Getting Started in Food Photography

Food photography is one of those subsets of general photography that makes people stand up and

take notice. Tell someone at a cocktail party you’re a food photographer and the response you’re

likely to get is “wow!” The next question after that is generally, “How do you get into food

photography.” I was lucky enough to have a formal education in commercial photography and then

apprentice with some wonderful photographers. But don’t rely on others to teach you what you

want to know. There is no substitute for doing.

It’s important to understand that all specialties of photography require a particular skill set and

attitude that are individual to that specialty. If you’re a move fast, shoot from the hip, f/8 and be

there kind of photographer, food’s probably not going to appeal to you. If you’re methodical,

studious and like to study a scene and tweak it for hours at a time, you’ve got the right raw

materials.

1. Understand how food works.

It helps to be a foodie. First, it just makes life easier to be around things that you like all the time.

Also, it’s important to be able to converse with clients and others in the business about food. I’m not

a chef by any stretch but I like to cook, I certainly like to eat, and I enjoy learning about new foods. It

might be important to know the difference between ice cream, sorbet and gelato one day.

Remember that to illustrate the essence of a food you must first know what makes it special.

2. Understand how light and composition work.

This of course applies to all photography, but more so in still life/food work. You don’t need a lot of

expensive equipment to light food well (although certain types of shots, like splash and pour shots,

do call for specialized gear.) But you need to know how to use the tools you have available. For most

beginners, good window light, a sturdy tripod and some reflector cards are sufficient to get the

images rolling.

3. Understand that food produced for consumption is not the same as food produced for

photography.

You don’t need to be a food stylist, but you do need to understand the processes and methods that

go into food styling. One of the best ways to learn this and to understand it better is to carry a

camera with you and for one week. Shoot everything you eat just before you eat it. You’ll quickly

understand how much work needs to go into manipulating and styling food for photography.

To learn about a recent food shoot and a quick description of our workflow view this video.

4. Understand what creates an emotional response in your audience.

Pay attention to how you and others around you react at a great meal. Find what set’s off their

emotional and biological responses and incorporate those triggers into your work. This can be very

challenging. When we’re at the table we eat with all of our senses. The aroma and feel of food in

your mouth can be just as exciting as the flavor itself. Of course with photography you’ve only got a

two dimensional visual representation so we’ve got to work extra hard to make those visual cues

stand out. Get close to the food, use all of the visual tricks up your sleeve like selective focus, hard

light, chiaroscuro and contrasting colors.

5. Understand what others have done before you and how you react to their work.

Look at the work of other photographers and artists who do the type of work you enjoy. Study their

work and find out why you like it. Incorporate those aspects into your work.

Finally, understand that, like all lifelong pursuits, it’s a process. One great thing about food

photography is that you can work on it at your own pace. You don’t have to arrange models and

locations and wardrobe, just go to the store, buy food and shoot it. Remember Thomas Edison,

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” So go shoot something

Food Photography – An Introduction

Visit any bookshop and head for the cook book section and you’ll be overwhelmed by the array of

books filled with scrumptious recipes accompanied by wonderful photography of the meals being

written about.

Colorful stacks of vegetables drizzled with rich sauces on a clean white plate with glistening table

settings – you know the shots. Sometimes the photography is almost the true focus of the book with

the recipes taking a secondary role.

But how do you photograph food and get such great results?

1. Lighting

Treat the food you’re photographing as you would any other still life subject and ensure that it is

well lit. Many of the poor examples of food photography that I’ve come across in the research for

this article could have been drastically improved with adequate lighting. One of the best places to

photograph food is by a window where there is plenty of natural light – perhaps supported with

flash bounced off a ceiling or wall to give more balanced lighting that cuts out the shadows. This

daylight helps to keep the food looking much more natural.

2. Props

Pay attention not only to the arrangement of the food itself but to the context that you put it in

including the plate or bowl and any table settings around it. Don’t clutter the photo with a full table

setting but consider one or two extra elements such as a glass, fork, flower or napkin. These

elements can often be placed in secondary positions in the foreground or background of your shot.

3. Be Quick

Food doesn’t keep it’s appetizing looks for long so as a photographer you’ll need to be well prepared

and able to shoot quickly after it’s been cooked before it melts, collapses, wilts and/or changes

color. This means being prepared and knowing what you want to achieve before the food arrives.

