essential equipment for a beginner

[diviy]

Newbie alert
Due to my health and not being able to work I am hoping to take photography a lot more serious, I am lucky I have a camper van so do a bit of traveling when my health is ok.
what would be the basics needed apart from what I have
Canon 350d with a 18-55 lens ,tripod,Wireless remote trigger ,extension tubes for basic macro work CS5 for editing.
I am currently looking at getting a 70-300mm Tamron lens next.
I don`t mind buying second hand, What other items would be classed as essential and what sort of lighting could I use for macro work in the house.

Many Thanks

 

[Pmc2011]

For macro a flash gun 1 or 2 be better with a way to use off camera.....

What else you looking to do?

 

[diviy]

I also like taking pics at cars and vans at vw shows and silhouette images

 

[Pandster1981]

What level of experience do you have? If you're still learning the basics, I would suggest holding off any more purchases and getting to know the camera a bit better, including gaining a better understanding of light, shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Once you've done this, you'll have a good idea of what you want to do, and therefore what you need to get.

If you know the basics, what direction do you want to go in? You mentioned macro, as well as silhouettes and cars/vans, so maybe a flash or two would be better than a 70-300, or even a dedicated macro lens if you're serious about it.

 

[bluebird14]

I angry with Andy. Ive been doing photography as a hobby for a year to the week and I still class myself as a beginner. What Ive found is that as I learn to use the equipment Ive got Ive said "I really wish It could do that". So Ive expanded my gear by what my creative process wanted.

I actually bought the Tamron 70-300mm not long ago. Because I wanted to get closer to my subjects and fill the frame when i couldn't get close. So my bit of advice would be to ask yourself what is missing from he pictures your already taking?

 

[HopefulM]

Hi Gerry,

When I started out, I found the most useful things for me were:

a good bag to carry my stuff around in
waterproof trousers
some ND filters (just the cheapie cokin ones, but I progressed to B&W 10 stops)
walking boots, the very waterproof variety!
some lens cleaning kit - lenspen, lens cloth, rocket blower
some cheap flash triggers (youngnuo)
a notebook to keep notes in so I could see what I'd done
probably most importantly, a buddy with experience who didn't mind me tagging along and copying his shots!

hope this helps!
x