Equipment Needs for Business

I currently have a part time photography business that is doing about what I want it to do. Growing steadily but slowly, offering me vast quantities of opportunity for improvement, as well as opportunities to meet other business people in my area. It has really helped me begin establishing my network in a new town. I am an architect by day, so I do not depend on photography for any financial contribution to my family.

Now for my question. I currently have a Canon 60D, which I use primarily with my 28, 50, and 85 primes, as well as my Sigma 10-20. I also have various flash equipment etc. I shoot real estate, architecture, and portraits. Few of my clients are extremely sophisticated and the ones that are aren't giving me frequent enough work to bother me at this point. I am seriously considering selling my 60D and three prime lenses for debt reduction purposes. I would then use my Rebel XT, my consumer grade zoom lenses, and my flash equipment for any work I might do. I know for a fact that none of my clients can tell the difference between the image quality of the two bodies, and my style doesn't necessarily require the use of shallow depth of field. I find using the 60D easier to get the results I want, but it certainly is not necessary. Most of my clients only want better than average snap shots, to be honest.

My ultimate goal would be to sell it all, use my other stuff to continue doing work for modest fees or even for free for friends and family. Then once the family financial situation is better, reinvest in a good used 5D3 and perhaps a 17-40 f/4, 24-70 f/2.8, and a 70-200 f/2.8. Either that, or get the 5D3 with some primes. Either way, the point would be to back up and use my older equipment to learn photography better, then reinvest in nicer equipment once the funds and the need is there.

Any thoughts on this? My other option is to sell the equipment and take a break from doing paid gigs. I think selling the equipment is probably a definite at this point.

Wouldn't you miss the UWA for real estate?

Q: Will the equipment you plan to use get the job done?

If the answer is 'yes', then do it.

I still use a 5D1 as my second body. I also have a 7D as my primary body. Do my clients know which images come from which body? In most cases, no. Even in the cases where it is discernible which body they came from, my clients goals are still achieved.

jefzor wrote in post #16285619
Wouldn't you miss the UWA for real estate?

I should have been more clear. I'd keep the UWA for real estate. I'd only sell the 60D and the three primes.

JacobPhoto wrote in post #16286036
Q: Will the equipment you plan to use get the job done?

If the answer is 'yes', then do it.

I still use a 5D1 as my second body. I also have a 7D as my primary body. Do my clients know which images come from which body? In most cases, no. Even in the cases where it is discernible which body they came from, my clients goals are still achieved.

This is my line of thinking as well. I plan to do my next shoot with the XT just to see if I can pull off my normal quality of work. If my client is pleased, then I will more than likely go forward with the sale of the equipment. It hurts because I really enjoy using them. But I realize I can reinvest later when finances are more favorable, and perhaps get what I really want instead of what I settled for. Thanks for your input.

Brandon you are thinking like a business and that is a good thing.

If you don't think you'll get gearhead clients that'll frown upon your gear and you can still deliver the goods and if you need the money, then it seems like a good decision. If you do a lot of portraits you could keep the 85, but you could just buy a used one later on at the same price, so it's your call. Unlike your lenses, the 60D will only devaluate.

One more thing that concerns me: you wouldn't have a backup body. Do you have close relatives, good friends or a rental service where you could get a body in case your XT fails? On short notice?

jefzor wrote in post #16287890
If you don't think you'll get gearhead clients that'll frown upon your gear and you can still deliver the goods and if you need the money, then it seems like a good decision. If you do a lot of portraits you could keep the 85, but you could just buy a used one later on at the same price, so it's your call. Unlike your lenses, the 60D will only devaluate.

One more thing that concerns me: you wouldn't have a backup body. Do you have close relatives, good friends or a rental service where you could get a body in case your XT fails? On short notice?

Good points. I am thinking of buying a decent used (older) body once I sell my gear. What would you guys suggest for a good primary body in the $300 or less range? If I could get something better than the XT in that price range, I would use it as primary and then have the XT as backup. If I were to do that, I'd have the primary body with grip (model unknown), my gripped XT, my 18-55, 55-250, 50 1.8, and Sigma 10-20, along with flash gear. I would feel very comfortable using that for 80% of my current clients.

Help me think through this. Am I on the right track?

