We're always curious to see what other photographers shoot with and wanted to put together a list of our equipment in case anyone was wondering. Keep in mind, cameras & lenses don't make a good photographer, it's the talent of the photographer that is the main factor. Yes, better quality equipment does help, but if you don't know how to properly use it/your camera, your photos won't get any better.
So what are we packing in our camera bag these days?
Canon 7D camera: This is the camera we use at all our sessions. It is amazing and has so many great options for focusing, changing settings, color balance, etc.
Canon 50D camera: This is our back-up camera. We rarely use it these days, but it's nice to have around in case something happens to the 7D. Or if the both of us are shooting at a session/wedding, I (Shamara) use this camera to get additional shots.
Canon 50mm 1.4 lens: This lens is on our camera probably 80% of the time. It's great in low light, it's great for people in motion, it produces a gorgeous blurred background. We love this lens for group photos, close-ups and active toddlers :)
Canon 85mm 1.8 lens: This is my (Shamara) favorite lens for portraits. I feel that it focuses better and is a bit quicker than the 50mm. But you have to stand further back from your subject which limits when we can use it. If you're in a tight space, this lens probably won't get your whole subject in the frame.
Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens: We don't use this lens much anymore, but we've taken some amazing close-ups of flowers, bugs, rings and animals with it. I love that you can capture every tiny little detail of an item with this lens.
Canon 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 IS lens: We bought this lens a few years back because we loved how big of a range this lens has. It works great for landscapes, casual photos, buildings and when you want to fit a lot of things in a photo. The quality isn't as good as our other lens, though, and we don't use it much at photo shoots unless we are desperate. We're thinking of upgrading to a better quality lens with a range, but we'll need to save up a while for a replacement :)
Canon 430EX II external flash: This was one of our first purchases when we started taking photos of other people. We prefer to take natural light photos, but this has come in handy so many times and has saved our photos when the light was too low. It's also great for indoor sessions/weddings when you can bounce the light off the ceiling or wall. We'd love to upgrade to the 580EX II someday, but this one works great for the time being.
Photographers, what is your favorite piece of equipment that you shoot with? What are you currently drooling over and saving your pennies for?
