You've just plunked-down a handful of crisp hundred-dollar-bills for your fancy new camera--protect your investment! You absolutely, positively must--I repeat, MUST--have three things to protect your new gear: A camera strap. A UV filter. A padded camera bag.

NECK STRAP:

      If you don't put a neck strap on your camera sooner or later you will drop it--it's just the law of averages. Even if you do somehow manage to avoid dropping it then the other consequence of not having a strap will occur; you'll get tired of carrying it around and set it down. And walk off and leave it. Or turn your back and someone will steal it. Or someone else will knock it off of whatever you've set it down on. Get a strap. A sturdy, wide, cloth one with strong, latching hooks.

UV FILTER:

      A cheap little $5 filter that gives up its life to protect the heart of your camera, the lens. When it gets scratched (and it will, and without it that scratch would be on your lens) you just slap on another one. UV filters cut through hazy skies to make them look more natural and also reduce glare off of bright objects like glass, water and metal. Get a UV filter having both inner and outer threads. This will allow you to screw any other colored filter directly onto your UV without ever having to remove it. UV filters are a good thing. Keep one on your lens at all times.

CAMERA BAG:

     You need a good padded-canvas camera bag. A bag doesn't just protect your gear, it keeps you organized. Keep ALL of your gear in your bag ALL of the time, both in the field and at home. Know the contents of your bag. Check to see you've got everything that's supposed to be in there before you leave each shooting location. When you get home check it again, this time counting your remaining rolls of film, supply of extra batteries, lens cleaning materials, etc.. Replenish all consumables right then. Follow these procedures and it's just grab-and-go when you head out to shoot and you won't walk off and leave any of your expensive equipment at the location.

      A decent bag will run you $25 to $50. Look for one with padding you can feel when you squeeze its sides. One with lots of outside pockets and moveable inside dividers so you can customize it to fit your equipment. A zippered fishnet pocket in the lid is nice for carrying film. Some strong eyelets on the outside are also nice for hanging things too big to fit inside. Your bag must have a mechanical latch for its lid, not just Velcro. And it must have a strong top handle and a strong, wide, padded shoulder strap.

      Remember this: There are only three places your camera should ever be; in your bag, hanging around your neck or in your hand in front of your face.

NOTE: I keep my micro-cassette recorder in my camera bag. I hardly ever interview someone without also taking their picture. Even if I'm not going to shoot them it's easy enough to pop it out of the bag and into my pocket on my way out the door--at least I know where it is and don't have to hunt it down when I'm supposed to be on my way to the interview.
      The most important reason for keeping your recorder in your camera bag, however, is to keep a record of who you've shot--especially when working with groups. Once you've positioned your subject(s) walk up to them, stick your recorder in their face(s), and go down the line asking their full name and how it's spelled! Always use the same pattern. Start with the rear-most row and record their names from left-to-right. If you don't do this your editor will yell at you.
      Something else you should keep in your bag, at least until you've become intimately familiar with your new camera, is the camera's instruction manual.

ESSENTIAL FILTERS:

     There are tons of special purpose filters available costing anywhere from $5 to $100 each. Books have been written on the subject of when to use which. Fortunately, for the semi-pro purposes we've defined here one really needs only five of them. The first, a permanently installed UV filter, we've all ready discussed. The other four you will almost assuredly need are designed to maintain accurate color recording under various lighting conditions. You will want to start with two grades of sky filters to take the excess blue out of hazy and overcast skies, a FLD filter to take the excess green out of fluorescent lighting and an 3200K filter to take the excess red out of incandescent lights (standard light bulbs). These are all common filters and should be readily available.

      Most filters are defined by a filter number; sky-filters for color photography, for example, are the 81 series. You should start with two of these; an 81A and an 81B. The most commonly used incandescent correction filter is the 80A. The 80A is sometimes called the "stage light" filter because it is also used when shooting in theatrical lighting situations like stage productions and people lit by spotlights (i. e.; speakers at podiums). Correcting the color of fluorescents is a crap-shoot because there are so many different kinds of fluorescent lights. The CC30R and the 81EF are mid-range FLDs and are the ones most commonly used.

      There are three things you need to look for in selecting filters: They have to fit your lens, for best optical quality they should be made of glass or hard resin, not plastic, and they should come in a protective snap-lock filter case.

      Unfortunately, some of these preferred filters are quite expensive. The much cheaper gel filter kits that load into a carrier attached to your lens provide a practical and quite adequate alternative if you find the cost of glass filters prohibitive. Gels are far less bulky to carry around (a single holder and a small envelope of plastic sheets) and are easier to change from one to another as lighting conditions vary. Personally, I prefer them; especially for field work.

(Note:   Since you are probably buying a camera with a built-in zoom lens you may find that only filters made for that specific camera are going to fit.)

