Getting ready for work: a buyer's guide for photography students

If you're a photography student, getting experience of working in the industry before graduation makes you more employable and is a vital first step to a professional career. Work placements, freelance assignments and developing personal projects are all great ways to get your name and work known by potential employers.

When Canon Ambassador and documentary and editorial photographer Nanna Navntoft was a student, she spent 18 months on placement at Danish newspaper Politiken and was amazed to see how many email pitches the editor received every day. "That taught me how important it is for students to do a strong, eye-catching pitch when trying to sell freelance photo stories," she says. "Working at Politiken was very important and I wouldn't have been the same photographer without it. I learned a lot from my editor, Thomas Borberg, as well as all the different photographers who worked on the newspaper."

As well as internships and professional placements, Nanna says that for editorial work it's good to keep developing your own personal projects and getting them seen by picture editors. "I'd advise going to as many portfolio reviews as possible, applying for any available grants and taking part in competitions."

When starting out in the world of professional imaging, whether you want to focus primarily on stills, video or both, it's also important to have the best kit that your budget will allow for launching your career. Here, Nanna and Yasmin, plus Canon product specialists Mike Burnhill, Suhaib Hussain and Ram Sarup, give their equipment advice for students starting out in the world of work, whatever your budget.

• Best cameras for photography students
• Best lenses for photography students
• Best printers for photography students
• Best budget video cameras for photography students

"Equipment is one of the most important things to think about before starting work," says Yasmin. "I always strive to own a camera that achieves excellent results and therefore attracts more customers." Nanna adds that it's good to buy equipment that's as futureproof as possible. "It's nice to buy something that's looking a bit more ahead, and you know is going to be around for a while."

If you're looking for a futureproof setup, Canon's mirrorless EOS R System is ideal. Not only does the camera technology give you the flexibility to shoot with excellent low-light performance and fast frame rates, but all the cameras in the range have outstanding hybrid capabilities, making it easier than ever before to shoot video as well as stills. "In the modern market, video is an important consideration when investing in equipment," explains Mike.

"The days have gone when you might get hired on the strength of your stills portfolio, and video is now almost as important for some clients, so students that have skillsets in both stills and video will increase their chances of making it as a professional," Mike adds. "If you're looking for placements or freelance work, it's also essential to shoot your own publicity videos and short clips for social media."

"The sensor is perhaps the most expensive component in a digital camera, so if you're on a tight budget, you can get more features for a lower price by choosing an APS-C camera," Mike explains. The smaller APS-C sensor means the EOS R7 is smaller and lighter than full-frame models, but it still brings high specifications and excellent performance for both stills and video.

"For instance," Mike continues, "it offers features such as 15fps continuous shooting capabilities, oversampled 4K video and an advanced autofocus system similar to that of the Canon EOS R3, all at a lower cost and in a smaller package."

There's also the benefit of getting greater reach from your lenses, because subjects fill more of the frame on an APS-C sensor than on a full-frame sensor at the same focal distance. "This gives you the opportunity to use shorter and less expensive lenses," Mike points out – "instead of buying a 400mm lens you can use a 300mm or 200mm lens and you have that extra reach thanks to the APS-C sensor's crop factor."

Pairing the EOS R7 with the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens, for example, will give a view equivalent to a 112-320mm lens on a full-frame camera.

The full-frame EOS R8 offers a step up from an APS-C camera and can be a sound career investment. A full-frame sensor can generally offer greater dynamic range and shallower depth of field than APS-C. "This means the EOS R8 is well suited for those considering a future in portrait, landscape or even architectural photography, thanks to the wide frame coverage and its ability to produce images with shallow depth of field," Mike says.

The EOS R8 has a high-resolution 24.2MP CMOS sensor, Dual Pixel CMOS AF II and a continuous shooting speed of up to 40fps, making it a good choice for events or reportage. It's also versatile, with a powerful DIGIC X image processor and native ISO range of up to ISO 102,400, combined with Canon's intelligent autofocus technology, which can track subjects even in low-light conditions down to -6.5 EV. The EOS R8 utilises the optical image stabilisation in IS-equipped lenses when shooting stills or video, with the addition of Movie Digital IS for video.

