If you looking for wedding photography gear on a budget and wondering to run your photography business with it than I sure that you guys are in the right place. I was remember back in 2009 when I start my studio than I also have a problem with capital of buying some gears till I don’t have any choice to start my studio immediately with any gears that I can afford with.
After giving suggestion for my readers about 7 Brand New Wedding Photography Equipment Must Haves Less Than $5500 on the previous article now I want to share to you some lists of wedding photography gear on a budget especially for you who belong to Nikon lover. Surely I will also share about my experience and share my Canon gears later but now I am considering to give some suggestion about what kind of Nikon camera, lenses, and some other accessories that you could buy and use immediately when you want to run your wedding photography business.
I proud of being Nikon lover, as an image that you see above is when I shoot for Kaisar and Marcia pre wedding in Indonesia by using Nikon D7100 24.1 MP DX-Format. It was in a hot sand dun spot and we just arrived on that location around 11 am which is mean we definitely got strong sun light than burn our skin. What I love about Nikon gears is they provided super good quality for the image and I surely got superb contrast, level, and saturation since in the camera.
After using Nikon for over than 4 years both the budget and the high-end level gears so today I wanna share to you about Nikon wedding photography gear on a budget that you can buy on Amazon.
7 Nikon Wedding Photography Gear On a Budget That Can Buy Immediately
What’s better than having some wedding photography gear on a budget and could run your photography business immediately?
If you are true artist and businessman than you must be know that spending too many days just for searching some best gears will just waste your business. You also know that gears are just gears but the most important on the business is running it immediately and get involve on real customer. Rather than thinking about which gears gonna be good at than it will be better if you learn something else such as marketing, branding, posing, lighting and etch.
If you are curious about what kind of Nikon wedding photography gear on a budget that you can buy ASAP than down here I will give you all the lists.
1 – Nikon D7100 24.1 MP DX-Format
I love Nikon D7100 24.1 MP DX-Format so bad, this entry level APSC or non-full frame camera is extremely insane and if you considering to own affordable gear to start your wedding photography business, I surely recommend this beast to be your best friend of capturing moment.
Let me tell you one good story about using this cheap Nikon APSC camera during my previous wedding in Indonesia capitol city, Jakarta, few years ago, let see this photo below.
I was shooting in a Grand Hyatt hotel for the most loveable couple that I ever met during past 10 years and that day I was shooting on Marcia’s preparation on her sweet room in 8th floor. She was so beautiful and gorgeous during that moment so I pick up my camera and start shooting with her continuously till she is ready to go to the church.
This camera was insane because I really love for what this camera has for capturing moment, I could say that I get all the beautiful moment that I need to present on the album, colours are great and even I shoot on ISO 1600 than I only have bit of noise on the image. In my opinion if you want to start your wedding photography business in a low budget than buy Nikon D7100 24.1 MP DX-Format is a perfect decision that you could made.
Pros.
- It has a solid, weather-resistant body and has been a faithful companion in different conditions, various terrains
- It performs very well under low light with nice shots up to ISO3200
- The body is the same size and shape as Nikon’s D610
Cons.
- It still APSC system a.k.a non full frame camera
2 – Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 for Nikon
When you consider to have a wedding photography gear on a budget than always think about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 for Nikon, this reliable Nikon lens is insane since it’s a ultra wide lens and the most important thing, it comes with the biggest aperture of 2.8, what’s better than this?
When you shoot at 11mm on APSC camera than it goes around 17mm (11mm x 1.6) which is still looks so wide and surely there is a distortion on your photographs. When you set this distortion into the right place than your photos will looks stunning and amazing, let me show you with the real sample,
I shoot for this wedding on f2.8 and 1/160 exposure time, this is truly fast moment when I saw my couple walking towards into the church just before the blessing ceremony. The final image is wonderful with the focus on my groom’s face and when you see at the backside than all of them are turn into blur in super smooth way.