One strategy that some use is to have the shot completely set up with props before the food is ready

and then to substitute a stand-in plate to get your exposure right. Then when the food is ready you

just switch the stand-in plate with the real thing and you’re ready to start shooting.

4. Style it

The way food is set out on the plate is as important as the way you photograph it. Pay attention to

the balance of food in a shot (color, shapes etc) and leave a way into the shot (using leading lines

and the rule of thirds to help guide your viewer’s eye into the dish). One of the best ways to learn is

to get some cook books to see how the pros do it.

5. Enhance it

One tip that a photographer gave me last week when I said I was writing this was to have some

vegetable oil on hand and to brush it over food to make it glisten in your shots.

6. Get Down Low

A mistake that many beginner food photographers make is taking shots that look down on a plate

from directly above. While this can work in some circumstances – in most cases you’ll get a more

better shot by shooting from down close to plate level (or slightly above it).

7. Macro

Really focusing in upon just one part of the dish can be an effective way of highlighting the different

elements of it.

8. Steam

Having steam rising off your food can give it a ‘just cooked’ feel which some food photographers like.

Of course this can be difficult to achieve naturally. I spoke with one food stylist a few years back who

told me that they added steam with a number of artificial strategies including microwaving water

soaked cotton balls and placing them behind food. This is probably a little advance for most of us –

however it was an interesting trick so I thought I’d include it.

Styling Your Food for Photography

I’ve never had the luxury of working with a food stylist; if you aren’t well-known, you will most likely

take on this role yourself. While I lack the massive collection of props that a professional stylist

would own, I do have at my disposal some place settings, backgrounds, and typically some degree of

control over how food is presented. I don’t tend to use stand-ins or other tricks to get the results

that I want, but remember that those are available if you need them. Whether I am at home or out

shooting at restaurants, I am always challenged to use my on-hand supplies and creativity to create

the right mood and draw the viewer in without distracting them. Getting started in styling food is

not as difficult as you might think:

• Place solid or simple patterned papers (available at a scrapbooking store) as a background.

Figure out what works and does not work in terms of contrast and similarity. Also, make sure

that you have enough paper to completely cover the entire field of view.

• Experiment with incorporating serving pieces, whole place settings, napkins, placemats, and

tablecloths. Set the table with silverware, drinks, and even candles to convey the right

mood. If you’re budget-conscious, you can always find these items at thrift and resale stores,

flea markets, and garage sales.

• If you have multiple food subjects available to you (like two dozen cupcakes from which to

choose), use only the best examples. A blemish can easily ruin an entire photoshoot.

• Mist fruit, vegetables, and glassware with water to create condensation and make them look

more appetizing. Shiny food appeals more than dull food, and anything you can do to make

your food shine will make a more interesting photo.

• Incorporate elements from the food you’re shooting or place appropriate condiments in the

frame. Slice cucumbers thinly and place them on top of yogurt soup to lend it some

freshness. Accompany Thai food with small bowls of sugar, chili, fish sauce, and fresh limes.

Some ideas will work, and some won’t.

Food Photography Composition

My natural inclination when I started

photographing food was to anchor myself

somewhere, pick one zoom length for the entire

shoot, center the food in the frame, and look

down on it at a 45-degree angle – after all, this

is how food appeared when I sat down to eat

dinner. What I realized is that it didn’t make for

interesting photos. Better shots play with angles

and perspective:

• Zoom – with both your lens and your

feet – to put the food in its place.

Whether you are using a prime lens or a

zoom lens, you can always get in close

to magnify a detail of the food or loosen

the shot up to show the food as a

component of a larger meal.

• Rotate along all three axes. Some food

looks best when looking directly down

on it, while other food has an

interesting side profile that can only be

seen when shooting across the food at

its level. Slightly tilting the camera

clockwise or counterclockwise can add

some interest to an otherwise dull

photo. Take advantage of the low cost

of experimentation since you’re shooting digitally.

• Use the rule of thirds. In general, the rule of thirds helps to easily give you compositionally

strong photos, and this holds true not only for landscapes and action shots but for food as

well. Practice following it to learn when you should treat it as a suggestion rather than a

rule.

