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5 Cheap & Indispensable Photography Gear Recommendations

Apr 2, 2015 by JP Danko 27 Comments

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5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

Over the years we have all accumulated a secret stash of photography gear and photography accessories we’ve sourced from a number of inexpensive internet suppliers.

However, finding legitimate suppliers online can be a bit of a gamble, so this week, I though that I would share 5 of my go to sources for photography gear that are inexpensive and super useful.

I hope you will share some of yours in the comments too!

1. Cables, Cords & Adapters

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

With the vast array of photography accessories: electronics, computers, mobile devices, power sources, chargers…(and it just goes on like this) that we use everyday, finding the right cable for the job can be a major challenge.

Nobody wants to pay MSRP for name brand cables, cords and adapters – and eBay & Amazon can be a little sketchy when it comes to this kind of thing, so over the years I have found two suppliers that I order from on a regular basis:

For photography cables, cords and adapters I use FlashZebra and for general use electronics cables I use Cables To Go (C2G).

2. Golf Umbrellas

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

I have a whole array of golf umbrellas that I use all the time.  I have a black set and a white set for weddings.  I have used them for creative props.  I use them for daylight scrims. I have cut the handles off them and used them with strobes.  Once in a while I even use them in the rain.

I get mine from RainGames USA (don’t let the kiddie gifs and confusing website put you off) – they’re cheap, decent quality and come in pretty much any color you could possibly want.

The 60″ sixteen panel solid white umbrellas are my personal favorite for multi-use, and the 68″ solid white umbrellas make great daylight scrims.

3.  Rechargeable AA Batteries

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

I use a ton of AA batteries.

I prefer to use name brand Sanyo 2500 mAh Eneloop XX AA batteries, but charging 30 or 40 batteries for a shoot used to be a major pain in the a$$.  After some searching, I bought two 16 bay AA/AAA smart battery chargers from Amazon.  Now I can charge all my AA batteries at one time – and the chargers have built in USB ports for charging electronics accessories too (like my phone and GoPro).

Brands and availability change on Amazon – and 16 bay AA/AAA smart battery charges are not as readily available as smaller chargers, but this model looks relatively similar to the chargers I use.

4.  Gaffers Tape

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

I also use a ton of gaffers tape.  I used to buy my gaffers tape from photography stores – until a friend who owns a rock climbing gym (they use gaff tape to mark the routes) showed me where they buy the same thing in bulk for less than half the price.

I am sure there are a number of suppliers, but I get my gaffer tape from a shipping and industrial packaging supplier called Uline.

5.  WordPress Themes

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

When I switched my website over to WordPress, I spent wasted a lot of time searching for the right themes. The most stressful part was trying to figure out if the themes I was finding were produced by reputable vendors.

My website is critical to my business, so the last thing I wanted to do was trust the whole thing to some buggy, half assed code purchased from who knows where online (or even worse, installing a theme that has built in spyware).

Eventually, I came across Themeforest which is part of the Envato Market.  I have purchased a number of themes from Themeforest, and for me the relatively low price is worth the piece of mind knowing that the WordPress theme I am using was coded by a professional and there is a support system in place.

The last theme I bought was a retina ready and fully responsive WordPress theme called Impreza that I used for AffordableWeddingStudio.com.

Bonus.  Costume Jewelry & Accessories

5 cheap and indispensable photography gear recommendations

OK, costume jewelry and accessories aren’t really photography gear – but if you are doing lifestyle or fashion work, a few nice pieces of costume jewelery and the right accessories can really add a professional touch to your photography.

I order mine from a company called Blue Bell Wholesale.  The quality is about what you would expect for the price – but totally good enough to look good on camera.

I especially like their website – there is tons of selection and its really easy to mix and match the right items for your shoot.

Not Recommended

aliexpress corset lingerie review

I had a few boudoir fashion gigs a while ago so I thought I would try sourcing some interesting lingerie and props online.

I ended up purchasing a number of outfits from various vendors on AliExpress.com

I knew that it was a bit of a gamble buying cheap Chinese knockoffs, but I only needed these items to look good once on camera, so I though I’d give it a shot.

What is impressive is that I received the shipment direct from China in less than a week.

However, the items were nowhere near an acceptable quality level (and I wasn’t expecting much).  Nothing really fit properly and most were way too small.

I used a few things for the shoot, but in hindsight, it would have been much better to just pay full price from a reputable retailer.

Your Cheap Photography Gear Recommendations?

Have you found any great online sources for photography gear or accessories that you would like to share?

Leave a comment below!

*Please – no comment spam.  If you genuinely like a product or supplier that you have personal experience with – tell us about it.  If you’re promoting something – bugger off.

 

 

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Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: gear, online retailers, photography gear, recommendations

About JP Danko

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.

JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.

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