WHAT’S IN MY BAG

 

I get countless emails from amateur, semi-pro or newly professional photographers asking me what type of gear I use to “get that shot”.  Well, I’m a Canon girl – always have been and always will be.  I use only Canon brand lenses and flashes, too.  I’m happy to provide info about the type of gear that I use, but keep in mind – it’s not the gear that makes a photo great – it’s the person using that gear!

I generally divide my gear into “regular” gear and “extra” gear.  My regular gear stayed in a rolling camera bag while the extra gear is stored in various padded gear bags until it’s needed.  You’ll notice that I have duplicates of many things and that the duplicates are also professional level gear – I do this because if there ever comes a time for my main camera body/lens to breakdown, I know I’ll be able to provide my clients with amazing photos because my backup gear is just as great as my primary gear.

The Regular Gear

  • Canon 5D Mk II (my main body)
  • Canon 5D Battery Grip
  • Canon 24-70mm f2.8fL
  • Canon 70-200mm f2.8L
  • Canon 100 f2.8 Macro
  • Canon 580 EXII (x4)
  • Pocket Wizard Flex-TT5 x3
  • Pocket Wizard Mini-TT1 x1
  • Pocket Wizard AC-3 Zone controller x1
  • 120 GB of CF cards in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB cards
  • About 50 Energizer Lithium (Rechargeable) AA batteries
  • Backup batteries for Pocket Wizards
  • Blackrapid camera strap

 

The Extra Gear

  • Canon 5D Mk II (same as the first – used as backup… I don’t care for shooting with 2 bodies at the same time)
  • Canon 7D
  • Canon EOS T3i
  • Canon 16-35mm 2.8L
  • Canon 50mm f1.4
  • Canon 50mm f1.8
  • Canon 85mm f2.0
  • Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6
  • Canon 55-200mm f3.5-5.6
  • Sigma 18-50mm f2.8-4
  • Nissin Di866II hot-shoe flash
  • Sunpak PZ-42CX hot-shoe flash
  • Canon flash sync cord x2
  • Telescoping Lightstand x3
  • Silver Reflective Umbrella x2
  • 1 large white/silver collapsible reflector
  • Gary Fong lightsphere
  • 2 Energizer speed-chargers for AA and AAA batteries

I also have 2 computers – a desktop and a laptop and guess what… they’re PCs!!  I’m not going to get into the mac vs. PC debate here – I think everyone has their preferred system and that’s fine.  I have 10 terabytes worth of Western Digital external hardrives – this is enough space to store about 1 year’s worth of files along with backup copies.  To all the new photographers out there, I can’t stress this enough: back up your data more times than you think is necessary and then do it once more on top of that!