• Take advantage of the fact that your subjects won’t walk away. While a lot of food stylists

say that you only have a short time to work with food after it’s served, that hasn’t been my

experience (ice cream being the exception). I always feel that I can walk around, zoom,

hover, and poke and prod to get the shots I need.

Remember Established Photography Techniques

You should apply to food photography all of the other general photographic principles that you read

about or already know. Aim for soft shadows, good exposure, and good color rendering. Experiment

with your focal point and available apertures. Pay close attention to white balance and color casts or

consider shooting RAW. Use a tripod if you aren’t going to be stable enough to keep your food from

shaking. Finally, don’t be afraid to add some artistic flair to your images through creative post-

processing.

11 Great Camera Angles for Food Photography

Choosing the best angle, when shooting food, comes from a good observation and an inner feeling.

Before composing your image, try to enter into a visual meditation, move calmly around your

subject and simply observe with your bare eyes. Just keep in mind that this meditation cannot be

long-lasting, as you know that freshly prepared food will not continue to maintain that “fresh look”

for more than a few minutes.

Food Photography is very similar to photographing people in a sense that each person has her best

side. Considering the variety of food out there, diverse cooking and presentation styles, the final

results are endless. This array of unique subjects creates an opportunity for infinite camera angle

choices.

What is the best angle? Here are Top 10 Angles for Food Photography:

Angle 1: Head-on Zen:

The camera is completely centered to the subject. This created a very clean contemporary look and

feel. Tip: Keep the props to the minimum.

Angle 2. From Above:

Camera is positioned directly above the subject and perfectly centered. This angle produces a very

contemporary, graphic look.

Angle 3. Lost in Space:

For this shot, food was placed directly onto the white plexiglass surface, a soft box was positioned

below the plexi. This created a seamless and shadow-less environment. When you do not have a

point of reference (no horizon line, no plate, no sense of environment) you can shoot from most

unusual angles and get away with it.

Angle 4. Tilt Towards:

Camera is tilted right, so the subject tilts counterclockwise and the dish is welcoming you in,

motivating the spectator to indulge in image.

Angle 5. Tilt Away:

Camera is tilted left, so the subject tilts clockwise, pulling away from you, engaging the viewer the

desire to follow.

Angle 6. Close up and personal

Don’t be afraid to get close to your subject. It won’t bite. Or will it? When you are shooting close

ups, the point of reference loses its importance, so any camera angle will produce an appetizing

image or not?

Angle 7. Above with Perspective:

The camera is positioned above the front of the subjectd, then the camera is tilted up until the

subject fills the frame. The photograph will maintain a graphic dynamic composition that will

engaging the eye to scan the image from the foreground to the background.

Angle 8. Diagonal:

Turn you camera so the subject starts in one corner and ends in the opposite corner, breaking the

space diagonally.

Angle 9. With respect to the Line:

When looking through the viewfinder align the edge of the frame to any line you see in your subject.

In this case I chose to align three parallel lines (left and right edges of the slice). So I turned the

camera until these 3 lines ware parallel to the vertical edge of the frame. This created a very

monumental and unusual composition, granting unprecedented importance to this slice of a regular

cheese cake.

Angle 10. Gentle tilt:

The camera was tilted just slightly to the left. Why? Because the human brain likes to scan things by

section. If the camera had been leveled, then the middle wedge would create a horizontal line that

would divide the composition in two sections and forcing the eye to travel away from the center. But

in this case, I wanted the eye to flow freely though the whole image while stopping only at the focal

point. So “gentle tilt” solved the problem.

Conclusion:

Try to forget about the rule of thirds and everything you just learned, just move around your subject

and really try to see it and when you see it, draw the camera to your eye and start framing. Keep

your mind clear, no thinking. When you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling entering through your

stomach and spreading to your chest, just push the button.

10 Tips to Improve Your Food Photography Styling

While portrait photographers need to be skilled in the art of getting their subjects to relax in front of

the camera to get a great shot, we food photographers have things a little easier. At least our

subjects (mostly) can’t talk.

But that doesn’t mean you should forget to apply a little charm in the food styling department.

The more time spent making the food attractive as possible, the easier things are when it comes to

taking the shot.

So here are 10 tips to help you improve your food styling, naturally.

1. Use less food than you normally would

While it may seem more generous to serve plates piled high with food, an over crowded plate can

look less appealing than a minimalist spread. Think about how you can use the white space of the

plate to frame your dish.

