What’s In My Bag – An Overview | Photography Education

I’m a major gear junkie (are you surprised?). I fell in love with photography from a technical side, and I have always been a sucker for new gear and tech specs. Because of my love for gear and tech, I get a lot of questions about the lenses, equipment and accessories that I use. Over the summer, I’ll be sharing more details about each piece of gear, photos, and why I love each one!

Before we dive into specifics, here’s an overview of what’s in my bag!

The Power House(s)

2 x Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

My Canon lineup began with the trusty Canon EOS 6D, mainly because the Canon EOS 5D Mark III had been out for some time at that point. I didn’t want to purchase something that would soon have a newer version, so I went with a cheaper option and waited not-so-patiently for the Mark IV. When the IV was announced, I immediately pre-ordered it. I LOVE this camera, and it has been so great, that I added a second one to my bag during the spring wedding season! It’s fast, it’s sharp, and it handles everything from a sunny ceremony to a dark reception like a boss! One of my favorite features about my MIV that I didn’t have in my 6D was dual card slots. If you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a stickler about backups and redundancy in my file systems, and this made my OCD heart happy!

The Primes

Sigma ART 35mm F1.4

My 35 gets the least amount of love from me for a number of reasons, but it’s still a must have as a wedding photographer. I’ve been in too many dark and tiny bridal suites to go without it! I will admit, I love my Canon lenses way more than this Sigma, but since it’s not my favorite focal length and I don’t use it a ton, I’ve held on to it. I might trade it in for a red ring someday, but for now, it’ll do!

Canon 50mm F1.2L II – The “Nifty Fifty”

My first lens was a nifty fifty (F1.8 version) and I’ve loved this focal length since. I do have to admit, the F1.2L version of this lens is pretty fantastic and I use it quite a bit on wedding days – especially for details and portraits. It’s fast, it’s sharp, and it makes me a happy camper. It doesn’t get better than that.

Canon 85mm F1.4L IS – The “YASSS” Lens

I have recently upgraded from the Canon 85mm F1.8 to the Canon 85mm F1.4 IS, and I am SO happy that I did. This lens is ahh-freaking-mazing, and its quickly taking the number one spot in my lens lineup. When it’s portrait time, this baby is on my camera and you’ll catch me saying “YAASSSSSS” a lot. Just wait until you see some portraits with this one, you’ll be saying YASSS too!

Canon 100mm F2.8L Macro

I’m a sucker for a good ring shot, and this lens makes that magic happen. I LOVE this lens, and not only is it amazing at those macro shots (duh), but it’s also a great portrait lens. If I want a tighter focal length but don’t want to muscle the 85 or 70-200, this it my go-to. Who knew?!

The Work Horses

Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II – “My Precious”

This lens is my pride and joy, and I will forever be grateful for all 15ish family members who pitched in to buy me this beast of a lens. This lens has been my favorite since I started photography, and I just love the compression and sharp images that this lens produces. Even though I’m using the slightly lighter 85 more, the 70-200 will always be “my precious”.

Canon 24-70 F2.8L II – The “Party Time” Lens

The 24-70 is the lens you never knew you needed, but I find myself using it all. the. time. It’s a fantastic all-around lens and I find myself using it for everything from the ceremony to the reception. It’s my favorite lens for fun dancing shots and those epic night photos. It’s fast, it’s sharp, and it’s phenomenal!

The Party Lights

5 x YN600 EX-RT II

Unlike a lot of photographers I know, I really love photographing receptions. Capturing bad dance moves is my jam, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without my trusty Yongnou 600EX-RT II‘s. I have a total of 5 of them, two of which are on my cameras, one for my second shooter (if needed) and two off camera. I seriously love these things, and you really can’t beat the price! They are pretty reliable. I also love that it’s not a huge deal if one falls, melts, or something crazy happens to it! They also have the radio built in, so I don’t have to worry about a separate trigger for them!

The “Sexy Stands” – 2 x Manfrotto 1004BAC Master Stand

I love these light stands. They are big and heavy, but I love how stable they are. I fell in love with these stands when I was working with my friends at Ragan Patterson Studios, and the way they link together for easy traveling gave them the “sexy stands” title!

The Accessories

I have a ton of favorite accessories, so I’ll keep this short and go into more details in the accessory post! I carry all of my gear in a Think Tank Airport Security V3 and I LOVE THIS BAG. It holds ALL of my gear and accessories and is easy to transport. For portrait sessions, I use my Kelly Moore Libby 2.0 to carry a body and a couple of lenses. When I’m not at a portrait session, I take the inserts out and use this bag every day! It’s a huge bag, but it’s perfect for my planner, laptop, albums, and all the things!

In regards to a camera strap, I adore my HoldFast Money Maker. I have the “skinny” version in tan bridle and it has only gotten better over time. The leather is soft and durable, and it has really helped me center the weight on my spine instead of my neck/shoulders. Trust me, it really helps with those wedding hangovers!

For storage and batteries, I have 36 Enloop Pro rechargeable batteries, about 50 (yes… 50) Sandisk Extreme Pro SDs, and 6 Sandisk Extreme CF cards.

To keep in constant contact with my second shooter, I keep 2 BlackDiamond CE240 radios in my bag! We feel like we are part of the CIA when we wear them, but in all seriousness, they are SO helpful throughout a wedding day!

And because I know you’ll ask, I got the monogram decals from Belle and Ten! I have them on all my batteries, gear, etc!

I can’t wait to dive deeper into each of these amazing pieces. Which piece of gear do you want to learn about? Drop a comment below!

This post contains affiliate links, however all opinions are my own!