Starting a photography business is a huge investment. I mentioned before that I started my business with one camera body and one lens (50mm 1.8 at the time). I slowly added lenses and upgraded camera bodies as my business grew. But sometimes you need a lens before you can afford it, so what do you do then? RENT IT! Here are 3 reasons to rent gear:

1. Try before you Buy!
Before investing in any high end lenses, rent them. See if you love them. One lens that I bought early on in my career was a 17-55mm 2.8 lens. People raved about it. It was a go-to lens for wedding days. And I bought it for a very pretty penny and I NEVER USED IT. It was a little too wide for my tastes. Later I traded it for a macro lens. But I could have saved a lot of money in the long run if I had rented it!

2. Allows you to save up
Renting is quite a bit cheaper than purchasing the lens. Most lenses that I own were $1200+ EACH. SO renting them for $50-85 for a week is a great solution! It allowed me to use them for weddings or sessions when needed but not fully invest until I had saved up enough to purchase them.

3. Compare brands. I am a Nikon Girl 100% but Sigma has an Art lens series that everyone is raving about. Instead of jumping ship completely, I am opting to rent and compare before purchasing any of their lenses. Sometimes it is hard to tell if the cheaper off brand is as good as the Bigger brands (sigma vs. Nikon or Canon).

Ready to rent? Try these places!

Lens pro to go
borrow lenses
rent glass

Also, check your local camera shops! Some of them rent gear and you can pick up locally!

A final tip…GET THE INSURANCE! Most places offer rental insurance for like $10. Add it…better safe than sorry!

If you liked this post…see our full gear list here. See our lens love series here.