Buying photography equipment for the first time is a daunting task. Useful guides exist to help beginners choose a good camera, but few newcomers realize that the camera itself is only the first of many pieces of equipment necessary to create a full setup for photography.

The Camera

The core of photography is a camera, or at least the sensor of a camera. At the moment, one of the biggest debates in the photography world is between two different types of cameras: mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Both have their merits, but a beginning photographer on a tight budget should be looking more closely at DSLRs. With entry-level models, new mirrorless cameras cost about the same as new DSLRs, and sometimes less. However, you can still buy older, high-quality DSLR equipment (including lenses) for a lower price than similar mirrorless gear. Mirrorless cameras are filling this gap quickly, but the best camera for a beginner on a budget is almost certainly a DSLR.

Camera Tripod

Few camera accessories are as versatile and necessary as a tripod. Whether you're shooting landscape, portrait, night, street, or even wedding photography, you're going to need a tripod at some point or another.

Tripods are extremely useful in low light settings as the stability of a tripod allows you to take longer-exposure shots without any camera shake. This stability is also crucial for things like night sky photographs and night-time selfie shots.

As a newbie, it's okay if your first camera tripod is cheap---one that you can mess around with without having to worry about it breaking or getting dirty.

Remote Shutter Release

A remote shutter release is useful because it lets you "take a shot" without physically touching the camera body, which eliminates the potential for camera shake and accidental blurring. It's most often used in conjunction with a tripod. There are two kinds of remote shutter releases---wired and wireless---but it doesn't really matter which one you get. More advanced remotes have extra features like half-press support, built-in timers, and LCD screens.

Prime Lens

If you don't have a camera with an interchangeable lens system, you can skip this section. This only applies to DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.

As you progress in your photography skills, you'll end up amassing plenty of different lens types that let you take all kinds of shots. But at the start, you'll be better off starting with a single prime lens. (A prime lens is a lens that doesn't zoom.)

Why a prime lens? Because the inability to zoom can teach you a lot about proper composition techniques. With a fixed camera lens, you have to think through your shots more, which stretches your skills and helps you improve faster.

External Flash (Speedlight)

Every photographer needs a flash at some point, even if you don't intend to shoot in the dark---but don't use the built-in flash on your camera body. It's simply not good. Instead, spend a little bit on an external flash unit (also called a speedlight or flash gun).

The Yongnuo YN-560 IV Wireless Flash is an inexpensive off-brand flash unit that's cheap enough to be affordable but still powerful, feature-rich, and stays useful no matter how skilled you become.

AA Batteries + Battery Charger

Once you start using external flash units, you'll be going through batteries like crazy---and that's why you should invest in rechargeable batteries as soon as you know that you're going to be serious about photography.

SD Memory Cards

For photography, it's better to have a handful of smaller SD cards than one big SD card. That way, if a card ever gets corrupted, you still have others you can use. There's nothing worse than being unable to shoot because your only card died.

Make sure you buy the right kind of SD card for your type of photography!

Camera Cleaning Kit

Dirt, dust, and moisture can get into camera bodies, lenses, and accessories---and in the worst case scenario, your expensive camera and lenses may suffer permanent damage. Neglecting camera maintenance may be the most expensive mistake you can make.

Unfortunately, professional camera cleaning can also be expensive. That's why you should learn how to properly clean camera gear yourself. Of course, when there's a serious issue, you should take it to a professional.

Camera Strap

Your camera probably came with its own branded strap. Unfortunately, the free straps that come with cameras are often small, weak, ugly, and uncomfortable.

As soon as you have the other stuff listed above, you should spring for a quality camera strap. The difference between a good strap and a kit strap is like night and day, and you won't regret it.

Camera Bag

Once you've bought all the aforementioned items, it's going to be a pain in the butt trying to carry it all without a properly designed bag for the job.

We hope you liked this basic list of gear for beginners, and that it’s been of some help to you. Ultimately, the choice of equipment you use is going to come down to your budget, preferences, and the type of photography you want to do, so keep your options open and don’t end up buying something expensive that you may not actually need.