Essential Gear For Spring Photography This Season

Thanks to the weather picking up and a wide variety of photographic subjects being available, Spring is a rather perfect season for photographers. Landscapes look greener, flowers provide ample macro photography opportunities and new lambs give your shots the 'ahh' factor when used to fill your frame. As there are so many photographic opportunities available, we thought we'd put a checklist of gear together to make your Spring photography shoot planning a little easier. Plus, some of the gear featured won't cost you a penny either which is something we all like to hear! 

You can navigate to various price-points by clicking the links below:

• Free

• Under £20

• Under £50

• £50 +

It's Free - DIY Is Your Friend

Make A Reflector 

Your flower shots can be improved by bouncing a little extra light into them and the easiest way to do this is with a piece of tin foil. You just need to cut out a piece of card, apply glue or tape to it, carefully roll the tin foil over the glued cardboard, smooth out the tin foil with a sponge or cloth and leave to dry. You may need to trim the edges and you can apply tape around it if you want your reflector to look a little neater.

Portrait with and without a reflector used.

Make A Beanbag

A beanbag can be a handy support when you're working low to the ground or are visiting as location where tripods and similar supports aren't allowed to be used. To make a beanbag, you just need some fabric, beans / polystyrene balls and a sewing machine or needle and thread. There are plenty of tutorials online with step-by-step instructions on how to construct a beanbag, including these found on Instructables: Camera Bean Bag Instructions

Use A Magnifying Glass For Macros

Of course, this is only free if you already own one but if you do find a magnifying glass at the back of your kitchen drawer put it to good use as a makeshift macro lens. You can use most magnifying glasses as close up lenses as long as the magnifier is big enough to cover the front of your lens. For more tips, have a read of this: Macro Photography With A Magnifying Glass

Under £20

GorillaPod Tripod 

With flexible, wrappable legs the GorillaPod can be used almost anywhere. It can be wrapped around railings and other objects as well as used as a small standing tripod. They're also small enough to fit in a camera bag so you don't have to worry about carrying a bulky item around either. 

Kneeling Pad

To get close to the flowers now appearing you'll probably be working at ground level so to protect your knees from dirt and damp, using a kneeling pad is a good idea. They don't break the bank (they're available for less than a fiver) and they'll make the time you spend kneeling a little more comfier, too. 

Knee Pads 

Instead of a kneeling pad, you could invest in knee pads which are also ideal for kneeling in the garden.

Waterproof Trousers 

Waterproof trousers are ideal for landscape photographers heading out to capture spring landscapes in what can still be unpredictable weather. Many pairs are fully water-resistant so your clothes underneath should stay warm and dry. 

Spare Memory

Memory's something you can never have enough of and if you're planning on venturing out for a day's shooting, it's often best to take several smaller cards than one big card. The Samsung memory card we've linked to is also waterproof meaning April showers won't spoil your data and they're protected from magnetic fields, X-ray and temperatures from -25 ºC - 85 ºC.

Torch

If you're planning on setting up ready to capture a spring sunrise you're probably going to be up and out of your house while it's still dark so a torch will be a very handy accessory to have on you. 

Headlamp 

Torches are great but they do require you to hold them where as a head torch will illuminate your path while keeping your hands free which also means you'll be able to search through your camera bag easier, too. 

Tripod Umbrella Holder

You're more than likely going to be caught in a rain shower at some point during spring and as you'll have your hands full with your camera, you don't want to be really juggling a brolly so that's where an umbrella holder comes in handy. You can attach them to tripods / stands and they'll securely hold your umbrella keeping you dry while you capture your photos. 

LED Video Light

If you're taking your spring flowers indoors for some still life work out of the elements a video light can be a useful constant light source and as they're small, they'll easily sit on a table-top tripod close to your set-up. 

Lens Cleaning Kit

If rain drops get on your lens or if you're at the coast and are contending with sand particles blowing in the wind then a cleaning kit is something you'll want to pack in your bag. Hurricane blowers, micro fibre cleaning cloths and brushes such as the Lenspen are all tools you'll be able to use to successfully clean your lens.  

Intervalometer

With an intervalometer you can capture a series of shots that show a flower coming into bloom without having to actually sit by the camera for hours. The sequence is captured by taking a series of photographs a few seconds, minutes, hours or even days apart, they are then all joined together to form a series of images that appear as one film. You can learn more about this technique in our time-lapse photography tutorial. 

Rain Cover

Not all camera gear is weather resistant so a cover that protects your gear from rain is well-worth taking out on your shoot. Various sizes and styles are available so do check that the model you're looking at does fit your camera specifically. 

Under £50

Camera Strap 

To keep your camera secure but easily accessible pop it on a camera strap. Various styles are available but the quick action capabilities of straps like the one featured here are popular with photographers. 

Walking Boots 

Long hikes require a decent boot so it's well worth investing in a decent pair of walking boots that are waterproof, durable and warm. Don't forget to pack spare walking socks too, just in case as you don't want to be walking in soggy socks. 

Waterproof Jacket 

A good jacket with a hood will keep you dry, warm and protect you from wind so it's a rather essential bit of kit. 

ND Filter

To capture long exposure landscapes you're going to need an ND filter in your photography kit. You can learn more about using ND filters to capture blurry water shots over on Filterzone.

Polarising Filter

Polarising filters are a very useful tool all photographers should have in their kit bags as they can be used to improve your shots in multiple ways, including reducing reflections and enhancing colours. 

Graduated Filter

These filters are a darker tint or even a colour at one end and fade to clear at the other. A Graduated ND Filter, for example, is darker at one end and by placing this part over a sky that's appearing overexposed, you can reduce the brightness difference between that and the foreground to give a more even exposure.

£50+

Binoculars

Bird photographers will find binoculars particularly useful and the ones shown below have recently received a 'Highly Recommended' award from ePHOTOzine's review team. 

Extension Tubes 

Without going into the technical side too much, these are just ‘tubes’ that alter the focal length of the lens to the camera, allowing you to get ‘closer’ into your subject. They sit in between your lens and the camera housing. In spring, they'll get you closer to the flower heads that start appearing. 

Camera Bag

This accessory is really a must if you're heading out for a day of spring photography. Rucksacks are great if you're heading for the countryside while messenger style bags are better fitted to city shoots. 

Telephoto Lens

To get close to birds in your garden, you're going to need a long lens as if you try and get close to them, they'll just be spooked. A recent telephoto lens we've reviewed is the Olympus 300mm f/4 IS Pro and it received a 'Highly Recommended' award. 

Macro Lens

If flowers are your focus rather than birds then a macro lens will be the piece of kit you need. 

Wide-Angle Lens

Wides are perfect for capturing spring landscapes bursting with greenery and new life. A recent wide-angle lens that scored well on ePHOTOzine is the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD lens.