On another train of thought...what do you think I could get for a mint condition 60D, 28 f/1.8, 50 f/1.4, and 85 f/1.8? I was hoping for $1600-$1800 for the total. Am I crazy in thinking this is the right figure?

What about your other 20% of clients? If they make up 20% of your income from photography, they may be worth keeping.

Doing a quick search on ebay, it looks like $1200-$1500 may be more in line.

60Ds are going used for $400-500 - and will drop more when the 70D is available (unless it is?).

Any case, remember glass makes the biggest difference. The Sigma 10-20mm is a great lens, and i preferred it to my Canon EF-s 10-22mm. The 55-250 is a great lens as well, but as you know it needs a ton of light as it is a slow lens. Do you find that you shoot in higher ISOs?

Thinking smart, though the 60d would be the keeper in my opinion. I'll pick the 60d off you for $500.

bmaxphoto wrote in post #16285451
I currently have a part time photography business...
I am an architect by day, so I do not depend on photography for any financial contribution to my family.
...I shoot real estate, architecture, and portraits. Few of my clients are extremely sophisticated and the ones that are aren't giving me frequent enough work to bother me at this point. I am seriously considering selling my 60D and three prime lenses for debt reduction purposes. I would then use my Rebel XT, my consumer grade zoom lenses, and my flash equipment for any work I might do. I know for a fact that none of my clients can tell the difference between the image quality of the two bodies, and my style doesn't necessarily require the use of shallow depth of field. I find using the 60D easier to get the results I want, but it certainly is not necessary. Most of my clients only want better than average snap shots, to be honest.

My ultimate goal would be to sell it all, use my other stuff to continue doing work for modest fees or even for free for friends and family. Then once the family financial situation is better, reinvest in a good used 5D3 and perhaps a 17-40 f/4, 24-70 f/2.8, and a 70-200 f/2.8. Either that, or get the 5D3 with some primes. Either way, the point would be to back up and use my older equipment to learn photography better, then reinvest in nicer equipment once the funds and the need is there.

Any thoughts on this? My other option is to sell the equipment and take a break from doing paid gigs. I think selling the equipment is probably a definite at this point.

100% this latter option - get rid of it all and never shoot a job again.

It's obvious you're not serious about your photography "business" and are happy to provide mediocre to average work because you can't be bothered providing the best work you can "and no one will notice anyway"
I bet you'd be screaming and shouting from the roof tops if a part time architect took the same philosphy of "most of my clients don't know the difference between a good job and an average job" as you are to photography and being a photographer.
Would you consider downgrading your architecture tools and designing equipment because nobody will know the difference anyway so you'll only give them a half baked job?
Although, I guess charcoal and pencils aren't that expensive and to upgrade a pencil all you have to do is put it in a pencil sharpener.

It would probably be a good thing to get rid of your camera gear and stick to drawing buildings rather than maintaining the disdain that you have towards the business of photography and what a true professional photographer proud of his work will do.
Do what you do and let a photographer do what he does.

ryanshoots wrote in post #16286608
Brandon you are thinking like a business and that is a good thing.

I disagree. His whole post smacks of contempt and arrogance, and that is a bad thing.
It sounds more like he's thinking like a guy with a camera who just does a bit of photography work on the side for kicks and giggles at a discount rate and doesn't care about the end result because "no one will know the difference."
Probably not the best attitude towards someone who's paying for work

I know how to hold a pencil, drawing a building can't be too hard.
It just needs to have doors, windows and a roof.
See...that was easy.

philwillmedia wrote in post #16299594
100% this latter option - get rid of it all and never shoot a job again.

It's obvious you're not serious about your photography "business" and are happy to provide mediocre to average work because you can't be bothered providing the best work you can "and no one will notice anyway"
I bet you'd be screaming and shouting from the roof tops if a part time architect took the same philosphy of "most of my clients don't know the difference between a good job and an average job" as you are to photography and being a photographer.
Would you consider downgrading your architecture tools and designing equipment because nobody will know the difference anyway so you'll only give them a half baked job?
Although, I guess charcoal and pencils aren't that expensive and to upgrade a pencil all you have to do is put it in a pencil sharpener.

