Photography accessories are boundless. There are literally thousands upon thousands to choose from. In fact there are so many it was difficult to decide which ones to include. Below are the primary ones. Some are essential whilst others are not necessarily vital but would seriously benefit the average photographer.

Equipment Bags:

To start with, you need something to contain & protect your expensive equipment i.e. a case or bag. The amount of equipment you have, how & what you photograph & frequency of your shoots are all factors to consider carefully as they will ultimately dictate the size you need. You should also think to the future to some extent with regards to additional lenses/ accessories etc & make due allowance for these.

I own 2 Lowepro bags. I chose these on the basis of build quality & durability & how they fitted me, however, they are not the cheapest around. One is a large ‘backpack’ type which will contain most of my main equipment. My smaller bag is sufficient to contain a camera body c/w 70-300 telephoto lens, a spare lens, separate flash head (& it’s a big head at that!) + all manner of batteries, charger, lens hoods, memory cards, leads & so on. I use this smaller bag 9 times out of ten as it’s a breeze to carry around & is fully waterproof.

It is not essential to always carry all your equipment everywhere. With a little planning you can easily swap & change equipment from your main kit bag to your smaller bag & be on your way.

I would strongly recommend that you fully try out any kit bag before you buy to ensure it fulfills your needs but probably more importantly to ensure it is comfortable to wear. You will be carrying these things around for a long time & believe me there’s nothing worse that a badly fitting kit bag (treat them as if they were shoes…you get the idea..).

Tripods:

A good sturdy tripod is a must. You will inevitably come across the need for one in your strive for the ‘perfect shot’ but owning one opens a few more doors of opportunity for you & allows you to further your creative cravings.

Tripods are available in all shapes & sizes. I suggest you have a look at a few in the shops to begin with to get a ‘feel’ for the height, stability & operability that suits you. Once you know then you can shop around online.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the majority of first time buyer tripods will come complete with the head unit. Whilst these are in the main OK, you may find you want to change the head for a more substantial & better quality head in the future. Here, as with most things, you get what you pay for but as long as you have a good sturdy tripod frame, you are free to choose whatever head you want. My personal preference are fluid type rather than bearing or friction heads as the action with a fluid head is very accurate & beautifully smooth.

Flash Heads:

A flash head is a separate device that normally fits into the ‘hotshoe# of your camera (SLR). Most SLRs (excluding the top end Pro types) have an integrated flash unit. Albeit these integrated units are very useful, they are also limited to their perfomance.

In order for the integral flash to be of any real benefit, you ideally need to be close to your subject as possible to ensure enough light hits your subject.

This is where a separate dedicated flash head comes into it’s own. Although on the face of it these can appear expensive, they offer another world of photography to you. The power output (or ‘guide number’) of these flash heads is huge compared to integral flashes.

Personally I love flash photography, why?, because I am in control of the light. Simple as that. I have learnt so much about photography purely by using my flash head. In fact I have 3. Each can be used without being physically connected to the camera i.e. they are controlled wirelessly. I set one up as the master & the other 2 as the slaves, the master receives information from the camera/ slave units & relays information back again. In fact I can control the output of each individual flash unit from my camera without having the need to touch the flash heads..this is really cool…

I have only 2 pieces of advice when considering purchasing separate flash heads:

1. Buy one the same make as your camera. These flash heads are designed & built to work seamlessly with your camera & some offer special additonal features such as Nikon’s advanced lighting system.
2. Stretch your budget as far as you can to buy the best flash unit for your make of camera. You won’t regret it I promise.

Remote Triggers:

Also known as remote shutter releases. In a nutshell, these devices fire your camera without you touching the camera itself. There are 2 main types, wired & wireless. My preference is wireless as there literally is no contact with the camera.

The use of a remote release allows you to use long shutter speeds. When using long shutter speeds, it is absolutely vital that the camera remains completely still else your shot will be ruined as any movement, however slight it may be, will render your image blurred. You may require long shutter speeds when photographing at night or dark environments, for creative effects (eg trailing car lights) or macro photography (when very little light is available as the subject completely fills the frame or the depth of field is that fine that any movement will make your subject point out of focus).

Obviously wired triggers are cheaper than wireless however 3rd party wireless units are becoming more popular. The reason being is that they are just switches, nothing more, nothing less & their only purpose is the trigger the camera so as long as you take care to choose one that is compatible with your camera then you’re all set. I use a cheapo Chinese unit that has worked well for years without fail. I simply plug the receiver into the accessories socket on my camera & away I go…job done.

My device has a range of about 50mtrs which is ideal if I’m photographing nature as I just set the camera up on a tripod or whatever else I can find, then retreat to an inconspicuous spot & wait until my subject walks in front of the camera then press the trigger & the shot is taken instantly….great bit of kit.