, blogging, and more in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Five Fun Ways To Get Paid To Travel: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]
