First Team Camera Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera (2)- $3499 online - I am so excited about this camera.  It gives me the ability to shoot at a high ISO without a lot of noise. How wonderful!   The camera is light-weight, but built tough. The HD video is great, and it is Full Frame!  I was considering buying a 1D as my main camera, but couldn’t find enough “extras” to make it worth spending the extra $3000.  The 5D will be my main camera and I always carry two with me throughout the day with multiple lenses. I have (2) 5D Mark II backups for a second shooter or video.

I am a canon girl.  I have ALWAYS been a fan of Canon Cameras and lenses.  I am totally brand loyal. My mother bought me my first canon film camera back in the early 90s.  I used that camera through middle school photography class and early high-school.  Unfortunately, it was stolen out of the back of my friend’s car in Vancouver, BC.  So, I took the insurance money and I upgraded to one of the original canon rebel EOS Rebels that was marketed by Andre Agassi. Remember those awesome commercials

I had that camera for a LONG time.  I traveled with that camera all over the map during my ski racing days.  Although, my father would tell you that you wouldn’t really have known that I even left the parking lot of my home ski hill.  I had a penchant for portrait photography at a young age.  I wasn’t all that interested in scenery or landscape shots even thought I was in some pretty incredible places.  I just wanted to take beautiful pictures of my friends.

Canon 50mm f/1.2L – $1450 online - What’s not to love about this lens?  It is extremely fast and light, with an ultra large aperture for a narrow depth of field and super soft background blur that makes for beautiful portraits.  This is a great partner lens to use with the 5d mark ii, which has higher ISO capabilities.  Thanks to this combo, I can shoot in some pretty dark churches and receptions without the need for a flash.  Using natural light makes me smile, having the equipment to do it makes me want to sing!

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L – $1279 online – This is definitely runner up to favorite lens and is considered one of the finest lenses Canon makes. I am pretty convinced I could keep this lens on my 5d for the whole wedding, but where’s the fun in that?  You wouldn’t look very cool with only one lens!  This lens is perfect for an indoor or outdoor ceremony, because you can stand back and be relatively unobtrusive to the wedding couple.  And, it is great for the portraits, couple and small group shots.  I find that your subjects are more relaxed without the camera directly in their face.  I do like to use a monopod when using this lens, especially when I am going to be zooming in to 150 to 200 mm.  It can be difficult to get pin sharp images without the mono-pod.

Canon 100mm 2.8L Macro – $889 online – Would you like to get a rockin’ close-up of the rings? This lens is perfect for that.  You can also get really nice portraits with this lens.  I am a big believer in prime lenses.  This lens is one of my favorites!

Canon EF Wide-angle zoom lens – 16 mm – 35 mm – F/2.8L – $1595 online – This is a great lens for setting the scene. You can get some stunning landscape and  This lens goes so ultra-wide that it can actually create “fisheye” like photos, which are definitely cool in some situations.  I put this lens on at the end of the night during the dancing portion of the reception.

2nd Camera Bag or equipment for Second Shooter Bag

• Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera (2)
• Canon 35mm 2.5 – $318 online This is the perfect lens for my full frame camera body. It sees about like I see. You can approach the subject closer and still obtain a more natural wide-angle effect. It’s moderately fast and light. Sara will keep this on her 5d for storytelling shots and a small percent of the portraits.
• Canon 28mm – $499 online
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II  - $105 online – I still can’t believe how inexpensive this lens is. Before I upgraded to the 50 f/1.2, I used this lens for almost all of my portrait work.  It is like they give these things away and it is such an amazing lens.  This is a back up to the main 50 mm. should, god forbid, anything happen to my baby.
• Lensbaby, The Composer for Canon EF mount Digital SLR Cameras – Lensbaby Optic Kit

Photo Memory

• Compact Flash Cards – 150 GB of memory on 7 cards.  3x Transcend 32 GB Compact Flash Card 400X (Blue)
• Memory card reader– for onsite back up Digital Foci Picture Porter 35 PPR-350 250 GB Digital Photo Manager with 3.5-Inch LCD Display

Stabilization

• Tri -Pod - M Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber 3 Section Tripod with Q90 Column and Magnesium Castings (Black) with Manfrotto 234RC Monopod Head Quick Release.
• Mono-pod – Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod Deluxe with Safety Lock (Black) with Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head with Quick Release

Lighting

• Canon 580 EXII

Bags:

• Shootsac – Everyone who works for me has a shootsac now. It’s not a camera bag, but I don’t really need a CAMERA bag. It’s a lens bag. That’s what I need! It holds my 50mm, 85mm, and zoom lens in the front, and my flash, batteries,and CF cards in the back. Plus, I have a couple really sweet covers.
• Case Logic DCB-309 SLR Camera Backpack (Black)

In the Studio

• MacBook Pro 17 inch, 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB:
• IMac 27 inch,
• Adobe Lightroom 3, Adobe CS5 Creative Suite
•  Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet

Gear is important, but it’s not what makes an image. You can’t buy the eye. You can’t buy the creativity. You can’t buy the vision. Gear just helps you turn that vision into a reality.