What’s In My Bag? {Education for Photographers}

whats in my camera bag

What’s in my bag? Well, when I first started shooting, I  looked to other photographers and industry leaders for guidance on what to purchase. So, to help you, I’ve created a list of all the most important gear I own! A lot of people have asked about my gear: potential clients wanting to know if I have enough backup equipement, other photographers who want to understand which gear I choose to use, and even guests at weddings who are just curious!

Before I move on, I feel really stongly about this, so hear me out for a second! Gear does not make the photographer. Gear does not define you or your work. Our gear is like a tool box, giving us more creative options with each piece of equipement. You don’t NEED to have a lot of gear to be a great photographer! But with each lens you add to your collection, the more options you have to express your creativity. You don’t need to have the best cameras or the best lenses to be a great photographer, because it’s not the camera that makes a great image, it’s the photographer BEHIND the camera! So, here it is! This is all of the gear that I carry to every wedding! I’ll go down the list and talk about each item and why I love it/why you should carry it in your bag too! So, what’s in my bag?

1. The Lens Lineup
First off, I choose to shoot with prime lenses only. I LOVE their low light capabilities, and when shooting at it’s widest aperture, you get a beautiful, creamy depth of field that it’s very complimentary to my style! I carry 5 lenses with me. (Listed in order as photographed) I use the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8, the Sigma Art 50mm 1.4, the Tamron Macro 90mm 2.8, the Sigma Art 35mm 1.4, and the Nikon 85mm 1.8.
A while back I made a post about the best wedding lenses on a budget! A couple of the listed lenses are different than what I actually use, but you can read about what I use each focal length for and why I love it.

what's in my bag lens lineup
2. The Camera Bag
I’m so excited to talk about my camera bag! I LOVE this bag. It’s the Kelly Moore B-hobo style camera bag in Walnut! But I’m sad to say it’s being discontinued (hopefully not for long though). This bag is SO comfortable to wear and gives me super quick access to my gear! I use this bag to hold 3 lenses, my back up body, all of my spare batteries and memory cards, my laptop, my cell phone, and my client information folder. While I do carry 5 lenses to a wedding, this bag can only hold 3 at one time (4 if you attach a lens to your camera body and store it face down).

I also bring a separate backpack with me to every wedding! It carries my external lighting equipement, my main body with a lens (while I’m traveling to the location), it and holds my 70-200mm while it’s not in use. Because I only use that lens for ceremonies, I don’t want to carry the extra weight with me all day, so I keep it stored in my backpack until it’s time for the ceremony. This bag is super padded and has lots of space for everything I need without getting too heavy. Plus it’s super stylish and doesn’t scream, “Look at me, I’m carrying thousands of dollars in camera gear!” I definitely suggest you snag one up before they’re sold out! And how’s about that pretty purple interior! Love it!

kelly moore b-hobo camera bag indiana

indiana wedding nikon d750 lenses with kelly moore b-boho bag
3. Camera Bodies & Accessories
Pictured below is ALL the equipement I bring with me to every wedding, so let’s dive in!
First we have my camera bodies! I use the Nikon d750 as my main body and the Nikon d600 as my backup body! The d750 has INSANE low light capabilities, which is why I chose it over purchasing another d600. I definitely love the d600, don’t get me wrong, but it’s low light capabilities aren’t quite as “insane”.

Moving to the second row, we’ll start off with my external lighting equipment. I prefer to use natural light when possible, but in some scenarios, using flash will yield better results (ahem… receptions, haha). When I do use flash, I use two Yongnuo 568EX speedlights; one off camera and one on camera. Paired with my flashes are two Yongnuo 622 triggers and one Yongnuo 622TX wireless controller. I also have 24 Eneloop batteries charged and ready to go at any time (pictured in the third row) as well as 3 spare nikon batteries, in addition to the battery in my camera. You can seriously never be too safe with having enough batteries. As a general rule of thumb, you should have at least 2 batteries for every camera you use.

Next, to store my memory cards, I use a waterproof memory card case. This holds all of my memory cards when they’re not in use and makes it super easy to organize which memory cards have been shot on and which are blank! I have a total of 12 SanDisk memory cards! Most of them are 32GB, but I do have 2 16GB cards that I’ll use occasionally for shorter sessions. It’s super important to have plenty of memory when shooting weddings! It’s no fun to have to go through and delete photos because you didn’t have an extra memory card with you! Lastly, I have a Lens Pen that is super convenient when I’m in a pinch! I accidentally get fingerprints on my lenses all the time so it’s perfect when I need a quick way to clean them off!

indiana wedding camera gear lenses what's in my bag