A Look In My Camera Bag
Today I'm sharing what's inside my camera bag. I'm a simple kind of gal and so I like to keep things light, carrying only what I need, the essentials. My Think Tank is the work horse that carries most of my equipment on a wedding day and I'll share how I organize that later! Today I'm focusing soley on the bag that I carry with me to every engagement session and wedding day. For the past five years I've used a well loved Shootsac to carry my go to lenses. But over the years I found that it didn't have enough pockets to carry things like my wallet, batteries and mints. I started searching for a new bag when I felt like I outgrew the space the Shootsac offered. After a trip to WPPI I fell in love with the Kelly Moore Classic and decided to make the switch. This bag has enough room to hold the gear that I need and pockets to hold valueables like me car keys. Plus it's super adorable. Win, win!
whats in my camera bag wedding photographer deborah zoe photography
Whether it's an engagement session or wedding day I try to balance carrying the amount of gear I might need while trying to not burden myself with too much. That's why I stick to the basics, a few key lenses, extra batteries and sometimes a strobe. Here is my typical set up:1. I shoot with the Canon 5d Mark III. I LOVE this camera and kinda drool every time I use the new focusing system. Talk about amazing!! The body stays out of my bag and always has one lens at the ready. In this case it was the 50mm 1.2.
2. Of course every photographer knows to keep several business cards handy! I store mine away in the front pocket always at the ready to hand out!
3. I also have an extra battery on hand, you never know when you might need it! I tuck one away in the second front pocket.
4. My go to lens for ring shots is the 100mm 2.8 Macro and comes with me to every wedding and engagement session. During an engagement shoot it stays in my bag for the entirety of the session. On a wedding day however I'll start with it at the beginning of coverage then transition it to my Think Tank after the Getting Ready portion.
5. My newest addition is the 35mm 1.4. This will stay in my bag at all times as it's great for portraits as well as landscape scenes. I love the versatility this lens affords me.
6. Lastly is the 85mm 1.2. This lens is a beaut. It's PERFECT for portraits, the reason why it comes with me to every portrait, engagement and wedding day. The color and clarity from this lens can't be beat and I find that I use it almost 50% of the time!
7. This Think Tank Pixel Pocket stays attached to my camera bag at all times. I want to make sure that I not only have cards at the ready but that I always know where used cards are! I never want to worry about if I have misplaced cards and so latching it right onto the bag works for me. The sleeve holds 10 16gig cards and I have another full sleeve as back up in my Think Tank on a wedding day.
8. It's important to have water on hand!! A simple trip to Target to find a water bottle that matched my brand colors did the trick! I keep it hanging by carabiner to the side of my bag.
9. My beat up wallet! I think Kate Spade is calling my name... I keep this in the back zipper pocket of the bag along with my keys and FRESH lipgloss;).
10. Finally my bag, a Kelly Moore Classic . Gah, I love this thing!! It has four slots for lenses (and a flash not pictured) as well as two side pockets, two front snap closer pockets and a back zippered pocket that runs the length of the bag. But what I love most about this bag is this: when I put the bag down it stays standing. No more lenses falling out of my bag! I can feel good placing this bag down knowing that my gear is safe and secure!
If you have any questions about how I organize my camera bag or any of the gear I shared above leave a comment below!