Now look at the other image,
My photo above is bride’s portrait that I took before the night party, so I’m asking some help from the wedding planner to sway my bride’s bridal and make a little wave on it till I got this beautiful moment. To make this photo I still using Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 for Nikon with f5.6 and 1/250 for the exposure time, don’t be afraid to adjust your exposure so high because when you doing this sway bridal scene like me than you still see the shadow and motion effect from the gown for sure.
Pros.
- It’s a cheap ultra wide angle for Nikon lens
- Sharp and clear image
- Good for fast moment
Cons.
- You gonna have extra work for adjusting the focus during the low light
3 – Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash
Don’t miss this Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash to work on low light such as in the wedding hall, even I don’t think so you could buy the new one but it will fine too to buy used flash because some of them are still works properly.
If you concern on wedding photography gear on a budget than buying Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash is still cheaper than buy some third party brand like Godox or similar.
Pros.
- Best on ETTL setting
- One of the best flash for Nikon at all time
- Compatibility with Nikon cameras, autofocus zoom capability, the ability to bounce the flash
Cons.
- Now that it’s discontinued, but you can get it for under $120
4 – SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC UHS-I
The best thing of using D7100 is they using SD card which gonna be cheaper than using CF or other card, my humble suggestion for card is SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB.
I know you might thinking why not to using 64Gb or bigger space and the only reasons is for your own data safety. When you use smaller capacity than you can easily backup once it is full but if you save your files on a bigger card capacity and once you get some trouble than you will lost every moment that you already captured. Due to my experience than you surely need around 2 or 3 cards for 6 to 8 hours wedding session.
Pros.
- Value for money
- Best SD card brand of all time
- Rely on entry level Nikon DSLR
Cons.
- Don’t expect to use it for 4K video
5 – Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader
When you thinking about best card reader for your business than there is no doubt on Lexar Professional USB 3.0. By the way I personally ever to bought some cheap card reader during my winter photo shoot in Hong Kong and you know what, I can’t transfer all my files and get me so stress following the session.
What I’m doing during that day is asking to borrow a card reader form the hotel where I stay and I saw that they use a Lexar Professional USB 3.0 for their own and since that day I buy this wonderful card reader to work with.
Pros.
- Truly better gear comparing with other brand
- Lexar Professional USB 3.0 card reader is tough, fast, and stable
- It can download TWO CARDS at ONCE
Cons.
- Made with plastic so be aware of being fall from your bag
6 – CADeN Camera Backpack
When talking about camera bag than I always suggest ANYONE to buy a backpack because this kind of bag will protect your shoulder for being get pain after bring all heavy gears for years.
What I can suggest you now is about buying CADeN Camera Backpack that have an enough space of compartment to bring up to 2 bodies and up to 3 lenses on the bag, another good thing you also can bring a small tripod on the side pocket and the most important is…
It’s waterproof!
Just in case you need some other references of bag than you can read my previous article about backpack under $100.
Pros.
- You can have all your photography gears safe on the plane in ONE backpack
- Waterproof
- Affordable price
Cons.
- No Space for laptop
7 – Apple MacBook Pro 13 (Mid 2012) Renewed
Don’t think under estimate for this Apple MacBook Pro 13 (Mid 2012) Renewed because it works properly for photo retouching and do simple video editing for behind the scene or short wedding clip. Trust me, if you concern on wedding photography gear on a budget than this laptop is insane for all your job.
Right now I still have an old iMac that I bought in 2011 and you know what it still works so well for my photography job and blogging, truly cool gears that everyone must consider.
Pros.
- It may have some scratch due to regularly use but still works well
- Great value for budget photography gear
- Best for photo retouching and simple video editing
Cons.
- This product is not Apple certified, but has been professionally inspected and tested by Amazon-qualified suppliers
Disclaimer
This post containing an affiliate links which means that if you making a purchase than I’ll receive small commission from Amazon associate without any additional cost from you. If you would like to view my disclosure policy than you can see HERE
I surely happy to share about my wedding photography gear on a budget recommendation above and if you still have some question about it than I will more than happy too to answering your question on the comment form below.