2. Use paper to add texture to plates

Lining plates with parchment or baking paper helps to add visual interest and soften the lines of your

plates.

3. Look for contrast with backgrounds

While there are times when all white on white can be visually striking, I find I get better shots if I go

for contrast. So a pale coloured food and plate gets a dark background where as a vibrantly coloured

dish tends to be best with a simple white background.

4. Allow food to spill over naturally

Getting a bit messy really helps to add movement and life to your photographs, rather than having

everything confined to plates and bowls.

5. Choose simple crockery and tableware

While highly decorative China and napery are beautiful on their own, they can detract from the

visual impact of the food. Plain plates, especially classic white allow the food to be the star.

6. Emphasise the natural beauty of the food

Try and think about what it is that makes a particular dish look delicious and then serve it in a way to

flaunt it.

For example, I love the golden, cripsy skin of a well roasted chicken. Rather than carve the chook

into individual slices with tiny slivers of skin visible, the whole bird tends to look best.

7. Get some work-in-progress shots

It can be easy to focus on getting the final plated-up food shot and miss out on some great

opportunities along the way. Try taking a few shots during the preparation and cooking process.

8. Try and capture the ‘yum’ factor

Think about what makes your subject really delicious and then aim to highlight this characteristic in

your shot. Ice cream is a great example. It’s all about smooth creaminess and licking drips from the

sides of your cone or bowl.

9. Always be on the lookout for ideas

Inspiration can strike from anywhere. When you’re eating out or even just flicking through your

favourite food mag, take note of what looks appealing and what doesn’t.

10. Dig in and reshoot

Once you have a shot of the whole food that you love, eat or serve some out and then take another

shot. Often a half finished plate is more appetizing than the original whole.

10 Tips for Mouth Watering Food Photography

Food is in front of us every day – 24/7. On our plates, in magazines, on TV and even on computer

screens.

If we are not eating it we are talking about what we just ate or about what we are going to eat! We

are what we eat; our diet reflects our lifestyle, our choices and our beliefs.

I am a food photographer and I love my job; but I haven’t always been just a photographer of food…

I am actually a qualified chef and I spent 15 years of my life in kitchens around the globe; I love my

food and I love to photograph it!

Let me give you 10 great tips for taking mouth watering pictures of food.

1. Choose fresh and locally grown ingredients, don’t over manipulate the food and keep it simple.

Let the food speak for itself and tell its story. I am bored with seeing pictures of strawberries, but I

haven’t seen as many pictures of custard apples!

2) Let the food tell you how it wants to be photographed

Is there something about the food or dish before you that has caught your attention, what was it? is

it its shape or is it the texture? Answer this and you’ll know if you are going to need a hard or a soft

light, answer this and you’ll know which angle is gonna be best to photograph your subject from. Let

the food inform your approach to photographing it.

3) Keep observing your subject.

Is it colourful and vibrant? Food is the king, select props and background that complement your food

without being overwhelming; keep an eye out for contrast.

4) Get the shot you had in mind, then switch camera angle.

Explore and experiment: the best shot is often not the one you planned.

5) Use a Tripod

I can never stress enough how crucial this is. A tripod will reduce to almost zero any chance of

camera shake and will allow you to take longer exposures – which is handy in low light situations –

i.e. restaurants and bars with dimmed lights.

6) Since I mentioned restaurants and bars, my 6th tip is about White Balance

White Balance (WB) – every modern camera, even point and shoots, have a control for WB, so use it.

Sometimes an orange cast makes for a warm and intimate mood but sometimes it’s just annoying.

Besides this, the white balance control can be used as a creative tool; just explore the different

options.

7) Coming back to our subject, and how we are going to capture it – which type of lens is more

suitable?

Generally speaking, shallow depth of field works very well with food because it isolates the main

subject against the background – drawing the viewer’s attention straight to it. If I had to recommend

just one lens for food photography, it would be a 50 mm f 1.8: it’s small and light, it’s not expensive.

It’s a fast lens and can be used for any other type of photography too.

Sometimes less is more, especially when food is the hero.

9) Try to get the picture right in the camera

Don’t rely too much on Photo Shop to correct mistakes; post processing should only take between 2

to 5 minutes per image.

