My Gear

I’ve had a lot of questions lately about what kind of camera and lenses I use, so I’ve decided to write an entire blog post about it!  A little over a year ago I upgraded from the 30D to the 5D and I love it, it’s been an amazing camera.  The only drawback is, is that it only goes to ISO 1600 and with that comes a lot of noise.  That’s why the new Canon 5D Mark II is on the top of my wish list, the ISO on that camera is completely amazing!  Since I’m only shooting in natural light these days and have done away with the studio, I could really use the extra ISO!  I am a zoom lens kind of girl.  The lens I keep on my camera most of the time is my Canon 24-70mm 2.8, this is a fabulous lens…especially on a full frame camera like the 5D.  People ask me if they think it’s worth the money and the answer is YES!!!  My second favorite lens is my my Canon 70-200mm 2.8.  This is a big/heavy lens and I have gotten significantly stronger from lugging it around everywhere.  I would never get rid of this lens!!  I love shooting with a shallow depth of field and this lens helps me achieve that.  I got my Canon 15mm fish eye lens for my birthday last year and I only use this lens for fun/silly shots.  I use this  lens on every dog I photograph and some children shots.  I bought my Lensbaby two years ago when I was in Santa Fe and I haven’t really played with it as much as I should.  This is more of a fun lens that I like to use sometimes on personal projects.  I would never use this in a client shoot because it takes me way too long to get the focus where I want it…I should keep practicing.  If you haven’t played with one yet, you should check them out.  I try to never use a flash unless I really, really need it.  But, if I do use it I always put my Gary Fong on and it makes the softest light that really compliments peoples skin.  I also have a flash diffuser from Stofen, but I rarely ever use it.  I always use the Compact Flash that Sandisk makes.  I’ve never had any trouble with them…when you find something that works stick with it.  I strayed one time and used another company and that compact flash was corrupt and I lost everything.  Those things just happen sometimes.  As I’ve added more lenses and batteries, etc to my bag over the years I’ve had to get a bigger bag each time.  I finally have the perfect bag from Tamrac.  Hopefully I won’t have to upgrade bags for a very long time.  Finally, last but not least my reflector.  I love that thing!!  I have a round reflector white on one side and silver on the other.  I almost always use the white side for everything I shoot, but sometimes I need a little extra pop of light for dogs and I’ll use the silver side.  It took me a couple weeks to learn how to fold it back up…but that’s a another story.  Later,  I’ll write a post about the equipment I used in my studio.   Even though I don’t shoot in there anymore, I still use some of that lighting outside on location which can be a lot of fun.  Let me know if you have any questions or comments about any of this!!

 

 

 

 

Bundled Under: My Gear.