The other day I was debating if I really wanted to invest in some equipment for a new project as it would make everything look so much better even though I can scrape by with the bare minimums technically. But with that thought I was reading some opinions on how many times people tend to start out doing things with the mindset they aren’t a professional and so they hold back in trying to invest the time and resources to make it looked polished a if it was done professionally. So, the advice there is to treat yourself like a professional from day one even if you are starting out.
I’ve seen it done both ways personally and don’t think there is a definite answer to these kinds of choices. For example, if you were creating a video someone could literally just start with a cell phone and create work until they get enough funds and opportunity to invest in say a high-end camera to take it to the next level. However, the other side would say you should invest in that $5000 camera right away as people will actually take you seriously when they see the quality is on par with what people expect from a professional.
The only time I would say investing that much money right away when you are just trying something out is if for some reason you just got an opportunity that would mitigate the cost in a large way. For example, if you just all of a sudden randomly got an opportunity to work at a wedding for $3000 to $5000 then that would make sense to risk it as you have been given a rare opportunity of sort as a rookie and you can still use your new resources after. This is versus just randomly being say a casual street photographer where you don’t know if anything will happen as you are just trying it out. Like there I would say a good smartphone that you may already have as an example is good enough to test the waters.