Blog Necessities--My First Big Blog Purchase

My First Big Blog Purchase

AKA My New Camera!!

If you've been reading the blog for a while now and know anything about photography, you're probably aware that while I have done the best that I can with my iPhone & my little cheap point & shoot, my photos are not exactly even close to professional quality. (Major understatement). I want to be able to provide you guys with awesome tutorials on DIYs, good looks at our decor, and in general have "Pin-worthy" photos. I still don't have the skillz....but now I at least have the camera!

I've been stalking Amazon's DSLR deals for months now, almost as soon as I started blogging (back in September '14!) and the starts aligned when this set went on sale & I saw this post on blog photography by the AMAZING DIY Playbook girls the next day--I knew it was time to take the plunge. 

Say hello to my new camera and accessories! I was pumped to find a good package deal, for the price (of course) but also since I am 100% a beginner and would have no idea what to pick out for myself. This whole set was originally $799.95, on sale for $449.95. Here is a link to just the camera as well ($399) if you don't want to fork out the extra for all the accessories.

My precious

I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit difficult to make this purchase. It wasn't just the amount I was spending (okay, it was a little bit) but more that the amount I was spending was for something only for the blog as opposed to most of my other purchases which have been maybe featured in the blog but were ultimately about making our home better. It just felt like a big, scary step into committing to blogging. But I'm so happy that I did because it feels like such a turning point for this little blog. And to ensure that I actually use this commitment to the best of my ability (since it's totally possible to take terrible photos even with a good camera), I decided to take more of Bridget & Casey's advice and take an online photography course at Shootflyshoot--I signed up for the 101 class for now. I also got the Canon Rebel for Dummies book (have I mentioned I'm a newbie?) and am in the process of reading that now. 

Canon Rebel Dummy---that's me!

This package deal came with a very basic camera bag that I'm definitely going to use for a while and will always be fine for storage and shooting at my own home, but I won't lie to you--I'd love to have something a tiny bit more stylish for some "out and about" type photo shooting. Something that I could throw my keys & wallet into and have it double as a purse when I'm out. I've been perusing a few different website and I usually come back to the same type of bag from each brand--a camel color hobo style with lots of pockets. 

Fossil has this bag for $198...

I am in love with the buckle hardware on this bag, as well as the sleek look

Kelly Moore's take for $199....

This one is a little slouchier and looks relaxed and carefree to me. :) I also like the shorter strap since I would hate to have my camera bouncing around on my hip

And the least expensive & probably my favorite of these three is from JoTotes and is only $119...

And THEN JoTotes has this adorable nautical feeling striped bag for $109 and my decision got really hard. Especially since this is the bag Bridget from DIY Playbook has...total copycat on my part. Imitation=flattery, right??

I plan to give myself a good long while to debate my choices on which camera bag to select since it's not a "necessity" at the moment, but which one is your favorite? Do you know any great stylish camera bag sites I've overlooked? Any sage photography tips?? Let me know in the comments or check out my Contact Page!

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XOXO, 

Jaclyn