What's in my bag: faq || dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer

One of the features of my new blog+site is a little section I added for photographers.  I frequently get emails and messages on FB asking questions that range from what kind of equipment I use, how do I find my locations for sessions, what editing software do I use, do I have tips for people just starting out in photography business, etc. etc.  Now, it's much less intimidating and scary to just write a quick email back answering the question and knowing that only one person will see my answer, but when I'm answering the same questions over and over it becomes a little bit time consuming, and not very effective.  So I'm going to start answering some of those questions here on the blog and then they'll all be filed under the "Info//photographers" tab at the top, that way lots of people can benefit from my answers all at once!


I've put off doing something like this for a while now, because like I said before, it's a little bit intimidating to answer questions out here where the whole world can see them...  I'm definitely not an expert on a lot of the topics that we'll cover, but I'm more than happy to share what I've learned along the way and how I do things.  And then y'all can feel free to take it and apply it to your own photography/business in whatever way helps you the most!
I thought I'd start with an easy topic: What's in my bag! :)
5D MarkII + 4 batteries & battery grip5D + 2 batteries & battery grip50mm 1.424mm 2.870-200 Lseries580 exII Speedlite2 video lights7 compact flash cardsShootsacLightstand
My main camera is my 5D MarkII and I keep my 5D as my back-up camera.  I love my MarkII SOso much, the color and cripsness is wonderful, and the high ISO capabilities make it wonderful for shooting in dark receptions!  I have battery grips on both of my cameras for two reasons.  One, because I love how much easier and more comfortable it is to take portrait (vs. landscape) style pictures.  It does make it a little bit heavier, yes, but the ease of switching back and forth from portrait to landscape (aka: upright to sideways) makes it worth it.  The other big reason that I have it is because shutter buttons DO have a life, and while I don't plan or expect that mine will ever go out, in case it does I have a second shutter button to keep shooting with on my battery grip.

I love love LOVE shooting with prime/fixed lenses.  Their crispness combined with the low aperture makes for the smoothest images and well worth the fact that I have to "zoom with my feet" :)   The 50mm is my absolute favorite lens to shoot with, and it's on my camera about 70% of the time.  I'll use the 24mm for fun wide angle group/wedding party shots and it also comes out a lot when I'm taking pictures of landscapes.  My 70-200 comes in handy during wedding ceremonies, for when I want to get some close up shots of the couple or other details without having to walk right up to them.  But that's about the only time I use it, and my 50mm is still on my camera for about 50% of the time during weddings.  The 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 is the lens I recommend the most to beginners.  It's a beautiful beautiful lens, and the price is unbeatable!  (someday I wiiiiill have the 50mm 1.2)

I'm a natural light photographer, so having to buy lighting equipment is always a little bit of a painful pill to swallow since it's SO expensive, and I try to use it as little as possible.  But as a wedding photographer it's definitely necessary for wedding receptions and other times when the lighting isn't optimal.  I have one 580 speedlite, and two video lights.  Using video light is an aweeesome little idea that I first heard about when second shooting for another photographer last year.  Buying video lights is SO cheap in comparison to buying flashes, they come with rechargeable batteries, and they're a lot of fun to use!  I mostly use these when shooting on the dance floor, with one on my camera, and the other set up on my lightstand or on my second shooters camera.  If I'm on the opposite side of the dance floor from my lightstand or second shooter I can get really cool rim lighting or flare.  Video light also works great for when you need some fill light in a shot, help lighting up the rings or other details, etc.  It's nice because it's continuous light that I can turn off and on with a little switch and I never have to wonder if it's going to fire when I need it to, like I do on my flash.

I use Sandisk memory cards, there are a lot of good brands out there, but Sandisk is the one I chose to go with because it's one of the more popular brands with wedding photographers.  I only use each card for 10 weddings (I make a little mark on the back for each wedding I use it in) and then retire it to use for portrait sessions or personal use.  I don't want to take a chance on my cards ever corrupting and the older they get and the more used they are the higher the chance is that that will happen.  I also only use 8GB cards for that same reason, if a card does ever corrupt, I'd rather have only 8GB of pictures on there as opposed to 32GB.

I bought my shootsac used about 2 and 1/2 years ago and it's still in greeeaaat condition.  I love this bag so much, and it's well worth the $150 I spent on it.  It's comfortable to wear, easy to use, and holds a lot of stuff.  I love how it lays around my waist, and kind of molds to my body, so that I don't have this huge boxy bag of equipment sticking out of my side.

And here's a picture of my whole little camera family--taken with my iPhone :)


Not the most thrilling post in the world, I know, but I'm pretty excited about this new series.  If you have questions that you'd like me to answer in feel free to post them in the comments below and I'll add them to the list of blog posts!
Much Love,Jessica Shae