If you have read this far into the blog by now, you KNOW I hate shopping, buying things, generally participating in consumerism in general.
BUT. As part of my job for the Atlanta School of Photography, I do get asked by students what equipment I use or what I recommend they buy to accomplish x,y, and z.
Do you know what I tell them?
DON’T BUY ANYTHING! USE WHAT YOU HAVE! DON’T PARTICIPATE IN THE CONSUMERIST CYCLE!
But sometimes you explode a lens and you do need to find another one to use. So that is what this list is for. STRICTLY educational purposes you understand? I’m telling myself now {future me posting this; don’t forget!} that this will not even include any links to specific items because I need folks to learn how to use their noggins and find what you need for yourself.
So. Things I use all the time.
My day to day kit is rather small. At least I think so.
Transport
I carry around a pelican air case that my sister in law thoughtfully pilfered for me from her work when they were downsizing their equipment. Thanks Melissa!
I like that it is customizable inside. As my gear shrinks and grows, I can adjust the padding to accommodate it all. Before this I had a one strap bag and that was doing a number on my back. Photography equipment is expensive AND heavy. Take care of your body and get something that works for your lifestyle. If you are doing studio work primarily you don’t need to really worry about this. Since 90% of my work is done on on-site places, I needed something easily movable and with a small footprint so my stuff isn’t all over the place wherever I am.
It is also covered in stickers so everyone knows its mine. I would be hard pressed to lose it.
Bodies
I’m a big believer in having just what you need and nothing more. I am not one of those photographers with 15 cameras for every type of thing. Photography isn’t my hobby; it is my job. So I buy equipment that makes me better at my job and not because I think they are cool or want to collect them all.
Some people do! And that is fun! But it isn’t for me.
I have two camera bodies I use for work. I have a Canon 5D MkIV DSLR {digital single lens reflex for those newbies! Hi! Welcome!} and a Canon R6 Mirrorless. Yes, I use both all the time. Yes, there are still reasons to use the 5D MkIV. I wasn’t doing photography in the primarily film era but I imagine I would feel the same about film in the digital age as I do about a DSLR in the mirrorless age. I like that I have to know some stuff about the exposure triangle to get stuff right. I like the quality of the image coming out of the sensor.
The mirrorless is certainly a game changer with the type of photography I do. Low light needs a higher capability sensor with higher ISOs. Have I pushed mine to the full 102,400. Yes. Is the quality of the end image trash? Also yes.
Lenses
I would love to just use one lens. But the reality is I have two bodies so I have two lenses. When I am photographing events and theatre, a lot of time I will have both cameras on with a wide lens on one and a zoom on the other.
As I write this, I’m rocking a Canon 70-200 2.8. Yeah, I know. It’s N-I-C-E. I use this lens for theatre and events but it is also my go to portrait lens. How could I not with that 2.8?!?
My wide angle is a Canon 24-105 f4. This has been my go to lens for a long while and I’m just a little grumpy at mine. Do I want the f2.8? YES. Do I have thousands of dollars to blow on one? No. Fast glass is a must for my event and theatre photography and I will be updating these when I make sure I know exactly what I want.
Accessories
These companies try and get ya. There are just as many accessories for photography. SOOO MANY. And each of them was certainly invented for a need of…someone.
But there are a handful of things I use that are low cost.
Card Wallet
UV filters
Flash
I don’t have any of my studio stuff on here because that is allllllllllllll optional. And also soooo specific to the type of photography you do/want to do. Maybe another whole post about my studio set up?? Yes? Leave a comment if you are interested.
That’s it…
Why write this at all if you didn’t include links? Because I wish photographers I like and admire did the same thing on their websites. If MurphyMade has his gear on his website, that would answer a LOT of questions for me. If you are reading this Matthew, hit me up.
The equipment means NOTHING if you don’t know what you are doing. Annie Lebovitz talks about this in her talks and books. Use the equipment you have to the fullest extent you can. Know how every setting works, what each menu does, how it interacts with different scenarios. Once you know HOW it isn’t helping you capture your vision, THAT is when you go and find the tool that will.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t experiment with stuff you don’t own. I rent equipment all the time. Yes, the atlanta location of aperturent is right across the hall from my office so that makes it massively convenient for me to do so. But that was part of the deal when Sara and I chose the suite. We knew that would help us and our students be active in the community.
Meeting up with other photographers, renting equipment, and experimenting is how you get better. It is how you learn new things about your gear and what might help you do your job better. Whether that job is taking bomb pictures of flowers in your spare time or doing a full marketing campaign for Coke. We are all learning and the gear is always changing. So don’t worry about it.
written by
Casey Gardner Ford for Breathe Images
