All My Blogging Equipment

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Happy Monday, friends! I feel that I often get a lot of questions about all the equipment that I use to blog, because there's a lot to it! I won't go into great detail, but these are my absolute essentials when it comes to blogging!

1. DSLR Camera. I really do feel like this is necessary. I would highly recommend purchasing a DSLR and learning how to use the manual settings (your photo quality will raise an insane amount). I actually use a really old DSLR camera. I have the Canon Rebel T3i. The camera is truly one of the most basic cameras a person could purchase, but I'm really happy with it! For a beginner, I would absolutely recommend a Canon Rebel. The latest model is the Rebel T7i. I know there absolutely are benefits to getting a nicer camera, but I find that a large portion of photo quality comes from the lens you choose. Plus, if you're a newbie to DSLR's, this is the perfect entry-level camera.

2. Multiple lenses. If you can spend a couple thousand dollars on one incredible lens, absolutely go for it. I have my eye on this lens but just don't have the money for it right now! I typically use the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.0 lens (which comes with the camera when you purchase it) for my full-body shots and the 50mm f/1.8 for detail shots. The 50mm is a prime lens so you can't zoom in or out. This kind of sucks, but the benefit is that the lens takes beautiful images due to its low f-stop and is only $125. I would always recommend this lens to people looking for something a little nicer than the kit lens (the 18-55) that comes with the camera!

3. Photoshop or Lightroom. I got my start in blogging because I was a photographer, so I have the Adobe Photoshop CS6, but a lot of bloggers seem to be really content with Lightroom. If you're new to the Adobe Creative Suite world, I would recommend Lightroom, because I've been told it's a lot more simple to use.

4. Studio lighting. This one isn't exactly a necessity. I just started using studio lights less than six months ago. However, if you are wanting to take a lot of images inside your home, a set of studio lights will really step up your game. My house has a pretty good amount of natural light, but the lights just really stepped up my game to the next level. I have this set of lights. They're really inexpensive at less than $70, but the get the job done!

5. A tripod. A lot of people say they could never start a blog because they don't have a photographer. Guess what! Jackson isn't always here when I'm wanting to take images! I had a really old and difficult-to-use tripod so I finally purchased this new tripod to use. With the tripod, you'll also need a remote-control for your camera so you can push the shutter without having to stand next to the camera. I've had this remote for years and it works perfectly! If you don't purchase a Canon camera, do some research to see what remote would be the best for you!

6. A card reader. If you're like me and you have a really old DSLR, I would recommend purchasing this little device. I used to hate that I didn't have an easy way to transfer my images from my camera to my phone, but this lets me plug my memory card right into my phone. I actually did a post on this a little over six months ago and had several people tell me that they purchased it and it helped out so much!

That's essentially everything I use to blog! If you really want to take your blogging game to the next level, I would definitely recommend investing in some of this. It's definitely an investment, and a ton of hard work, but it's so worth it to get this stuff!

Much Love,
​Vikka