What’s in your camera bag? This is a question that not very many people ask up front, but I think is still important for my clients to know. What do I bring to a photo shoot to make sure that I am prepared? How do I make sure that your memories will be safe with me? Let’s dive into the answers!

Camera bodies and lenses

The most important gear that I bring with me is my cameras and my lenses. I bring two cameras to each photo shoot because they each have a different lens on them. This saves me time during your photo shoot by not having to switch out the lenses when I want a different angle for your photos.

My go-to and favorite camera lens is my 85mm. The 85mm gives my clients beautiful creamy skin, incredible bokeh, and is overall a fairly flattering lens to use on all body shapes and sizes. If you’re not familiar with the term bokeh, it is the creamy background which is blurry and where the subject stands out in more contrast to the background. I love being able to deliver these dreamy photos.

The other lens that I use the majority of the time is my 24-70mm, which is my zoom lens. This allows me to have a little bit more flexibility when photographing families and things that I need a wide-angle lens for. Examples of this are: indoor wedding venues, tight spaces, locations and photos where I need to capture the tops of the Tetons,  etc. This is also the lens I use for really wide shots where there’s a lot of open sky surrounding my subject.

Dual camera strap

Having a dual camera strap is an absolute lifesaver and allows me to carry both of my cameras simultaneously. This allows me to easily switch back and forth between my portrait lens and my wide angle lens. A final gallery will have about 60% of the photos from my 85mm lens and the other 40% from my 24-70mm lens.

I take pictures on the Nikon d750 camera bodies which both have dual card slots. I feel like this is incredibly important because I can have two cards in one camera. These cards then back each other up, making sure that your photos are duplicated and safe.

Lots of extra cards and batteries

I saw a photographer post about their card going corrupt in the middle of a photo shoot and having to reschedule. This made me feel sick to my stomach for their clients! As a professional photographer, I will come very well prepared in case something like this happens. We might not be able to control if a card goes corrupt, but we can certainly make sure that we have backups to use instead of the bad card. Same goes for the batteries. Sometimes different lighting situations, like using a flash indoors, drains camera batteries faster. This is why I bring extra batteries to every single event and session. It’s honestly irresponsible not to have a second camera body, extra batteries, and extra SD cards to make sure that your clients photos are well preserved.

My Magical Fanny Pack

Those are my main tools as a photographer that of course I’m going to make sure that I take to every photo shoot. In addition, I have a very handy and magical fanny pack that I wear (cue fashion police). This pack is stuffed with all kinds of goodies and tools that I might need. My fanny pack is where I store my personal items like lip balm, keys, cell phone, the extra batteries and SD cards. I also bring along snacks, kleenexes, hand sanitizer, bobby pins, feminine supplies, mini lint roller, gum, safety pins, and other things that I think might be helpful during a photo shoot for myself or for my clients. I also usually carry a canister of bear spray in the event we have an unwelcome guests! In addition to all those, I bring ring boxes, decorative hangers, photo lists of important people, and more.

In the Safe Hands of your Photographer

Knowing that your photographer is well prepared for your event is not only responsible of them, but a relief for you. Please choose a professional photographer for your wedding, elopement, engagements, or family photos. You will not regret spending the money to have somebody who has years of experience and has taken the effort and spent the money to be as prepared as they can be for your event.

Contact us today about booking your photography session!