What’s in my Camera Bag
The gear I use as a Pittsburgh & destination wedding photographer
This is a bit of a fun, camera-nerd post. It might vary a bit from wedding to wedding, but these are my main staples. Everything below fits nicely into a Pelican 1510, which trails behind me throughout airports and arrives with me to every wedding.
Bodies
Hasselblad H1 - My go-to medium format film camera. Usually loaded with FujiFilm Pro 400H. This systems has a great selection of lenses, AF that’s incredibly reliable, and handy film imprinting on the backs. Typically they can be had cheaper than the competing Contax 645 system that’s very popular among film wedding photographers.
Canon R5 - Main digital body. Most buttons are custom mapped to grant near instantaneous switching between photo and video throughout wedding day. This allows me to capture stills and cinematic video of nearly the same moments.
Canon R6 - Second digital body. If I didn’t shoot video, I would’ve purchased two of these instead of an R5. The AF performance is just as good and 20mp is more than enough for wedding photography. I do miss the top LCD from the R5, but the R5 top LCD itself was a big downgrade from the previous Canon DSLR top screens, which showed so much more information.
Canon Elan7ne - 35mm film body. Great for candids and off-beat photos. Usually loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400. I love that I can share EF lenses between this and my R bodies.
A note about AF film cameras
When I started with film I used manual focus cameras. Mostly Pentax, shooting with an ME & MX for 35mm and the 6x7 for medium format. However, I was missing focus way too much. I’m sure there are focus magicians out there who can nail focus consistently throughout a semi-chaotic wedding day, but I’m not one of them. For how much film now costs it was worth it to switch to AF bodies and reduce the number of throw away frames.
Lenses
Hasselblad 100mm f/2.2 - My favorite portrait lens of all time. A large amount of the work featured on this website was made with this guy. About a 60mm equivalent in 35mm, which is just perfect for my style of shooting. The 2.2 rendering on 645 format is something special. The only equal it has in my mind is the Contax 80mm f/2, which is a bit faster, but also a shorter focal distance. In my experience the subject isolation in their images is almost identical, and I actually prefer the tighter FOV on the Hasselblad 100mm. The Pentax 6x7 paired with the 105mm 2.4 is arguably more special, but that’s a manual focus gauntlet and most commercial scanners (Frontier, Noritsu) can’t take advantage of the larger negative size.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L - What most of my digital work is shot on. This is an old lens design (30 years I believe), but it has such a special and organic rendering which makes up for its technical flaws (soft wide-open, bad chromatic aberration). The majority of my portraits and detail shots are with this.
Canon Ef 24-70mm f/2.8L II - Handy zoom. It’s what I grab when I need something wider than my 50mm. I’ll have it on for family/group photos and open dancing shots.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro - Used for close-up details and as my long lens throughout the day (ceremony/reception tight shots). I also really enjoy if for portraits when I want a bit more compression or have a tricky setting in which I want to hide some less-nice elements.
Notable mention - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II - Not always with me, but having the extra reach is sometimes necessary. Think church weddings or grand ballroom receptions. Usually I can get close enough with my 100mm, but in these settings it’s not always possible.
A note about EF vs RF glass
If you’re into cameras, you might’ve notice I’m not using any RF glass (indeed, I’m adapting all EF glass to my Canon RF bodies). This is for two main reasons. The first, and main, being that I use the Variable ND EF-RF adapter when shooting video. Having this ND permanently attached to allow for easy lens swaps is 100% necessary for my video shooting. The second reason, RF glass, while technically impressive, won’t help me create better imagery. As I noted about the EF 50mm, I’ll take lens character over sharpness. RF glass also tends to be bigger, which is a bit ironic given how mirrorless systems are usually seen as more compact than their DSLR predecessors. For instance, the RF 100mm L macro is still larger than the EF version I have with the adapter on. I’m happy with my current EF lenses.
Accessories
Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL (Godox V860 II)
Sekonic L-358 Light Meter - I can get by with the internal meters in both my H1 and Elan, but it’s nice to be able to get a more accurate ambient reading.
Misc. - backup batteries, lens cloths, EF-RF adapters, etc.
Notable mention - I’ll sometimes have Flashpoint/Godox AD100 and AD200s. I usually use continuous fresnel lights for the reception, as they’re necessary for video and lend themselves just as well to photo. However, sometimes I do use off camera flash (OCF) in the form of these two. I find the AD200s almost too powerful for my style of shooting, and that’s where the AD100s have been great. The on camera V860 can control these remotely while also firing on-camera, or simply function as a remote trigger.
That’s it! Earlier in my career I would bring more lenses than this. Usually a 35mm and 85mm fast prime. However, I found my work improved when I simplified. Sometimes we swap lenses when we don’t really need to. Or instead of thinking about the scene and creative ideas we’re debating if we want to change lenses. Everybody is different and what works for me might not work for you. If you have any questions about my gear ask them below in the comments!