Yes, I invested in myself and spent $1800 on a new camera…
I’ve been talking about getting into videography for a long time, a little over a year to be exact. This may sound crazy but I would have back to back dreams about me working with different people to create visual content and stories. This interest didn’t come from out of anywhere though. In college, I majored in Multimedia Journalism and that’s what I earned my B.A. in at Lehman College. As a part of the program, I had to study three tracks of media and journalism: print, digital, and film. A part of the film track, I had to learn to edit, shoot, and work as an on-air talent. While the program was fun was my main concern at the time was writing and becoming a journalist. So, I focused my attention on getting gigs and growing as a writer which ultimately led me to neglect my interest in video. Now that I look back, college was the original root of my interest in video.
Let’s now fast forward to two years later when I went natural (I promise this will all make sense). I decided, to big chop and start over to have healthier and fuller hair. When I did this, I developed an obsession with YouTube because I was all over it looking for tips and tricks to deal with the hair texture that I haven’t seen or done since I was 11 years old. I’m not going to lie, finding hair types like mine was so tough. I was trying methods and following Youtubers whose hair looked nothing like mine. I was stressed and frustrated. So I decided to just figure it out myself. Figuring it out myself led to multiple experiments and a blog about natural hair.
Once I created the blog, I needed to create a strategy. I realized if I’m going to help people with type 4 hair, I needed to create videos. People need to be able to see what I’m doing to really understand so they can do it themselves. I became obsessed with looking for the right camera. I bought a regular point and shoot that was $300 and it didn’t do what I wanted; I wasn’t in control of anything. I’m not going to lie, it held me down but I also had to be honest with myself and think about what my brand is and how I wanted it to look. I have purchased things before and wen the cheaper route because I didn’t have the money, but I still wouldn’t be satisfied.
By this time, I became a flight attendant and I was making a little more money to put me in a good place to even be able to purchase a camera. I started doing research, I asked around about cameras and went back into my Youtube rabbit hole to figure out which one would be best for what I’m trying to build. Then, I made a list. I’m a list type of girl. I make pros and cons list to help make decisions, my goal is to always be realistic and practical. Before making the list though, I had to ask myself, if I buy this camera what do you plan to do with it. Then I answered myself and said, I’m going to create the content I want for Youtube and I’m going to finally be about the action I talked about for over a year. I’m going to learn videography, I’m going to improve my editing, and I will create content for other people and make the money back plus more. Those are my goals.
Then my pros and cons list became clearer. The pros went like this:
- learn a new skill
- create better content
- act on my dreams
- offer more services
- tell better stories
- save money on photoshoots (i can take my own pics)
and that was enough for me to be convinced. But here are my cons:
- be broke for a little while (check)
- not do anything with the camera and waste money
I’m really in control of what I want to do, so if this money becomes a waste, that’s on me. I really feel like God put me in a position to do what I wanted to do, it may not be the way I saw it going, but still in a good position. If I don’t take advantage of my blessings then that’s on me, but I’m not like that. Not to boast, but I’m a very motivated person and once I put my mind on something I’m going to do it. I’ll mess up and make mistakes, but I’ll also learn and get it done. So the pros are why I spent $1800 on my Sony A6500. I’m allowing my dream and blessing to drive the boat, not my fears. I’m allowing myself to do the things I wasn’t able to do years ago and not allowing myself to be in the way of me succeeding.
I learned a while back that if you half-ass things you’ll get half-ass results and that’s not what my brand is. KrissyLewis.com is not half-ass, it’s building its greatness. I had to remind myself what the goal is. While I blog, my goal is to be a writer in the beauty industry. I am a Journalist. I want to tell stories and be a resource for the natural hair and beauty industry and I had to tell myself, girl, you have to move like that!
I’m not saying you have to buy expensive equipment to do what you want to do, but you have to have something that works. My point and shoot camera wasn’t working for what I wanted to achieve and learn. My phone wasn’t an option because I barely have enough space for my photos. I had to think about what Krissy Lewis would be as a business and a legacy. So that’s why I invested $1800 into myself, this is the beginning of doing the work I’m here to do.
Quick Review About The Camera (for those who’re looking)
Pros:
- Quality is amazing (photo + video)
- Beginner-friendly
- Can find it cheaper than what I paid (I purchased a kit with 2 lenses plus 2 extra UV lens)
- Shoots 4K videos
- Decent size (just a little heavier than my point and shoot)
- Can change lenses
Cons:
- The monitor doesn’t flip out but you can mirror it on your smartphone.
Find the link to my camera HERE and below are some pictures I took (unedited):
Shameless plug: subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more of my video content.
Overall, I love the camera and its perfect for my needs. Thanks for reading this, I hope it inspires and reminds you to bet on yourself in whatever way that may be. And remember:
Don’t cheat yourself!
Sacrifice is necessary. Investment is necessary. Learning is necessary. Mistakes are necessary.
Let me know in the comments some ways you invested in yourself this year.