Equipment investment and insurance

Learning goal

You will be able to plan investing the money you earn from photography in equipment that will really move your work forward, and protecting that equipment. You will tell apart the appeal of a new body from your work's real bottleneck, and explain the reasons lenses and light come before the body in most cases; you will also see that this isn't a rule, but a tendency to be tested by looking at your work. From records showing where you struggled in your recent jobs you will draw up an investment priority, and consider renting or secondhand before buying. You will plan the backup gear that will save the job when a device fails in paid work, gather all your equipment in an inventory with serial numbers and invoices, and read what equipment insurance covers and doesn't cover, together with the insurance deductible. You will also take into account that investing in light directly affects the ability to light people of different skin tones correctly.

The question

When the modest money from the frame selected for the exhibition adds up in the same account with the fees from the bakery and florist jobs, your friend for the first time sees an amount they could spend on equipment. At every club meeting the same subject comes round, a body newly on the market: faster, more pixels, better in the dark. Just as your friend is about to pay, the older member stops them and asks them to open their bag.

In the bag there is a single lens, a reflector torn at the corner, two batteries and a card. The older member asks: what challenged you most in your recent jobs, did you need a wide angle in the florist's narrow shop, did you have enough light in the bakery's dim corner? And what happens if this bag is stolen or dropped one day? Which equipment should you spend your earnings on? And how do you protect what you spend?

Context

While talking about equipment myths we discussed that more expensive equipment doesn't automatically bring better photos (Lesson 1.4). In the lens choice lesson you learned to draw up a needs list from the moments you couldn't shoot, to rent before buying and to inspect a secondhand lens carefully (Lesson 12.10). In the pricing lesson, too, you added the wear and renewal of equipment to the overhead shared across all jobs (Lesson 28.5).

This lesson brings that knowledge together through the eyes of a photographer who earns money. Equipment is no longer only a curiosity or a hobby expense, but a tool of the work: the right investment makes new jobs possible, the wrong investment eats away earnings. At the same time, if equipment fails or is stolen on the day of a job, it also puts the job and the promise made to the client at risk. No brands, models or prices are given here; because insurance rules vary by country and policy, the details should be discussed with an insurance advisor.

Simple explanation

Which equipment first?

An investment priority is the decision a photographer makes about which equipment to buy in which order, starting from the points where they struggled most in their recent jobs. This decision comes not from the newest model talked about at the club, but from the exposure notebook, job notes and the needs list. If a wide angle was missing in the florist's narrow shop, or the light wasn't enough in the bakery's dim corner, the priority is there.

Many photographers and educators recommend that in most cases lenses and light come before the body. There are a few reasons for this. A lens directly determines the photo's perspective, the area covered by focus and the softness of the background; a good lens can be used across several bodies. Light builds a photo's mood and form, and determines how a face will look. Bodies, on the other hand, are usually renewed more often and lose value faster. But this isn't a rule: for a wedding photographer, a body that lags behind in focusing in a dark hall may be the real bottleneck. What matters is directing spending at the work's real limit.

Investing in light has a separate importance for skin. A soft light source, a reflector or a small fill light makes it much easier to show light-skinned and dark-skinned faces in the same frame without washing out one or darkening the other. In the florist job, opening up the dark-skinned owner's face without a reflector had been hard. This kind of difficulty is one of the clearest signs of what the next investment should be in.

What is thought about before buying?

Before buying an expensive device, renting it for one or a few jobs is the cheapest way to see whether it really works. Some devices, if needed only a few times a year, can be rented each time without ever being bought. Secondhand equipment, on the other hand, can do the same job for a lower price; but it should be bought after the careful inspection described in the lens choice lesson and, if possible, with its invoice.

Backup gear is the second device or supplies that let you continue without stopping the job when a device fails or is lost in paid work: extra batteries and cards, a backup body, sometimes a second lens or flash. A body that fails in a personal shoot is only a disappointment; at a wedding ceremony or an opening ceremony, on the other hand, it is the loss of a moment that can't be repeated, and it means the promise made to the client can't be kept. That is why many photographers invest in backup first; the backup is sometimes the old body itself.

How is equipment protected?

An equipment inventory is the list that keeps together all the devices a photographer owns, their serial numbers, purchase dates and prices, their invoices and photos. In a theft, damage or an insurance claim, this is the first information asked for. The inventory is updated when a new device is bought or one is sold, and a copy is kept in a place separate from the equipment.

Equipment insurance is the type of insurance that protects photography equipment against risks such as theft, accidental damage or loss. Policies differ greatly in what they cover. Some home insurance policies protect equipment only at home and in personal use; equipment used in paid work or taken abroad may fall outside the coverage. That is why, when reading a policy, it is asked separately whether the equipment is protected when used for work, in which places and in which situations. Some photographers also take out separate liability insurance against the case of harm being done to someone or to a venue during a shoot.

