The question I'm asked most often is what camera gear I use. So, here it is! A complete list of all the equipment I use to make the magic happen!
Canon 5D Mark III
My camera body and the star of the show! I call it a beast because it's pretty bulky and heavy, but I will gladly continue to carry it around as long as it keeps helping me create such pretty images! This camera has dual card slots meaning it writes information to two memory cards. This means, if one were to ever corrupt, I have a backup of all of your images!
Canon 5D Mark II My backup + workhorse body! I used my mark II for years and it is so reliable. I love it!
I love using this zoom lens for events! It's so versatile and crisp, and it covers the 24, 35, 50 and 70mm focal lengths which is SO convenient to have all in one lens.
I love using a wider prime lens because you still get that crisp subject yet creamy background. It's so versatile in environments you can't control like tight spaces or small coffee shops. This is my go to lens for almost every session!
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 This has been my go-to lens for pretty much everything! It's wide enough to carry around when I'm traveling, but it opens up nice and wide giving you that nice blurry background and is perfect for every portrait session. Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 This is the newest addition to my lens collection and I've heard amazing things about it! It produces sharp images and its focal length gives you the nice creamy background that a 50 can’t. It’s great for portraits and capturing all the little details. Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III I mainly use this lens for sports or events. It's a zoom lens that provides more versatility, but it only opens up to f/4 which robs you of that creamy background. It does the job, but I have my eye on an EF 70-200mm f/2.8 one day! Canon 430 EX II Speedlite This flash comes with me to events! I also use a little diffuser to soften the light.
Canon Battery Grip BG-E6 I use my battery grip at events or on long shoots to prolong my battery life and it works wonders! It definitely adds a lot of weight making the camera heavier, but it's worth the convenience of not having to switch out batteries. This grip is specific to the Canon 5D Mark II and has since been discontinued by Canon. Apple MacBook Pro 13” 2017, 2.3 GHz, Intel Core i5, 128gb flash storage Wow, that's a mouthful. I use my 13" MacBook Pro every single day. It's light enough to carry around with ease, but the computer is a powerhouse. I chose a MacBook Pro over the MacBook Air because it has the capacity to run programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator and InDesign smoothly simultaneously. It has seriously enhanced my workflow and if you're a photographer or designer, it's a great investment to make! WD- My Passport 1Tb External Hard Drive
Seagate 1Tb External Hard Drive Because I only have 128 gigabytes of flash storage on my laptop, an external hard drive is a must. No matter what, you should be backing up your photos/files on a reliable external hard drive. I keep all my session raws as well as edited jpegs backed up on my external hard drive. Adobe Lightroom / Adobe Photoshop Now for the fun stuff: editing software! As a design student, I pay for the Adobe student plan which gives me access to Adobe Creative Cloud software such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and more. For photography, I mainly work in Lightroom and I use Photoshop for skin retouching, removing items, etc.
Sandisk Extreme 64 Gb SD Card The 5D Mark II came out in 2008 which is why it takes CF cards instead of SD cards, and my 5D Mark III takes both CF and SD cards! Here's the CF and SD cards I use for all my shoots! I own a few 16gb ones as well, but 32 and 64gb cards are my favorites.
Pentax Honeywell Spotmatic I absolutely love my 35mm film camera! It definitely forces me out of my comfort zone, but I love the integrity of a photo caught on film. I have it paired with a 50mm f/1.4 lens and I love to use Fuji 400 or Lomography 400 film! Graphic Design Equipment iPad 2018 Apple Pencil Procreate for iPad Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Having gear is great, but practicing, getting out there and shooting is even better. I started out with a Canon EOS Rebel T3 and a 50mm f/1.8 – nothing too fancy! You can make incredible art with whatever you have available to you.
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