With the advent of Instagram and Snapchat, internet denizens have taken to experiment­ing with smartphone photography. Smart­phones have turned into one of the easiest and most convenient ways of capturing important moments. But their photographic capabilities are held back due to the device’s multipurpose use. There are plenty of new smartphones that have tried to provide quality photos and faux depth of field options. But they are still not capable of competing with dedicated cam­eras. Which is why, if you want to take your photog­raphy skills to the next level, I suggest investing in a good Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera.

 

Canon 750D

Price Rs 84,990 (with 18-55mm kit lens)

 

 

While there are cheaper DLSR cameras by Canon in the market right now, the 750D is going to help you understand the capabilities of more professional and expensive camera gear. I suggest the 750D because it offers a simple function­ally without having to dive deep into the manual side of photography. It’s also relatively cheap and comes with a host of professional options without the steep learning curve of more professional photography gear. Apart from the image quality of a dedicated APS-C sensor, upgrading to a DSLR will help you expand your photographic skills by opening doors for specialized lenses, filters and speed lights. Having access to these kinds of equipment will not only help you understand photography better but also expand your visual creativity by allowing you to explore and experiment with composition and field of view. For all the social media denizens who don’t want to wade through countless photos, import them through professional photo editing software and edit them before posting them up on a social media platform, the camera comes with built-in Near-Field Communication (NFC) and Wi-Fi chips to let you eas­ily transfer photos from your camera to your phone. Once the photos are on your smartphone, you can use any post-processing app that you like to give it some flair.

 

 

Canon 50mm f/1.8

Price Rs 14,000 approx.

 

 

 

 Once you’ve entered the field of DSLR p h o t o g r a ­phy, you’ll find countless accessories for your camera that you might find daunting if you’re a beginner to DLSR photography. One of the most important accessories you can buy for your camera are differ­ent kinds of lenses that do very different things like provide a wider aperture for low-light photography and shallow bokeh; telephoto lenses that will help you zoom into your subject from further away; and wide-angle lenses that will allow you to capture more of the field of view from your vantage point. But as a beginner, the best lens that you can invest in would be the Canon 50mm f/1.8.

 

This lens is one of the cheapest Canon manufac­tures and is a great update to the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with your camera. The 50mm is a prime lens, which means it’s locked at a focal length of 50mm; you won’t be able to zoom in and out of your frame as with the 18-55. But since you’re locked at a specific focal range, beginner photographers will have to move around quite a bit to find the perfect composition. This can be taken as an advantage, how­ever, since prime lenses produce quality photos and learning to work with fixed-focal length lenses will help you work with them better should you choose to upgrade to a better lens in the future. The 50mm is also a fast lens because of its wide f/1.8 aperture and produces really nice shallow depth-of-field when taking portrait photos.