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Hi,

I think it's a good idea to keep everything. I also recommend shooting in RAW. It takes too much time (if you shoot a lot) to have every RAW file uploaded to the cloud. Also, you don't necessarily want to save every single photo you shoot in the cloud.

I recommend saving everything to an external HD when you import photos. I like Lightroom, and it can automatically save photos to one or two external HDs upon import. That takes care of your archive.

THEN you can create a gallery in Lightroom, and you can edit that gallery to your best shots. These I typically adjust, save, and upload to Dropbox. You can choose the service - Amazon, Google Drive, Flickr, etc - that you like most.

There are many ways to accomplish these tasks, and I'm sure everything people have mentioned below will work well. The key is to find a method that's simple and easy for you to do consistently and without having to think too much; you want a system.

By the way, I recently purchased a Samsung SSD that holds 1TB of data and is very compact and lightweight. It's also sturdier than a drive that has moving parts. For those of you who travel a lot, or keep your stuff in a backpack that goes everywhere, you might like checking out these drives. They are expensive but solid.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T3-Portable-SSD-MU-PT1T0B/dp/B01AVF6UO8

I hope this info is helpful. If you have any questions, just let me know. I'm happy to help however I can. If you'd like some photo tips you can download a free PDF here:

http://www.captainofyourcamera.com/getstarted

Good luck, I hope this editing / archiving info is helpful.

Happy Shooting!

Jeffrey Luke
Photographer / Author

animaldonut.com
captainofyourcamera.com

I'd suggest a light sturdy travel tripod. A steel one is great for studio work, but carrying them around all day is awful - carbon fibre ones are light and strong, but expensive. With landscapes, you often stop the lenses down a lot - for depth of focus - so there is less benefit from using more expensive, faster, lenses. https://shotkit.com/best-travel-tripods/

You might also want to get a shutter release cable. This will allow you to take photos without shaking the camera, you can buy cheap ones on amazon as long as they fit your camera. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pixel-Shutter-Control-Release-PowerShot/dp/B01CJ7UNA8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503069076&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+shutter+release+1300d

You might want to buy an additonal battery too. The off-brand ones are noticeably less good, but much less expensive. I bought two for my pentax which were £4 each, instead of £50 for the branded ones, and they last about 2/3 as long. https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOP-MAX-Capacity-LP-E10-Battery-Digital/dp/B014880ISS/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1503069039&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+battery+1300d

If you want to do lots of night photography you might want a small camping chair. https://www.amazon.co.uk/IDEAPRO-Lightweight-Camping-Fishing-Portable/dp/B00Z68EWH8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1503068995&sr=8-5&keywords=camping+stool

Then just make sure that you have a bag which you can put everything in which is comfy and has enough space for anything else you might want - water bottles, food, string, filters. I bought this a few weeks ago and I love it https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019MI8KF2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are my suggestions if you do want any of those things you should check that they will fit your camera. I'm fairly confident that they should. The entry level canon bodies are all pretty good, and even the kit lenses are pretty sharp.

This is my wife's new camera, and she absolutely loves it. Great pics, lots of options and fits nicely into her purse. (I have a traditional digital with interchangeable lenses... And a backpack that I carry it all in!)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BOZCSQE?pc_redir=1405932697&robot_redir=1

This seems like a nice little point and shoot, we bought it for a gift for my father-in-law, but liked it for ourselves, too.

http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=3386018&pid=1219091220114&pcatId=abcat0401001

Do you mean the flash that pops up on the camera? That is not at all the same thing. An external flash allows you to bounce the light off walls or the ceiling to give directional light that drastically improves the lighting on the subject resulting in a much prettier portrait. I recommend this.

Otherwise, the nikon 85mm 1.8g lens is around $450 and is an excellent portrait lens.

Hey! thanks for replying.

I've read that as well haha, Sigma 18-35 f.18 got it. Is there any significant difference between the nikkor lens and the sigma lens though? Nikon costs 650$ and Sigma costs $800

This is confusing...

(DSLR camera) Canon Rebel T3, $299 most places. 12mp, 2.5" screen, comes with 18-55mm lens.
I've had a bit of experience with this one in the past. Gives you great quality for the price, can blow up pictures to at least 20x30 poster size easily and fairly simple controls, buttons and settings (which includes a completely manual option also.)

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-Digital-18-55mm-Movie/dp/B004J3Y9U6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406170143&sr=8-2&keywords=t3

I personally have the Canon Rebel T3i right now though. (also a DSLR) It was around $650. 18mp, flip out screen (great for filming yourself if you want to flip the screen toward yourself), video capability in 1080p HD, 3" screen on the back, comes with 18-55mm lens also but totally worth the upgrade. It's more for serious artwork if youre looking to publish, photoshop or sell anything. I highly recommend this or any of the Canon Rebels.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Imaging-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B004J3V90Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406170173&sr=8-1&keywords=t3i

I learned a lot from the Scott Kelby books. They're simple to digest and have "recipes" that teach you how to take certain kinds of photos. Some pros don't like them, but I found them extremely helpful. This is the first one.. you can buy them one at a time, or in a set.

Thank you for the detailed feedback! I never thought I'd get this much help on this sub. I follow the rule of thirds pretty closely. I use a canon t3 currently. Just got into this hobby at the beginning of summer so I'm kinda just getting started. I don't have a laptop so I do everything on my phone. I use adobe photoshop express which I am still getting a grip on. I primarily use this lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X8MRBCW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nD9SzbD9SR2JY. I also use a 75-300 mm lens.

Which leads me to an age old question I've had that I can't find the answer to. What am I losing going from the 50mm lens to the 75-300 mm lens?? You'd think the lens with more zoom would be more expensive but it's not. Can you help with that answer?

I'm also considering this camera: https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D3400-NIKKOR-18-55mm-3-5-5-6G/dp/B01KITZRBE?th=1

I am using K&F concept ND filter, bought it from a local vendor but I think you can get it here:
https://www.amazon.com/Concept-100x100CM-Neutral-Adapters-Compatible/dp/B07G73TT3Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=K%26F+Concept+square+nd+filter&qid=1571239439&s=electronics&sr=1-3

Nowhere near that expensive actually! I used the 10X macro lens from this set.

for a $50 budget this would do you fine

> 200D canon rebel

I don't think $499 is cheaper, unless i'm looking at the wrong one?
https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-DSLR-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B071K61XFC?th=1

Do not despair! There are some ridiculously cheap alternatives to expensive gear out there. Specifically in the lighting department. DIY techniques are abundant all over the internet and if you can add some artificial light to your photos, they can skyrocket their level of quality.

Yongnuo makes some extremely practical 3rd-party gear comparable to nikon's and canon's $150-$400 speedlights. I've used their speedlghts and radio transmitters for going on 5 years now and are very dependable and outrageously cheap compared to pocket wizards. 2 speed lights + 1 set of transmitters = $200.