      We'll talk more about when to use which filter in the section on situations and technique.

So, here's your basic starter kit:

      Here's a short list of other accessories you may find useful once you've mastered the basics:

TRIPOD:

     The purpose of a tripod is simply to hold the camera motionless while the shutter is open. Most of your photography is going to done at fairly close range and at shutter speeds of a sixtieth-of-a-second and above. A steady hand is all that is required in theses circumstances. However, situations do arise in which a good tripod may prove indispensable. The most common of these is finding yourself in a low-light environment where flash is either not allowed or the camera-to-subject distance is too great for it to be effective. Low-light situations require the use of slower shutter speeds for any given f-stop (aperture). The longer the shutter is open the more likely it becomes the image will be blurred by camera movement. I try to avoid shooting hand-held (no tripod) at speeds below a 60th-of-a-second. I've managed decent hand-held results at a 30th-of-a-second, even at 1/8, but I can't recommend it.

      Another situation which may necessitate the use of a tripod is when using your zoom at maximum extension. Fully extending your lens is akin to holding a long stick straight out in front of you; any movement on your end (the camera) is greatly exaggerated on the other end (the subject). Again, this increases the chances of blurring the image due to camera movement even at average shutter speeds. Worst case, of course, is when forced to shoot both in low-light *and* with your lens at maximum extension; you can bet on getting some blurring in this situation.

      There are other remedies for these problems one can employ in a pinch--which we'll talk about in the section on situations and technique--but if you find yourself shooting under these conditions fairly often then get a tripod.

      So, what to look for in a decent set of "sticks": You don't need a $100+ tripod for a point-and-shoot 35mm camera. However, the purpose of a tripod is to stabilize your camera so don't buy some flimsy $29.95 piece of tin, either. Plan on spending between $50 and $85.

      Testing a tripod for quality in the store is relatively simple: First, extend its legs to their fullest position and then grab it by the neck and shake it. The legs of a too-cheap tripod will thrash about and rattle while those of a good one will merely flex a bit while making no audible complaints. After the throttle-it-by-the-neck test comes the bang-on-it-test. With legs fully extended, set it on the floor and slap the head from the side and see how much it wobbles about--obviously, the less, the better. Tubular legs are best. Sheet-metal legs stamped into the shape of a three-sided channel are not as good but will suffice if made of thick enough metal.

      You don't need a fluid head tripod for still photography. Fluid heads are expensive and are intended for video or movie cameras where one would be moving the camera (tilting and panning) while shooting. You will be framing your shot and then locking-down your head before releasing the shutter. A smoothly working friction head will do. One feature you do want in your tripod's head is the ability to flip your camera ninety-degrees into the vertical frame alignment position.

      There is no point in buying a tripod unless you also buy a "shutter release cable". Pushing the shutter release button by hand will jiggle the camera and defeat the purpose of having put it on a tripod in the first place. This makes a release cable well worth the five-to-ten bucks it will cost you.

      The only important factor in selecting a cable release is that it properly mate to your camera. However, release cables do come in various lengths. My experience is the shorter, the better--longer ones just get in the way.

      An alternative to the tripod is the monopod. As its name suggests a monopod is a single-legged camera stand. Monos are very handy when shooting with long lenses in situations that require a great deal of moving from position to position to get the required shots. And since most of the weight of a tripod is in its legs a mono is much lighter to carry around on shoots that end up resembling a safari.

REFLECTORS:

      This simplest and least expensive of all photographic accessories is a magical thing. Photography is all about light and reflectors help you control it. You aren't always going to be able to place your subject facing the sun when shooting outdoors. Many times you won't even want to--the human face is not particularly flattered by harsh, direct sunlight. Even if you can face them whichever way you want they might be wearing a hat that shades their face (I truly hate hats). You will often find the direction of the sun, your shooting angle and whether your subject is standing in direct sunlight or in deep shade dictated solely by circumstance. Reflectors allow you to throw light where it's lacking, soften its harshness or intensify its brightness, even change its color.

      There are a myriad of reflectors on the market ranging from about $15 up to $50 or $60. The coolest ones are made of shiny cloth, silver on one side, gold on the other, and have a flexible outer ring to hold their shape when opened. The flexible ring allows a two or three-foot-in-diameter reflector to be folded up and carried in a pouch only six inches across and one inch thick.

      I make my reflectors out of two-foot by two-foot squares of white 1/4-inch foamcore. You can get foamcore at most hobby and art supply stores. I leave one side white and tape wrinkled up heavyweight aluminum foil to the other. Total cost of reflectors made this way is about a dollar apiece.

      Martian Fouts--a fellow photographer and an acquaintance of mine from the Internet newsgroup misc.writing--says he sometimes uses those reflectors you put up in your windshield to protect your car's interior from the sun. I've never tried this but I see no reason it wouldn't work. If you cut them in half (or just fold them that way) the size will be about right and they are really cheap.

