Sometimes you don't need the newest camera, the most expensive lens, or thousands of dollars in equipment to start creating something you're proud of.
Sometimes you just need $65 and a willingness to figure things out.
Not long ago, I picked up a used Canon EOS 2000D, also known as the Rebel T7, for only $65. There was a reason it was so cheap: it came with a lens that was stuck and possibly broken.
Not exactly the glamorous beginning to a photography business.
But I bought it anyway.
Starting With What I Had
Photography wasn't completely new to me. I had studied commercial photography at Arizona State University, so I understood concepts like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, composition, lighting, and depth of field.
Knowing the concepts and consistently creating strong photographs, however, are two very different things.
Once I had my own camera in my hands, photography stopped being an assignment.
There was no professor telling me what to photograph. No rubric. No required number of images.
I could point the camera at whatever caught my attention and see what happened.
And I started photographing everything.
Birds.
Flowers.
Spiders.
Family.
Landscapes.
Random patches of light that looked interesting for about thirty seconds.
Some photographs worked.
A lot of them didn't.
That has probably been the most valuable part.
A Cheap Camera Will Still Expose Your Mistakes
It is incredibly easy to blame equipment.
I have missed focus on photographs I really wanted.
I've looked at images at 200% magnification and wondered where all that noise came from.
I've used shutter speeds that were too slow.
I've framed photographs badly.
I've focused a few inches in front of a bird instead of on the bird itself.
And every one of those mistakes taught me something.
Better equipment can absolutely make certain photographs easier to create, but an expensive camera can't automatically give you good timing, composition, lighting, or judgment.
Those are skills.
And skills have to be earned.
Learning to Actually See
One of the biggest changes I've noticed isn't really about the camera at all.
I'm beginning to look at things differently.
Before photography, a bird sitting on a fence might just have been a bird sitting on a fence.
Now I'm looking at the background.
Where is the light coming from?
What is behind the subject?
Can I move a few feet and get a cleaner composition?
What happens if I shoot lower?
Is the eye sharp?
What's happening around the edges of the frame?
That little rectangle inside the viewfinder has started changing the way I look at the world outside of it.
That's the part of photography I'm becoming addicted to.
The Gear Has Grown, But So Have the Expectations
Since buying that original camera, I've started building out a small kit and learning what different lenses can actually do.
My 55-250mm quickly became one of my most-used lenses, especially for wildlife, nature, and compressed portraits. I've also added a 50mm f/1.8, which opens up an entirely different style of shooting.
But every new piece of equipment comes with another realization:
The camera wasn't the thing holding me back nearly as much as I thought it was.
Usually, I am.
That's actually encouraging.
I can improve that.
From Practice to Ashcraft Photo Co.
What started as buying an inexpensive used camera has grown into something much bigger.
I've been shooting constantly, learning Lightroom and Photoshop more deeply, studying autofocus, experimenting with portrait sessions, building a portfolio, and developing Ashcraft Photo Co. here in the Abilene area.
I'm still learning.
I'm going to keep saying that, too.
I don't want this blog to pretend photography is a straight line where one day you suddenly become a "professional" and stop making mistakes.
I want to document the process.
The good shoots.
The photographs that completely miss.
The editing experiments.
The gear that helps.
The gear that doesn't.
The things I learn five minutes after realizing I've been doing something wrong for three weeks.
Because that's what becoming better at a craft actually looks like.
You Don't Need the Perfect Camera to Start
There will always be a better camera.
A sharper lens.
A faster autofocus system.
A newer sensor.
Another piece of equipment sitting in an online shopping cart whispering, this is definitely the thing that will finally make your photos amazing.
Sometimes new gear really does help.
But you don't need the perfect setup to begin.
My photography journey started getting serious with a $65 used Canon that came with a broken lens.
That's about as far from the perfect setup as you can get.
And I'm glad it happened that way.
Because instead of waiting until I had the perfect camera, I started shooting.
Then I kept shooting.
And I'm only getting started.
Ashcraft Photo Co. is based in the Abilene, Texas area and specializes in portraits, couples, families, seniors, and creative photography throughout the Big Country.
Follow the blog as I share new sessions, behind-the-scenes stories, photography lessons, gear experiences, and the continued growth of Ashcraft Photo Co.
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