What's in my Camera Bag?

Most clients hire photographers for their images and the prompt service they provide, not for the brand of the camera they use. Yet, a few prospect clients sometimes ask me about my photography equipment.

As a photographer I believe the best camera is the one I have at hand, whether is a Canon, a Nikon, or a smartphone. A camera will always be as good as the one who uses it.

In a nutshell, these are the most common items photographers carry in their bag when doing a photo shoot:

• Camera
  I own a couple of Canon bodies, the one I use the most is my 5D Mark II because of its full frame and low-light capabilities which come very useful when photographing events.

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• Lenses
  Glass, as photographers call it, is critical in getting the amount of light and sharpness required for a high quality image. My work horse lens is a Canon 24-105mm f/4L and I occasionally use a Canon 50mm f/1.4 for its beautiful boké and its ability to shoot in very low-light situations.
  
  
• Speedlites
  When I cannot find the light I want, I create it with the best technique possible, one of them is using a speedlite aka flash. I own 3 of them and carry at least 2 with me in my bag.
  
  
• Modifiers
  When the light does not have the shape, intensity, softness, harshness, or color I desire, then I modify it. To accomplish this I resort to different modifiers such as color gels on my speedlite, umbrellas, soft boxes, and reflectors.
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• Stabilizers
  A sharp image is very important, unless it's intentionally blurry. Sometimes I need to lower the shutter speed on my camera causing the picture to be blurry if I hand hold it. For those situations I use a tripod or turn on the stabilizer on my lens.

As I said before, those are only tools to me. More important than the tools is to know how to use them. That is why you don't give a hammer to a baby.

Now that you know what is typically inside the bag of a professional photographer, rest assured that he or she will do a much better job than your uncle Joe who has a nice camera.

If you are curious of what other gadgets photographers use, then come check us out at our studio and we will gladly show you how we paint with light.