It’s been a while since I’ve made an updated list, as it seems my bag of tricks is always evolving! There’s always something new to try to push yourself creatively. I do believe that it’s not the camera that makes the photographer, but the right equipment can truly take your work to the next level.
So here’s what’s in my bag, along with some examples.
I shoot with a Canon 5d MKiii. I have 2 of them! Should one decide to kick the bucket on me randomly, I have a back up ready to go without compromising quality with a lesser back up camera. I shot for years with a Canon 7d Mkii and even upgraded once to the 5d MkIV, but nothing compares to the color, sharpness and quality of the Mkiii, in my opinion.
It’s hard to pick a “favorite” lens out of the bunch, as they each do something a little different than the others. I love them all, otherwise I wouldn’t keep them! lol
If you book a family session on the beach at sunset with me, you will see my Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART. This is another absolute MUST for me and I keep a spare on hand at all times. I will honestly say that I have used both the Sigma 35mm and the Canon 35mm and I much prefer the Sigma, hence why I have two! The entire look of my images would be different if I used a different lens on the beach at sunset.
I also have the Sigma 85mm 1.4 ART lens and it might be a contender for my favorite. The compression of this lens is beautiful, however it is a bit heavier and slower to focus. This is nearly impossible to use while chasing young kiddos around on the beach, but I almost always use it during my senior sessions or during wedding formals.
I am a big fan of wide shots. I like to really be able to SEE my subject in their surroundings, be able to FEEL where they are and what that exact moment was like. For this reason, I love my Canon 24mm 1.4 L lens. It’s just wide enough to capture all of that natural beauty without any distortion. I will sometimes use this lens during a family session if the sunset is particularly spectacular, to make sure I capture every bit of it. I use this one A LOT for my own kids indoors, too. Being that it’s a 1.4 lens, it does very well in low light and is fast to focus. It’s also super light weight and easy to keep in my bag at all times.
And even wider, I like to sometimes distort my images! Yup! I love my Rokinon 12mm 2.8 fisheye lens. While there is a significant price difference (and perhaps quality difference) between this and the Canon version, I almost never use this lens for paid shoots, so it wasn’t worth the extra money for me. This lens is so fun! I think everyone should have one of these in their bag of tricks for those days when you feel less than creative.
Those of you that have been around a while know that my husband is a real estate agent here in PCB and for that reason, I also shoot quite a bit of real estate photography. For these sessions, I use either my Canon 17-40mm f4 L lens or my Tokina 16-28mm 2.8 lens. Both of these are just wide enough to capture an entire room without crazy vignetting around the edges or distortion of the edges.
The Canon 100mm 2.8 macro is one versatile lady! Of course it shoots macro, but I’ve also used it as a portrait lens, and more frequently than you would think! This is another long lens that gives you some beautiful compression in your background, but you do need a bit of space to work with and it’s not the fastest to focus in low light conditions. It’s tack sharp and truly worth every penny.
This cute little lens is the Canon 40mm 2.8 pancake lens is just like it sounds, like a flat pancake! This is one that I don’t necessarily use for my business, but I could. It’s sharp and fast and super easy to carry around. This is a personal lens for me, like when we travel to Disney and I don’t want to carry my 35mm, or get it banged around. This price on this one is reasonable enough that if something happened to it, I wouldn’t be too upset!
And of course the big ole’ tank on the right side of the image that you can see my reflection in if you look closely! This is my Ikelite Underwater Housing unit. I absolutely adore this thing! It is no joke, a beast even without the camera loaded inside, but so much fun once you take it out into the water. This unit is sized for my Canon 5d Mkiii and almost any of my lenses I want to use (you can use an adapter for larger lenses). We take this out for family days, paddle boarding tours that my husband runs and you may even see a few LJP underwater sessions, too! Truly a must if you want great underwater images but still want to use your “big girl” camera.
And last but certainly not least, my drone. This baby is so compact and lightweight I can seriously toss it in my purse and head out the door. The DJI Mavic Pro may be tiny in size, but the camera capabilities are near the top of the list and it’s so much fun! The only thing it’s afraid of is drone jammers.
Well, there you have it. If you’ve ever wondered what equipment I use, what I bring to my sessions, here it all is!
I’ve tried to create links to every item for your ease of research, so feel free to take a peek and add to your own collection!
xoxo,
Laura