An insurance deductible is the amount the insured must cover themselves in a damage or loss before the insurance pays. A policy with a high deductible may be cheaper, but it means the photographer pays for most small damages themselves. A policy's terms, coverage and deductible should be read together with an insurance advisor and chosen according to your own work. Within how long, and with which documents, a claim must be made in case of damage or theft is also written in the policy, and the inventory keeps most of these documents ready.

Visual evidence

Instead of buying the new body, your friend opens the notes from their last three jobs and writes down the moments that challenged them in each: the florist's narrow shop, the bakery's dim corner, the torn reflector that fell short for opening up the face of the florist's dark-skinned owner. At the top of the list they write a wide-angle lens and a soft light source.

Before buying the lens, they rent it for a weekend and try it in the next venue shoot. When they see it works, they buy a secondhand one, inspecting it carefully and with its invoice. In the first portrait they shoot with the soft light source, the owner's face stands in its own tone and with its detail, even without a reflector. Instead of selling their old body, they keep it in their bag as a backup.

Finally they write all their equipment into an inventory, photograph the serial numbers and invoices, and talk with an insurance advisor. When they learn their home insurance doesn't cover equipment used in paid work, they choose a separate equipment policy and set its deductible according to their own budget.

Common mistakes

Summary

Equipment investment is made not from the newest model talked about at the club, but with an investment priority drawn from the points of greatest struggle in recent jobs; in most cases lenses and light come before the body, because they more directly determine how the image and faces look and are used longer, but this is a tendency to be tested against the work. Renting and secondhand are considered before buying, backup gear is kept for paid work, all equipment is gathered in an inventory, and equipment insurance is read with an advisor together with its coverage and deductible; investing in light is the direct tool for lighting people of different skin tones correctly.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will prepare your own equipment investment plan and inventory.

1. Think about your last three jobs or shoots and write down the moment that challenged you most in each; note whether it came from equipment, light or knowledge.
2. From these notes draw up an investment priority list; think of a way you could rent and try, or find secondhand, the device at the top before buying it. If there was a moment you struggled while lighting people of different skin tones, write which lighting supply would solve it.
3. Write the list of backup gear you will take with you for a paid job.
4. Write all your equipment into an inventory with serial number, purchase date and price; photograph the invoices and devices. Write three questions you will ask an advisor to find out in which cases your insurance protects your equipment.

Check yourself

• Can you explain your next investment based on your needs list?
• Do you know how you would save the job if a single device failed in a paid job?
• Do you know in which cases your equipment is insured and what the deductible means?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. What is the soundest way to decide on the next equipment investment?

• A) Buying the model most talked about at the club
• B) Choosing the most expensive device
• C) Drawing up an investment priority from the points of greatest struggle in recent jobs
• D) Choosing at random

2. What is one reason lenses and light come before the body in most cases?

• A) They more directly determine how the image and faces look and are used longer
• B) They are always cheaper
• C) Bodies don't matter at all
• D) They make insurance unnecessary

3. Why is backup gear important in a paid job?

• A) To shoot more photos
• B) To make insurance cheaper
• C) To grow the portfolio
• D) To not lose a moment that can't be repeated when a device fails

4. What is an insurance deductible?

• A) The list of devices the insurance never pays for
• B) The amount the insured covers in a damage before the insurance pays
• C) The policy's yearly price
• D) The equipment's serial number

Answers

1. C — Directing spending at the work's real limit moves earnings to where they help most.
2. A — Lenses and light build a photo's form and the look of faces, and are useful across several bodies.
3. D — In jobs such as weddings or events moments don't repeat; backup protects the promise made to the client.
4. B — The deductible is the threshold up to which small damages are covered by the insured themselves.

Summary card

• Invest not in the new model, but in your work's bottleneck.
• In most cases lenses and light first, then the body; test it against your work.
• Rent before buying, or inspect secondhand.
• Don't go out to a paid job without backup.
• Keep an inventory; read the insurance's coverage and deductible with an advisor.

Bridge to the next lesson

The inventory is ready, the insurance is done and your friend has for the first time started earning a regular income from photography. A club member asks them a question: are they issuing invoices for this income, have they reported it to the tax office, have they thought about setting up a company? Your friend realizes they have learned to shoot photos, give prices and write contracts, but don't know the answer to any of these questions. What official processes does a freelance photographer face? The next lesson introduces the basic concepts of these official processes and explains why every decision should be made together with an accountant.