It would probably be a good thing to get rid of your camera gear and stick to drawing buildings rather than maintaining the disdain that you have towards the business of photography and what a true professional photographer proud of his work will do.
Do what you do and let a photographer do what he does.


I disagree. His whole post smacks of contempt and arrogance, and that is a bad thing.
It sounds more like he's thinking like a guy with a camera who just does a bit of photography work on the side for kicks and giggles at a discount rate and doesn't care about the end result because "no one will know the difference."
Probably not the best attitude towards someone who's paying for work

I know how to hold a pencil, drawing a building can't be too hard.
It just needs to have doors, windows and a roof.
See...that was easy.

I am glad to see you have the distinct ability to truly know someone and their motivation from some text in a forum.

First, you have misquoted me. I never said I would do a half baked job. I said if my work didn't suffer through the use of lesser tools and if my clients were still happy with the work I provided, then I would consider the option of selling. I am not really sure where you are getting your information you claim I said, but it is patently false.

To create a decent analogy, consider the following. If I went from using the latest $6,500 3D design and building information modeling software to using pencil and paper, but it met the needs of my clients and they were happy with the result, why would that be an issue? Business is about effectively providing your clients a service or product they need at a price they wish to pay, while also limiting your costs so you can make a profit. I simply fail to see how the particular tool used matters at all. After all, it is a tool. The client doesn't care how you provide the work you provide, just that the work you provide meets their standard of quality based on the level of investment they are making.

You can choose to believe what you want about me, and I am sure you will. However, I would encourage you to look more objectively at people's inquiries on this and other forums, so as to prevent looking like a bitter troll with nothing better to do than rain negativity down on the unsuspecting...and undeserving.

_______________

Thanks to everyone else for your thoughts. As it turns out, I have decided not to sell my equipment. I took the XT and the 60D to a shoot yesterday, and the XT with slow glass just doesn't have what it takes to do what I need it to do. I am keeping the 60D as well as my three primes. Guess I will have to find $1,500 elsewhere.

Brandon,

I think you made the right decision. A good photographer can get a good picture with a lesser camera, but he works harder to do it.

Well, now that you know the XT and other lens won't do what you need, why don't you sell them instead? Won't get you to the magic $1500 mark, but should get you partly there if you sell the XT, the 55-250, the 10-20, 18-55, and the 50 1.8.

bmaxphoto wrote in post #16300872
I am glad to see you have the distinct ability to truly know someone and their motivation from some text in a forum.

First, you have misquoted me...I am not really sure where you are getting your information you claim I said, but it is patently false...

Hmmm...
I made the comments based on what YOU posted, your words.
I'm not sure how you can say I've misquoted you or how you can ask where I'm getting the information from - you provided it.
Below is your original post with the extraneous fluff removed leaving only the point of your post.

bmaxphoto wrote in post #16285451
I currently have a part time photography business that is doing about what I want it to do...I am an architect by day, so I do not depend on photography for any financial contribution to my family...
...I shoot real estate, architecture, and portraits. Few of my clients are extremely sophisticated...
...I would then use my Rebel XT, my consumer grade zoom lenses, and my flash equipment for any work I might do. I know for a fact that none of my clients can tell the difference between the image quality of the two bodies...
...Most of my clients only want better than average snap shots, to be honest.

My ultimate goal would be to sell it all, use my other stuff to continue doing work for modest fees or even for free...

Any thoughts on this? My other option is to sell the equipment and take a break from doing paid gigs. I think selling the equipment is probably a definite at this point.

There's more than enough information there to give enough of an idea of your thinking and where you are coming from.
Basically you're saying that in your mind your photo clients aren't smart enough to know the difference between a good photo or an average one and that a close enough job is good enough, which is what I meant by being half baked job.
A photographer proud of their work would only supply their best work and educate the client so they would know the difference between quality work and as you put it "better than average snap shots".
Just because the client only expects better than average snap shots doesn't mean that's what they should get.

You asked for thoughts, unfortunately they didn't have the airy fairy, lovey dovey sugar coating that you wanted.
You're entitled to call me a bitter troll and accuse me of raining negativity if you wish, however I was simply giving an honest response to what you posted which was packed with negativity and disdain to both photographers and more importantly, to your clients.

If you think you may not like the answer, don't ask the question.