Whats In My Camera Bag? | Photographer Education from | Albuquerque Wedding Photographer

Somethings professional photographers are asked a lot are: “What gear do you use?” “What do you pack for weddings?” “What lens do you use to shoot what?” Well today I am showing you what I take with me to every wedding! Below you will find photos of my emptied out bags, what each item is and what I use it for.

I carry two camera bags with me when I go to weddings. I have backpack by House of Flynn that I have on me at all times. This is my go to bag throughout the entire day. I also carry a backpack instead of a shoulder bag because of my bad hips. A shoulder bag throws my back out of whack and I usually can’t make it through an entire wedding this way!

I also bring a rolling bag with me full of items for the reception and backup gear. Since I use a backpack, I unfortunately have had the situation where I pick it up and a lens has come crashing out. For this reason, I have backup gear AND good insurance. Its a must!

Also in my main bag I carry a styling kit for bridal detail photos. You ask how I always have such beautiful detail shots? This is how!

Lets start with what is in my styling kit:

Silk Styling Ribbon// I have collected beautiful silk ribbons through the years from places like Desert Garden Silk and Honeysilk. You can find ribbon like this on instagram and etsy as well! I use it for styling invitation shots and ring shots.

Mrs Ring Box// I LOVE my velvet ring boxes. They can be quite expensive so I only have four but I am working on getting more! Mrs Box is the most popular but you can find them on etsy and amazon.

Vintage Stamps// Sara gifted me these but you can find them on amazon or etsy. I use them for flatlay invitation styling.

Gold Scissors:// These are from Honeysilk, I only use them for invitation flatlays. Arent they so pretty?

Command Strips// No where to hang a wedding dress? No problem! Having these means we can hang a dress anywhere we want!

Poster Putty// We use this to photograph jewelry. Rings wont stand up or earrings wont lay flat? We bust this out.

Wooden Spools// Just for more pretty styling.

Not Pictured// Florals. We use the brides bouquet or we pluck items from around their venue to add more personal touches to their detail styling. See examples of a recent wedding and how we used these items Here! or Here!

Whats in my main camera bag:

House of Flynn Backpack (dog not included)

Nikon D750// I started using Nikon 13 years ago and haven’t looked back. I purchased the Nikon D750 3 years ago and love it.

Nikon 50mm 1.8// This is my go to lens. I use it for getting ready shots, couples portraits and a lot of bridal party portraits. I love its versatility.

Nikon 85mm 1.8// I use this lens for portraits. The bokeh on it is just so stunning. It captures such amazing shots.

Nikon 24-70mm 2.8// I use this lens for wide shots. For the ceremony, large group shots and couples portraits where I want to include a lot of scenery. I also use this for the majority of the reception.

Nikon 70-200mm 2.8// I use this lens for the ceremony. It allows me to stand in the back and get close up shots without being in the way. it is so important to me to go unnoticed at a ceremony. This moment is about the couple and their marriage, not me jumping in front of grandma in the front row to get the shot. This lens shoots GORGEOUS portraits too but because of how heavy it is, I don’t use it often for portraits.

Nikon Macro 105// I use this lens for detail shots. For the rings, the earings, beading on the dress. Flowers. You name it!

Yongnuo Speedlight YN968N// I recently switched to these so that I can have flashes that speak to each other without having triggers. I carry one in my main bag and 2 in my backup bag for the reception. Ill explain below how I use them at receptions.

MagMod Flash Kit// I use a magmod on my main flash as a diffuser and I LOVE IT. It works great for my bright and airy style.

Batteries and Memory Cards// These go without saying. I take multiples of these to weddings because I feel like you can never have enough backup.

My backup rolling bag:

I bring a rolling Jill E bag with me to all my weddings full of backup gear and other things I need for the reception.

Yongnuo Flashes// I recently started using 3 of these flashes at receptions. One is set up with a white umbrella and the other is set up across the room on a lightstand. I just LOVE that these flashes can be set to fire togethrer without triggers. I could NEVER get triggers to work for me. I think I am jinxed. I plan to share another blog post on how we set up receptions later. But for now you can see the result of these 3 flashes working together HERE! ( scroll to the bottom)

Nikon Speedlight 910// This is just a backup.

Eneloop batteries: These are for my flashes. They are HANDS DOWN the bast batteries. Ive shot an entire wedding with one set. They take a whole day to charge and are quite expensive but so worth it.

Gum and Mints// A must have!

Business Cards// I give these to new vendors or guests that ask for photos.

Portible iphone charger// My phone always dies in the middle of the wedding because we take so many behind the scene videos for instagram!

Not Pictured: SNACKS. Weddings are LONG. I cant make it 8 hours with waiting to the reception to eat. So I bring snacks.

Also, Ibuprofen. My bad hips need it!

We also bring a styling board (what these photos are shot on. 2 lightstands and a white umbrella (for the flashes not rain.) For rain, we have a pretty clear umbrella in the car!

xoxo,

Maura

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