Making the leap from taking photos with a point-and-shoot or your mobile phone to getting serious with a camera body, lenses, a tripod, and other gear is serious business.

For starters, photography gear can be expensive…really expensive.

And secondly, there’s simply a ton of gear out there to choose from.

That means it can be hard to narrow it all down to the basic essentials of what gear you need as a beginner photographer.

That’s where the video above comes in.

Have a look, and follow along as professional photographer Benjamin Jaworskyj offers his tips for the first five things you should buy.

For a quick reference summary of each item, click on the link below:

1. A Wide Aperture Prime Lens

2. Backup Battery and Memory Card

3. Tripod

4. Camera Bag

5. Image Editing Program

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