10) Take lots of reference shots

i.e. take shots of the lighting set up, shots of backgrounds and props. Take notice of your mistakes,

let others inspire you and seek other people’s feedback. Amen!

10 More Food Photography Tips

This post is a follow-up to an earlier Digital Photography School guest post on 10 Tips for Mouth

Watering Food Photography. Check out the original first before reading on to this post.

If there’s one thing people love more than eating their food, it’s taking photos of it. Whether a quick

camera snap or an elaborately lighted, high-production image we just love seeing photos of food.

Here are a few tips I’ve found helpful while creating my own food photos.

1) Work with professionals

As often as you can, avail yourselves of the talents of great chefs, friends in culinary school, a rocking

food stylist or the best BBQ dad you know. People who know how to cook and present food well will

help up your game. In food photography it’s not just about great tasting food, but the little

production elements behind each dish that help give it an authentic, stylistically simple or extra zest

of eye-appealing deliciousness. Don’t know or can’t find any of these types of people? No worries.

Treat yourself out to an early dinner (before big crowds arrive and the sun disappears) at a nice local

restaurant and try to get a seat next to a window or at an outdoor, shaded table. Put any self-

consciousness aside for 15 minutes and order some colorful or well presented food and start

snapping away. Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!

2) Get overhead

This won’t work for all dishes, but shooting directly down on your food from overhead can provide

some pretty striking images. You’ll get to better see the direction the light is hitting and lighting the

food from an open window, creating interesting contrast and sometimes a little shadow mystery. Try

not to shoot too wide (distorted food doesn’t always look so great) and stand up on a chair (a stable

one) if you need to. Even better, if you’re doing this at home, set down a table cloth on the floor and

if you’ve got a tripod with a ball head, rig it up to shoot directly down for extra stability.

3) Shoot slightly above sitting eye level

I utilize this particular angle all the time when I want to lead the eye across and out of an image. It

works great for full table settings, multiple dishes or an obscure background element. The key is to

get just above sitting level so that you can capture the entire spread in the frame while minimizing

negative space in the background.

4) Fill the frame

Creating the effect of a packed table full of food and utilizing all the space in the frame shows a nice

atmosphere. It gives the eye a lot to absorb. Just try to make one of the dishes the clear subject of

the frame. You can even leave spaces in and around dishes as long as you try to utilize the space in a

way that makes the photo feel complete.

5) Clear out everything and go for minimalism

On the other hand, there’s something to be said for a big chunk of negative space. In editorial or

advertising imagery it leaves plenty of room for copy, and really hones in the eye where you want it

focused. Look for an angle that doesn’t make you feel like you’re wanting for more substance in the

frame. It can be tricky to master, but take lots of shots and at different angles to develop a feel for it.

6) Get deep overhead

While not a hard and fast rule, I often find it more pleasing to shoot as deep as possible when

overhead, and fairly shallow when at a lower angle. Shooting deep overhead allows you to get the

entire table surface in focus instead of just the top of a dish or two. However, a shallow depth can

work well too, as long as you ensure your main subject (often the highest point of it) is in focus.

Nothing worse than thinking you’ve got a great photo of a pasta dish overhead, only to discover later

on the monitor you got the bottom of the bowl in focus and a soft top of the dish where your eye is

most drawn to.

7) Shoot shallow down low

When you’re at a lower angle, it helps to shoot at shallow apertures and really isolate your subject

from the background. This allows you to also create a pleasing fade away from your main food

subject. It works especially well in food that has a number of items in a row – like the scallops below.

I recommend a prime lens like a 50mm for this. Adjust shooting at different shallow apertures until

you’re happy with a good background blur, while still keeping enough of the dish in focus.

8 ) Show food in the stages of being eaten

Crumbs scattered about a half eaten pie dish hold a particularly charming appeal. Food is meant to

be eaten, and we all generally find it pleasing to see bits and pieces of dishes picked out – a sign that

someone is enjoying it. So take a timeout after a few shots of the perfectly prepared dish and start

digging in! Then, reset your frame and show a few crumbs scattered about, a rumpled cloth napkin

in the corner of the frame, an open sugar packet and half drunken espresso – you get the gist.

9) Show ingredients and food being prepared

If you have access to a restaurant kitchen – or want to set up your own Martha Stewart cooking

episode in your home – showing the ingredients that come together to make a dish, the food as it’s

being cooked, or the chefs cooking it are a great way to add a story to your food photography.

