Sub-£500 camera bargains
Canon EOS 700D Tobi Sobowale
Fashion and beauty ace Tobi Sobowale reveals how she built up a top portfolio with a cheap DSLR from her student days
If you’re looking for cheap cameras, Canon DSLRs are a fantastic place to start. The regular incremental upgrades made over the years mean that there are plenty of different models out there, all of which are highly capable for many genres.
Their fans include Tobi Sobowale, a London-based fashion and beauty photographer. Her images have been widely exhibited and published, including in The Guardian – and most were shot on the Canon EOS 700D, an APS-C DSLR that’s almost a decade old.
‘I aim to show the multifaceted nature of black women,’ Tobi says. ‘Yes, we are bold and powerful, but also soft and delicate.’
Tobi got into photography in 2014 while studying for an architecture degree.
‘I would definitely suggest the 700D as a beginner camera. Some people think you need to have the best gear to start off, but I think a lot of the qualities that differentiate my work have little to do with my gear.’
Tobi is mostly self-taught, though she’s learned a lot from YouTube experts – she particularly recommends Jessica Kobeissi, Prince Meyson and Lindsay Adler.
A good camera for experiments
‘I do like to experiment a lot with hard light,’ Tobi explains. ‘I like to use beauty dishes, and even when I use large octaboxes, I take off the diffuser.’
This spirit of experimentation extends to composition, and for that, the EOS 700D is ideal. ‘Its size, and the versatility of the LCD display, makes this easier. Not having a display that you can pull out and flip has put me off other cameras.’
Lens-wise, Tobi favours a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, and EF 24-70mm f/2.8. ‘People are always surprised when I tell them I use a 700D, but the quality of the lenses makes up for where the camera falls short,’ she says. ‘The nifty-fifty was affordable, and the 24-70mm I bought second-hand, both with student finance.’
This prime/zoom combination provides both sharpness and versatility. The 50mm is extremely portable, too, making it an excellent choice for shooting on location. Tobi reckons it’s
