I know that very well. I hope my wife never will :)
Why is photography expensive? I'd argue that passionate hobbyists (like I consider myself to be) think with their hearts and can rationalize and justify any expense related to their passion. This is true for any type of hobby. As soon as you passion starts growing and you begin to compare your results to others', you are likely to start wanting to "play with the best toys" on a quest to emulate whoever you admire.
[parenthesis] for me, in editorial fashion photography, it is the great Mr. Tim Walker [/parenthesis]
Now, if you are rich with an unlimited budget for discretionary spending, please stop reading, this article is not for you. Just send me some money already :)
But if you have limited funds and time to dedicate to what you love, how should you use those limited resources?
Caveat: please get your priorities straight. Food and medical care are probably more important than getting a new lens :) I am talking about discretionary money whose disappearance won't put your health or your kids' education (e.g.) at risk. But we're all adults here, right?!?
As usual, I am going to relate my personal experience. I went through a number of phases in my photographic journey, so I think I can give some advice about the following types of photography: travel, landscape, wildlife, wedding, macro, baby/children and fashion photography. I also made a lot of mistakes (= waste of money) during such journeys... so I hope I can help people avoid those.
First some general advice:
• Learn the technique for your type(s) of photography before you start investing heavily in it. Start small, learn the basics and you’ll be ready to make the quality jump when it’ll be time
• Buying equipment is not going to be your only cost. And do not consider your own time like a free commodity. It isn’t.
• Try a bit of everything at the beginning but then do take a decision and focus on one or few specific types of photography... the best toys are the specialized ones
• Lenses: you do NOT need to cover every mm of the widest possible range. Because you're not going to shoot at every focal length possible. Corollary: a few great lenses are better than a lot of mediocre ones
• Don't buy stop-gap solutions: it's a waste of money - wait till you have the money to buy what you want or till what you want is available
• Nothing wrong with buying second-hand stuff, especially lenses, once you do a good due diligence (i.e. you know what you want and you choose a reputable seller)
• In big cities it’s relatively easy to rent equipment: if you have this possibility, do try out your next expensive toy before you commit to buy it
• Quality equipment is generally easier to re-sell and it holds its value more (true for lenses mostly) when you move up or switch interests
Now about some specific types of photography… in decreasing order of expertise :)
Fashion
First off the bat, as I wrote many times, fashion photography rarely stresses the camera / lens side of the equation: read my lips: you do not need expensive camera and lenses for fashion photography. But… there are other aspects that you should invest on.
You DO need good lightning and you DO need good talent.
Good lightning can mean a lot of different things, and in some case you can get away with very little… but the best lightning equipment can be really expensive and can make the difference.
Talent (I mean models, make-up and hair artists, stylists, designers, retouchers, etc.) will make much more difference than your photographic equipment. When you start out in the fashion photography world, my suggestion would be to invest in talent first. You’ll want to work with people “above your station” and therefore you may have to pay them to convince them to work with you.
A professional model, designer dress and great location… and a photographer :)
Wildlife
For wildlife photography, the thing I’d invest on would be… travel! Forget about zoos. If you’re serious about wildlife photography you need to travel to somewhere where the animals you’re interested into live. In my case this has been safaris in Africa looking for big cats (India would be another place for me). You cannot take great photos of wildlife if you don’t see it. These trips tend to be expensive…
Unfortunately, for most wildlife photography, there’s another non-trivial source of cost: lenses. Lenses are important for wildlife photography and long high-quality telephotos (the ones you need) are among the most expensive pieces of glass you can think of. If you only shoot wildlife 1-2 weeks each year during once-in-a-lifetime trips, I definitely suggest renting the glass. And be prepared to put up with the weight and with your wife :)
Also it is suggested to bring 2 cameras to reduce the number of lens swaps… and for redundancy: not easy to get a camera fixed while on safari.
You will also need a camera with a good auto-focus and good speed, but fortunately nowadays most models will do.
This fellow almost caught a little bok before giving up the chase
Babies / Children
You need time and patience :) Lots of it. Seriously though, this is definitely a cheaper endeavor than the previous 2.
Ideally you have fast lenses (because you usually want to isolate your subject) and a flash if the natural light does not suffice.
Camera-wise, you don’t need anything specialized. Most current models will do fine. For added isolation, full-frame models are suggested.
In short I’d invest in one or two good quality fast primes and a flash gun.
Oh, and if the subjects are not your kids, do make sure that the parents agree to you taking their photos....
Who's the daddy?
Macro
As for wildlife photography, you need to see what you want to take photos of… so you need to be near (very) to your subject of choice.
Fortunately, unless you’re into very exotic critters, you’ve plenty of great macro opportunities everywhere. And zoos and the like are not to be discounted because the nature of macro photography means that the environment is usually not visible.
What do you need to spend on? A good macro lens is the very first thing. And I mean a real macro, not a zoom with a fake macro setting. Then you may want a good tripod with a macro head and macro flashes. And then you can start playing with inverters, extenders, extension tubes, etc.
Most modern cameras will do. Models with flip back screens are preferable.
Dragonfly, Kuala Lumpur
Landscape
Invest in travel, time and a great tripod :)
Again, you need to be in the right place at the right time in order to take a great landscape image. And “proper” technique is very important: that means tripod, mirror-lock-up, cable release, possibly ND filters. You’ll need decent lenses but usually you’ll use them in their sweet spot so not too critical. Although if you have the funds, do consider tilt & shift lenses.
Camera-wise, you don’t need anything specialized. Most current models will do fine. Full-frame models are generally favored because of the lack of multiplier effect on focal length. High resolution (high megapixel count) is usually desirable - but remember: the higher the resolution, the better your technique needs to be to exploit it.
Sunrise at Machu Picchu
Travel
This is easy: invest in travelling first and foremost.
During a trip you may do a lot of different types of photography: landscape, macro, wildlife, architecture, people, street, etc.
Invest in gym and a great backpack if you want to carry specialized lenses for all types, or in good-quality zooms. Portability may be important so smaller systems may be preferable.
Family trip, Bali
Weddings / Events
Invest in a good assistant! :) A good assistant will be invaluable – and there are just too many things happening at once during a medium-sized wedding :)
You typically want to have 2 cameras (redundancy!) and a couple of fast zooms and a couple of fast primes and flash guns and a lot of batteries and memory cards. Redundancy is important: you don't want to tell a bride that a spent battery meant no photos of half of her wedding :)
Camera-wise, you don’t need anything specialized. Most current models will do fine. For added isolation and low-light capability, full-frame models are suggested.
Mixed Nigerian-Scottish wedding, London
All photos by me