The EOS R8 also has outstanding video capabilities, producing 4K video footage at frame rates up to 60p, oversampled from its 6K sensor for higher quality. It can also shoot at up to 180p in Full HD for great slow-motion footage. For aspiring filmmakers, there are pro video features including Canon Log 3, zebras and manual focus peaking. In fact, Mike points out, "the EOS R8 offers video abilities comparable to the EOS R6 Mark II, making this a great hybrid camera ready for whichever direction your career develops in."

If you want a camera with best-in-category performance which could accompany you through your career, then the EOS R6 Mark II is a great choice. "The EOS R6 Mark II is a powerhouse and will suit a wide range of students' needs and beyond, from film and documentary makers to photojournalists and anyone specialising in wildlife or sports," says Mike.

The core specs of the EOS R6 Mark II and the EOS R8 seem very similar, however the EOS R8 is more compact and affordable, while the EOS R6 Mark II includes a number of pro-level features for more advanced photography and video requirements, including longer battery life, dual card slots and pro connectivity options such as 5GHz Wi-Fi.

The EOS R6 Mark II also has In-Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS), which delivers up to 8-stops of stabilisation with compatible lenses. This makes it possible to shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds and record steady video without a tripod or gimbal.

For improved flexibility and the best image quality, advanced video features include oversampled full-width 4K 60p video without recording limits, 6K ProRes RAW recording via HDMI to an external recorder, and simultaneous proxy recording to a second card.

For aspiring professionals, the comparison is with the pro model EOS R3: the EOS R6 Mark II matches it in many areas, yet is around half the price.

"When you're choosing equipment for going on a work placement or freelancing, lenses are just as important as the camera," says Yasmin. "I always recommend having one good-quality lens that can be used in a range of situations and another that is suited to your specialist area."

Nanna agrees: "If you're doing a placement on a newspaper or magazine, it's useful to have a really good all-round zoom lens," she says. "For this kind of work, I also like using fixed lenses, such as a 50mm or 85mm lens, because having to move around makes me shoot better pictures."

Canon's L-series RF lenses are worth the investment as they offer optical excellence, speed and ease of operation and will last many years, even if you update your camera body. Canon's 'trinity' of essential RF lenses, the RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM, RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM and RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM, offer fast apertures and cover a huge range of subjects. Additionally, some lenses are particularly suitable for shooting video.

However, Canon also offers f/4 aperture lenses that cover almost an identical focal length range and may be more suitable for a student budget: the Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM, RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM and RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM. "These lenses all provide the same advanced specifications as the trio of professional zooms, but with a slightly slower aperture and a lower price," says Mike. For video work, the Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM is a great all-rounder, and ideal for filming situations where you need one lens to do it all.

"Alternatively, some of the fast primes are great lenses for placements and freelancing," Mike continues. "The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM, RF 50mm F1.8 STM and RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM are all classics."

If you can afford only one lens, Mike recommends the Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM. "It's a great multi-purpose lens, compact and lightweight," he says. "It offers a 5-stop optical Image Stabilizer and it's optimised with motors that are designed to give you smooth focusing, whether you're shooting stills or video."

"More importantly, it will help you hone your photography skills. For instance, you might be submitting prints for a dissertation where parts are overexposed and look relatively fine on screen, but you can clearly see the overexposed areas when printed." Printing your work will help you see these flaws and encourage you to correct them in future images.

Canon offers a range of high-quality printers to choose from, depending on the budget available. Here are four of Suhaib's recommendations.

The Canon PIXMA iP8750 is an A3 printer with a six-colour dye-based system that uses individually replaceable single ink tanks. "This model delivers high-quality prints for a reasonable price in the home environment," says Suhaib. "It's pretty much plug-and-play; you can print using any software and it will give you a good result."

