What’s in my kit bag? Canon Photographer

A number of photographers, who follow my Facebook page, often ask me what cameras and lenses I own, so I thought I would write a blog post which covers all my equipment and shows how I use it.

My Camera

I have always owned Canon cameras and lenses. Whilst learning photography I started with a 500d , then moved to a 7d and I now shoot with a Canon 5d mark iii. The 5d is an outstanding camera and its low light capabilities are second to none. I could not recommend this camera more.

My bag

I have had a number of camera bags over the last 4 years and have finally found the perfect one for me. I did own a Lowepro rucksack but didn’t like carrying my lenses on my back. I wanted an across body bag and I really wanted to be able to access my lenses quickly and easily so purchased the Shootsac. It is made from a very lightweight wetsuit type material and can easily hold 3 lenses plus my memory cards/ car keys etc. When I purchased the bag they were only available in the United States so they kindly arranged to deliver it to a friend of mine who was on holiday in Florida.

My lenses

My lens collection has grown over the last 2 years to a point where I now feel I have a lens to cover every eventuality.

Canon 70-200 2.8L Mark i

I purchased this lens second hand from B&H in New York and it is incredibly versatile for photographing children outdoors. I tend to shoot at the longer end (around 200) as my style is very much about separation between the subject and background. I love the way this looks the ONLY downside is the weight which is why I invested in the lens below.

Canon 135 2.0L

This is probably my favourite lens. It is tac sharp and the bokeh is incredibly creamy. It’s light  to carry and being a prime it keeps me moving around on shoots. That is good for the children I am photographing, but also my waistline J. Some of my all-time favourite images have been taken on this.

Canon 50 1.4

For a ‘non L’ lens I think this is incredible value and it never lets me down. It is always incredibly sharp and is very light. I use this mostly indoors for photographing babies and small children. In a perfect world I would invest in the Canon 50 1.2L.

 

Canon 24-70 2.8 L mark ii

This is what I consider my safety lens – it literally never lets me down. If I want to photograph wide in someone’s home, to draw in as much environment as possible, I use this at its widest end. It never struggles to grab focus and is perfect if you are out on travelling for example and you don’t know what photographic opportunities await you.

Sigma 35 1.4 Art

This is my fun/ bonus lens in my kit bag. The 35 1.4 Sigma has a very distinctive look to it and its fun to use to grab some more quirky images. I take this out with me when I am heading out with my children to a park for example. It is all about including the environment as it is very wide, so I wouldn’t use it for portraits because of the distortion.

 

Extra items

Rapid strap

As with my bag I wanted a cross body holder for my camera and the Rapid strap is a brilliant piece of kit. It distributes the weight and is very strong. I have had mine at least 2 years and it is showing no sign of wear.

Memory card case

I shoot my photo sessions on CF cards ranging from 4-8 GB. I shoot in full size RAW and also back up all my images onto a 32GB SD card in camera.  I keep all my cards in a protective card holder which I picked up from the Photography Road Show.

 Additional Lighting

When I need to add extra light onto my subject or background I tend to use my Speedlight which I can take off camera.  I also own a video light with different colour filters. I am in the process of upgrading my off camera lighting kit so watch this space 🙂

I hope this has been a useful read and if you have any questions feel free to post in the comments.

If you would like to know more about how the 7d mark 2 compares with the Canon 5diii then take a look here

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Nina is a Hemel Hempstead Photographer who has just been named as the Guild of Professional Photographers Children, Family & Lifestyle Photographer of the Year. She runs Beginners Photography courses for parents with DSLR’s and 1-2-1 training for up and coming photographers. To follow Nina on Facebook visit here

For more articles for Professional photographers including what does branding really mean, how to scout for great family locations, how to shoot for competition success, visit here https://www.ninamacephotography.com/professional-photographers-blog/