This post is for my fellow photography enthusiasts! I know I'm always curious about what gear others use, and I get asked about my gear frequently... so here we go! I thought it would be appropriate to start with the bag itself, which I loooove!! It's a Jill-e bag. Size medium, in chocolate brown suede, if memory serves me.
A lot of other portrait photographers seem to have a heavy-duty gear bag that holds everything, plus a lighter sling-style bag (like a Shootsac) that holds just a few lenses. Their heavy duty bag stays in their car during a session, while they use the lighter one for shooting. I love that idea, but I'm just too nervous that I'll inadvertently leave some crucial piece of gear in the heavy bag (like memory cards), and the car will be too far away when I need it...
I always wanted to be one of those girls with several cute bags/clutches/purses, to mix and match with different outfits, but I'm just not up for all the content switcheroos. Same goes for hauling my photography gear. So, I opted for a bag that I thought was stylish, but big and sturdy enough to keep everything in one place. All the time! (The exception to this is my back-up gear, which is all stored in a separate bag.)
Of course, my 6-year-old daughter, who is the biggest baby lover ever, thought it was a diaper bag the first time she saw it. LOL! It has been pledged to her to use as such when she becomes a Mama. ;0)
Now, about the stuff inside the bag: I shoot with a Canon 5d Mark ii, and my back-up is a Canon 5d. I've got oodles and oodles of memory cards, and batteries, and protective filters, and all those essentials. I also carry my cleaning kit with me. All. The. Time. (You never know when that sweet 2 year old is going to pop his thumb out of his mouth and plop that juiciness on your lens! ;0) ) I'm always thinking worst-case-scenario, and never want to be caught in a lurch! I've also got reflectors, and a speedlight, and some other toys, but the main event is the lenses...
I shoot exclusively with prime lenses. Three of them, to be precise:
If I had to live with one lens, this would be it. The 85mm 1.2. I probably shoot with it about 90% of the time. Maybe more! Some of the things I love about it are the distance it affords me for client interaction (getting nice, tight shots without being so close I have to breathe on them!), the rich creamy bokeh it creates in both the foreground and background, and the crispness it lends to my subjects!
The 50mm 1.4 and 24mm 1.4 round out my bag. I mostly use the 50mm when I don't have a lot of room to work, but still want flattering, non-warpy portraits. And I usually use the 24mm for landscape work, for venue shots, and sometimes for creative detail shots.
Of course, the wish list is always growing... At the top of my list are the 100mm 2.8 macro, 50mm 1.2, and another flash. ;0)
I hope this was fun reading for some of you fellow gear geeks! ;0) Feel free to send me an e-mail if you've got more specific questions about what I have, and/or how I use it. I love getting geeky!!
To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com
