This Past Week

This Past Week

This past week, all of it, has been slightly mental! Between mentoring proposals, days off, being called into work, shoots, cancellations and viewing absolutely wonderful studio spaces, I really haven't had a chance to let my brain keep up; nevermind keeping up with everything else!

So not only do I have a few posts to write, but I have to sort out what's in my head. Probably the most important of these is that Wednesday, I was shown a studio space in the town centre that is exactly what I've been dreaming of. Not only is it in a wonderful historic building, but the way that building has been refurbished is beyond imagination! It has all the modern accoutrements one would expect in a 21st century hub but not only that, it is literally 2 minutes from the train station and the rates are absolutely dead cheap.

Right.

That's me needing to get on top of my business plan, setting up meetings with business link, registering as a sole trader, opening a business account and somehow convincing a bank I am more than worthy of a business loan in this dire time of economic woe!

I can do this, but it's not me that I need to convince!

Modestly Operating

We all see the PR announcements and subsequently read the reviews of all the latest equipment with all the shiny, new, show stopping features. This is all fine and dandy. It's healthy to lust after new gear, is it not? Well, sometimes no.

I have a tendency to decide that I "need" something in order to carry on and then obsess about it, getting nothing done in the process, until I have it. A short burst of productivity ensues and then I find that I "need" something else. Thus, the vicious cycle repeats itself.

Of course, it would be easy enough to say: "I don't need anything else; just keep on keeping on." But that isn't true either.

That's the catch 22.

I do need the new gear. I do need new lenses. I do need a new camera. I do need more strobes and modifiers. I do, absolutely and desperately, need a new computer.

What I need to learn and beat into my skull, is that whilst I need all of these things, I also do need to carry on with what I have, because if I don't, then there will be no productivity whatsoever.

Fact: I have no disposable income worth mentioning. Thus, it is quite literally impossible for me to make any significant investment in gear or equipment. So the conclusion must and can only be that I have to either make do or give up.

I'm not giving up. I'm not.

So here's what I have to work with to carry on in this journey. Hopefully I will be able to add to it in the future, but for now, this is what I'm taking with me on my quest to become a full-time professional photographer:

Photographic Equipment:

1 x Canon EOS 30D
1 x Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
1 x Canon 50mm f/2.5 Macro
1 x Canon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6
1 x Canon 430EX
2 x Tripods
1 x Bowens Espirit Gemini 500
1 x Bowens Beauty Dish
1 x 40" Translucent Umbrella
2 x Portaflash 336VM
1 x Portaflash Softbox
1 x Portaflash Silver/White Umbrella
1 x Portaflash Silver/Gold Umbrella
1 x Portaflash 5-In-1 Reflector
1 x Background Stand
3 x Background Paper Rolls (Grey, Black, White)
1 x Dedicated Studio Space in my Loft
1 x PC with broadband access
1 x eeePC with mobile broadband access

This may seem a lot to some people, but please trust me, when your taking your inspiration from the likes of Vogue and you have to regularly produce varying images for model portfolios and what not, the limitations of this set-up are quite abhorrent.

But I will not let a lack of what I think I need to hinder me any further. This is what I have now and will likely be what I have for a while, so we shall see how I carry on in the near future!