Everyone is curious how a dish is made or what special ingredients go into it. The people making our

food can often be just as important. Note the popularity of TV chefs.

10) Learn to work with window light

There are plenty of different ways to light food, but many food photographers and magazines hold

window light in high regard. You can create very pleasing contrasts, fill in with white cards, backlight

for a fade away affect and much more. Generally, it gives food a very earthy and wholesome feel.

Place a dish down on a round table with a window in one direction and take a new photo of it from

every 15 degrees. You’ll get to see how the light affects the dish from a variety of angles and find a

few you really enjoy.

A Basic Food Photography Kit

Many of the photographers I know are gadget hounds. They love their toys. They love to talk about

them, read about them, argue about them and drool over the ones they can’t afford. I’m not so

much of a gadget hound. I have my share of gear, and it will occasionally (ok, regularly) spill out of

the equipment room and into the rest of the house, but I’ve made a point to try and keep things

simple in my business, and in my work. For those looking to get started in food photography I’ve

compiled a list of equipment that I would recommend getting, in order.

1. Any Canon or Nikon DSLR.

I don’t care how many megapixels, or if it shoots video, or whether its full frame or dx sized. Just so

you like it and you’re comfortable using it. I know Sony, Fuji, Pentax and others make perfectly good

dslrs, but Canon and Nikon have the largest user base and accessory range, and that will be

important to you some day. Also, when it’s time to upgrade, Canon and Nikon usually have a better

resale value. My primary camera is a Canon 5D.

2. A Macro Lens

Manufacturer branded lenses are best, and of course most expensive. Most of the major

aftermarket brands are fine (Sigma, Tamron) but do your research on those first and I’ve heard of

some quality issues from time to time with aftermarket gear. I would not recommend the close up

filters that screw into the front of a lens and allow you to focus closer. They’re terrible in terms of

sharpness and flatness of field. My primary lens, Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro.

3. A Good Tripod

Since food photography is all about slowly building the image from test shot to test shot, a sturdy

tripod is a must. One commonly overlooked spec on tripods is the minimum height when in use. I

have several tripods but the one I use the most often is a Bogen/Manfrotton 3001 with a 3035 head.

It’s a relatively light tripod and a heavy head, but I shoot in a lot of restaurants. Standard table

height is 30 inches and sometimes I want to be right at that height. My larger, more sturdy tripods

won’t allow me to get that low.

4. Homemade Reflectors

A trip to the art store will set this up for you. A couple half sheets of fomecore, some silver boards, a

utility knife, some funtak and a couple of artists manikins and you’ve got yourself all that you need

for making reflector cards and a means to keep them in place.

5. A Computer Workstation Capable of Shooting Tethered

Specifying a computer workstation setup is a whole other can of worms, but chances are you’re

already working with one so the big thing to notice here is the ability to shoot tethered. I shoot

Canon and EOS capture came with my camera. I don’t know if Nikon includes their Capture program

or not but it’s worth getting if need be. Again, shooting food requires you to shoot, look, repeat. It’s

a whole lot easier to evaluate your shots on a laptop screen than on that little lcd viewer on the back

of your camera.

6. A Color Checker

Something like the Expodisc or a Macbeth color checker is crucial. I ALWAYS shoot a color chart on

every shoot. This is even more crucial when using available light since available light rarely matches

those preset white balances on your camera. Nothing looks less appetizing than a green banana.

7. Studio Strobes or Monolights

These can be fairly expensive, or relatively cheap. It all depends on how much you shoot and how

hard you are on your gear. One key factor to keep in mind is the availability and diversity of light

modifiers for your particular system. A typical studio setup for me contains 2 or 3 lights with fairly

focused light modifiers like grid spots or snoots and 1 soft fill light, usually a softbox overhead or

slightly behind.

You’ll notice that the strobes are at the bottom. It’s entirely possible to do some great shots with

just available light and some basic gear. If you have the first three I think you’ve got all you need to

do some top notch work. Sure, if you’re going to hang a shingle and start selling yourself as a pro,

you’ll need more. But if you want to get started and learn your way around food photography this

will get you moving. I think a lot of photographers use their lack of funds to buy really cool gear as a

crutch – don’t.

Source : http://www.digital-photography-school.com/