"If you're looking for a printer that will allow you more control over your final images, including features such as colour management, paper profiling and soft proofing, the next step up would be the Canon PIXMA PRO-200," says Suhaib. This is also a compact dye-based A3 printer, but uses eight colours for a wider colour gamut. It has a three-inch LCD display and you can fine-tune your prints for optimum quality using Canon's Professional Print & Layout (PPL) plug-in.

"For an even wider colour gamut, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 has 10 LUCIA PRO pigment inks, which makes it ideal for fine art prints," explains Suhaib. "It's also great for black and white printing, as it uses a high-density Matte Black ink."

If your budget is more generous, another option is the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. It prints up to A2 size and offers an advanced high-longevity, pigment-based 12-ink system, as well as the benefits of using PPL.

"The PRO-1000 is very easy to use, and the quality is really good," says Nanna. "If it's beyond your individual budget, I'd advise, say, three or four students getting together to buy one and sharing it. That way, you'd all have a really good printer to make nice prints for portfolios as well as printing and selling your own work."

The kit you choose for starting work placements or freelancing depends on the kind of work you're doing and the budget you've got available. However, the above advice will help you make an informed choice on the equipment you need to produce work that displays your talents and gets your career off to a strong start.

Being able to adapt and switch between stills and video gives you an edge. Canon's EOS R System hybrid cameras continue to gain more advanced video-focused features, such as Canon Log profiles, focus breathing compensation, manual focus peaking and zebras. However, as Canon Europe's Ram Sarup explains, the Cinema EOS lineup can offer even more for those dedicated to a future in filmmaking.

"The Cinema EOS range is designed to offer greater control over a variety of parameters – video assist functions, manual focus assist tools, recording versatility, extensive connectivity and customisation, whether via user-assignable buttons or rigging options," he says.

They also feature Cinema RAW Light, which captures the maximum dynamic range in significantly smaller files, giving you greater latitude in post-production. "This versatile yet smaller footprint allows you to make huge savings on storage and media costs, which is an important consideration for many film students," Ram adds.

If you're a video-first shooter but want the flexibility to shoot stills as well, consider the smallest Cinema EOS model, the EOS R5 C, which captures 8K RAW video up to 60fps and also stunning 45MP stills with incredible clarity, wide dynamic range and low noise. Otherwise, here are our choices of the best budget Cinema EOS video cameras for students.

With 12-bit RAW recording, high dynamic range and fast Dual Pixel CMOS AF, the EOS C70 takes filmmaking into a new era, but its familiar size and DSLR-like handling will suit those looking for portability. Its compact design means it can be comfortably rigged to drones, helmets and vehicles.

"The EOS C70 was the first Cinema EOS camera to take advantage of the RF mount," says Ram. "It opened doors to the innovative designs and performance of RF lenses for video. Even with the smaller design, the 4K 120p-capable EOS C70 packs in a lot of advanced features." It also has a dedicated vertical shooting mode and design, making it perfect for those creating video for social platforms.

If you're ready to invest in industry-standard kit that can be adapted to suit a variety of shooting scenarios, the EOS C200 is a compelling choice in the Cinema EOS line, offering Cinema RAW Light along with great value for money.

It's designed to be an all-in-one camera, with a monitor, handle and hand grip and looks more like a dedicated video camera. "For some, the traditional, larger design may not be ideal for run-and-gun situations, which is where the EOS C70 could be the best solution," says Ram. The EOS C200 is highly flexible and configurable, though, and can be used with a variety of accessories or stripped right back for use on cranes, gimbals and drones.

For complete flexibility in post-production, the EOS C200 combines high frame rate recording capabilities with 4K capture up to 50fps, and 1080p up to 120fps, all recorded internally to CFast 2.0™ cards or affordable SD cards. "The built-in neutral density (ND) filters offer up to 10-stops of control, for controlling the light in a shot, as well as depth of field," adds Ram.

The best kit for students starting work placements or freelancing depends on the kind of work you're doing and the budget you've got available. However, the above advice will help you make an informed choice on the equipment you need to produce work that displays your talents and gets your career off to a strong start.