ADDITIONAL FILTERS:

      Filters are a world unto themselves; there are millions of them, all designed for specific situations. You will never need all of them but here are a few more you might find handy at times.

1A	The mildest sky filter for reducing the bluing of hazy days. I never shoot outdoors without at least a 1A if not one of the stronger 81 series filters.
81C	The strongest sky filter; for use on very overcast days.
82	Called the morning/evening filter, this filter takes the amber out of photos taken in the early morning or late evening.
82A	For taking the excess blue out of flesh tones when shooting in deep shade (without flash-fill).

ADDITIONAL FLASH HEAD:

      If your camera can accommodate it, employment of an off-camera flash can greatly enhance the level of artistic control available to you. We'll discuss how in the section on situations and technique. Keep in mind, however, that using a second head will require the gaining of more technical expertise than required for using a point-and-shoot camera with its built-in flash.

      Here's what to look for if you do decide to add a second head to your arsenal:

      A power level of GN (guide number) 60, minimum. Get one with a GN of 80 or even 110 if you can afford it.

      Variable power control in at least three levels (f-stops).

      A flip-up head or reflector that allows a minimum of 90 degrees rotation.

      A "split beam" capability that allows you the option of maintaining a portion of the light falling directly on the subject when the head is rotated.

      Variable beam width allowing you to focus the light in conjunction with your lens (wide-angle to telephoto).

      A fast cycle time (no more than three seconds on fresh batteries when the unit's storage system is fully discharged).

      Both hot-shoe and cable trigger capability. A built-in "slave" trigger capability is nice but sometimes too expensive. You can duplicate this feature with a twenty-dollar photocell device designed for that purpose.

      A common battery type and a large battery case. You want a strobe powered by at least four double-A batteries. Anything less will run down the batteries too quickly (50 or 60 shots, barely two rolls of film) and the cycle time will begin to increase to unacceptable lengths in just a few shots even on fresh batteries.

      A rugged shell (you're going to drop it once-in-a-while).

      There are a multitude of flash heads on the market coming from manufacturers all over the world. The disparity in quality, features and price among the various models is truly alarming. Shop around--a lot. A head meeting all of the requirements I've noted will cost between $200 and $300. A SunPak-144, on the other hand, does not meet all of these requirements but will probably prove adequate for most of your needs and cost only about sixty bucks.

      You will also need a stand for your off-camera strobe. A strobe doesn't need to be held rock-steady like a camera so any cheap, light weight stand will do. You do want one long enough to extend above head-height of a standing subject, however. Plan on spending $20 to $50 bucks on a stand.

      You will also need an adapter to mate the flash head to the stand. A simple mechanical adapter costs about five bucks. The really cool adapters include a photocell to trigger your strobe. These cost twenty to forty bucks. The great thing about this type of adapter is that you can avoid paying for a slave trigger in the strobe itself.

LIGHT METER:

      All auto-exposure systems can be confounded by complex lighting conditions. Your camera has no idea which object in the scene before it is intended to be the subject of the photograph. Auto systems simply measure the scene as a whole and then set the camera for an estimated average brightness based on a mathematical algorithm. This can lead to sever over or under exposure of your actual subject when recording a scene of widely varied brightness. Once you've gained a little experience with your particular camera you will come to recognize the situations in which its auto system is likely to fail fairly readily. Common among these conditions are when shooting in strong back-light, shooting people wearing hats and when shooting people of color.

      One solution in these situations is to turn off the camera's auto system and set the f-stop and shutter speed manually based on a set of readings taken with a separate light meter. Better meters can also measure the color of the available light--a tremendous aid in filter selection--and some can even measure the instantaneous brightness of a strobe.

      Top-of-the-line meters cost hundreds of dollars and are really tools for professionals. But less expensive ones (<= $100) capable of reading only brightness can come in handy in many of the situations you will encounter.

      The most important attributes in an inexpensive meter are ruggedness and the ability to read both reflected (off the subject) and incident (from the source) light.

      More expensive meters are capable of reading-out in units of actual light intensity like lumens and/or foot-candles. These measurements have great significance to professionals but are not something you need. What you want is a meter that reads-out directly in exposure settings. Such a meter will have a control for setting in the speed (ASA number) of the film you are using. Based on the entered film speed the meter will read-out a direct set of exposure combinations, any of which will give you a good picture under the lighting conditions measured. I. e.; f-4 at 500, f-8 at 250, f-11 at 125 or f-16 at 60. You then manually set your camera's aperture and shutter speed to one of these combinations based on either your choice in depth-of-field or your need to stop action without blurring.

      We'll talk more about how to make these choices and when and how to use a meter in the section on situations and technique.