Tools of the Trade | Wedding Photography Gear

I am infrequently asked “What camera do you use?”. Another common questions is “Canon or Nikon?”. This is my wedding photography gear and I am happy to share it with you 🙂

As an answer to all these questions I am writing the following blog post. It details and describes my gears and choices:

Lets start with the basics:

Nikon vs. Canon:

This is one of the most often asked questions. I use primarily Nikon gear (and no I am not paid to do that!). The reason I prefer Nikon is because that is where I started. Canon is an equally capable brand! I do like the very wide dynamic range that can be found in the camera. This allows me to shoot in a variety of conditions.

The Basics:

I use a DSLR (digital single reflex lens camera). The technical jargon is meant not to confuse but elaborate. I use a variety of lens in combination with my two DSLRs. I also use a variety of lighting gear with a variety of lighting modifiers.

The Camera: D750 x 2

I use two Nikon D750s. These little beautiful monsters work well for the kind of work I do. They perform well under the pressure of a wedding day and allow me to create art pieces for my clients.

Here are a couple of feature I love about this little beauty:

1. Dual card slots (This allows me to backup any photos that I take to two different cards).
2. Wide Dynamic Range (Allows me to pull up shadows from any underexposed images in post processing).
3. Ultra-fast auto focus (This camera has an amazing auto focus system that allows me to nail shots on the first try and never miss a decisive moment.
4. Light (when you carry a camera and a 70-200 mm 2.8 lens for the entire day during a wedding, any little reduction in weight makes a huge difference!).
5. Amazing low-light performance (This camera can notch up ISO level to 10,000 without losing any quality. This makes it capable of producing images in near darkness)

The Lenses:

One of the perks of owning a DSLR is the ability to change lenses. I use a variety of lenses from Nikon and sigma and they are detailed below:

1. Sigma 35mm 1.4 – Art Series

   This beautiful beautiful lens is not only one of the most optically correct but also one of the sharpest lenses that I have ever used. It is an absolute beauty and works well in every situation. The 1.4 also helps me shoot in very dark conditions or with very shallow depth of fields allowing for very certain looks in my photos that would otherwise be un-achievable.

   

   

2. Sigma 85mm 1.4

   This is another prime lens in my gear bag. This beauty allow me to take amazing portraits that you will often find in my creative formals section. The compression combined with 1.4 aperture allows for some very unique looks.
   

3. Nikon 70-200mm 2.8

   One of my friend used to call this the ray gun. For good reason too. This is one of my favorite lenses for receptions as it allows me to get candid moments. This beautiful telephoto lens is able to shoot under difficult lighting conditions while allows for vibration reduction thus giving me the ability to get tack sharp photos.
   

4. Nikon 60mm 2.8

   Nikon made this little beauty thinking about ring shots. Its a nice macro lens that allows me to get up close to the rings thus letting me get amazing ring shots that you can find littered throughout my blog!
   

Lighting Equipment:

One of my favorite parts about creative formals is creating special lighting. This usually involves me using my trusty YN-560IV flashes as well as lighting modifiers. Here are some photos of the gear I use!

1. YN560IV Flashes

   This little trust flash unit allows me to create special lighting effects. This flash unit has a radio trigger built in that joins with the next device that I am gonna show you.
   

2. YN600 Radio Transmitter

   This little radio transmitter goes on top of my camera and triggers the flashes at the same time as the shutter clicks thus allowing to control lighting in scenes effectively.
   

I also use a plethora of other equipment including a carbon fiber tripod, lighting stands, umbrellas, softboxes & diffusers etc.

One essential part of my equipment is my trust Mac book Pro where I edit all the photos!

Feel free to ask me any technical questions in regards to the gear I shared info about!