Hey All,

Exactly what do you carry in your bag to a wedding and/or photo shoot and why?

Thanks for being specific.

M.J.

To All,

I guess I should have mentioned, I'm new to this site and I'm now starting on my own. I use to do contract weddings with just an Elan IIe and Elan 7ne with only one lens (28-80mm f/ 3.5-5.6) and getting paid only $300.00 for each event and I've never seen the shots I took.

I guess they were decent. I never had any complaints.

Now that I'm shooting digital and am ready to buy more gear, I'm just curious what's your gear and what do you carry? And why? I want to provide the best to my clients too.

Thanks you guys.

M.J.

Hi Marlon,
Welcome to OSP! Every Photographer is different, but I can tell you what I carry.
Canon 30D
Canon 20D
70-200 IS 2.8
28-135 IS 3.5-5.6
Canon 10-22
1-580 speedlight
2- 550 speedlights
2-Lg. reflectors
20 gigs compact flash

I am adding a
5D, 16-35L, 100 2.8 macro for next season. Hope that helps!
Candy
eta: Sekonic light meter
Gadget Infinity wireless trans-recievers
lots of batteries

My set up:
2 Fuji S3's
Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR
Nikon 17-55 2.8
Nikon 10.5 mm 2.8
Tamron 28-75 2.8 (Don't really use it... there for backup)
Nikon 50 mm 1.8 (Don't really use this either)
2 SB800's with difusers
2 Flash Cords
1 Bracket
Lightsphere
Reflector (Don't use very much)
Cable release
Tripod
About 25 gigs of CF cards
Lots of Bateries
Sekonic Light meter
2 White Lightning UZ800's with stands and umbrellas
Pocket Wizzards

Hi and welcome to OSP! Well, I dont cary enough - my wife has taken over my 24-70L, 70-200L, and 50F1.4 so now I have to get more lenses

We shoot 5D, 20D and carry backup bodies.
20-35 2.8L (old version of 16-35)
50 1.4, 50 1.8
24-70 2.8L
70-200 4.0L
85 1.8

A couple of on camera flash units, Joe Demb flash difussor
Off camera flash gear with radio triggers
Lots of CF cards, extra camera batteries, etc.

Hope that helps!

2 D200s
2 SB800s
flash bracket (stroboframe camera flip)
~20GB of CF cards (I shoot RAW so I need the space)


70-200mm 2.8 VR
17-50mm 2.8
12-24mm 4
85mm 1.8
50mm 1.4
10.5mm 2.8
(lenses in order from most- to least-used - I may only change lenses once every half-hour, tops)

Are you a canon or a nikon shooter?

5d (2 bodies)
20d (1 body)
15mm fisheye
16-35 2.8L
24-70 2.8L
85mm 1.2L
100mm 2.8
70-200mm 2.8L (non-IS)
580ex v1 (2 units)
20 AA Energizer 15 min rechargables (2500s)
5 camera batteries
about 30 GB of CF cards
rocket blower, cleaning cloths, brush, etc for cleaning equip.
sewing kit (nothing better than SAVING THE DAY by sewing a bridesmaid into her dress when the zipper sticks!)
gadget infinity flash triggers (soon to be using Pocket wizards)
business cards

Can't think of anything else.....

Wow! and thanks.

I'm a Canon user. I have the following:

Bodies

EOS Elan IIe (Retired)
EOS Elan 7nE (Soon to retired. Hoping for the 5D Mark II)
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/06/purport...surface-online/
40D (Just brought it)

Lenses

28-80 f/ 3.5-5.6
28-135 f/ 3.5-56 IS (came with 40D Kit)
85 f/ 1.8 (Just brought - I'm loving this one)

Flashes

420EX
580EX II (Just brought)

Flash Cards

4 GB (Just brought)
8 GB (Just brought)

Green Canon bag (Quite small -hope to retire for a larger one)

Oh and both of Gary Fong Dongs.

What else do you recommend? And what's a good bag? And what's in your bag?

Sorry gotta go. The Misses is calling me.

M. J.

You need something wider than 28mm.

I use a $20 canvas bag from Old Navy to which I added Domke inserts.

2 5D
1 20D
50L 1.2
85L 1.2
24L 1.4
15 fishey
100 2.8
24-70L 2.8
70-200L 2.8
2 580EX
Q Flash

Nikon D200 & D70s

SB-600 & SB-80DX with assorted color correction gels

Tokina 12-24
Nikon 50, 1.8
Nikon 70-200
Nikon 10.5 Fisheye
Soon to be Nikon 24-70

2 x Pocketwizards

1 x shoot through umbrella and stand

16gb of CF cards

-Doug

Nikon D50-D80( soon to be 2 D300's)
Nikkor50 1.8
Nikkor 18-135 dx
Sigma 10-20
Nikkor 28-100
2 Nikon SB-800 Flashes
Sigma 70-300


Fong dong
All cards are SD cards 6 2gb cards

Stewart C.

Niceeeeee!

You guys rock. When I grow up I want to be just like you all. Seriously.



M.J.

I love my new setup. For years I had shot with 20D/30D (and previously the 10D), which are all crop cameras and zoom lenses. I recently switched to 5D & primes. I hadn't believed that such a difference could come from an equipment change.

What I use now
5D (love this)
24L 1.4 (love this)
35 2
50 1.4 (love-hate relationship)
85 1.8 (love this)
135L 2 (love this)
580EX
2x550EX
Nikon Sb-26
Pocketwizards x3
lightstands & umbrellas
Boda Bag (love this)

Also have
30D with grip
16-35L 2.8
70-200 2.8 Sigma
Norman P12/12 with three heads
Minolta Falshmeter IVF
Tokina 12-24 f4 (great lens for sale!)
An orphan BG-E2 grip (for sale!)

That's most of the bigger stuff, but I'm sure I'm forgetting things.
Cory

what i carry on me during a shoot:

2 x 30d w/grip
1 x 135L 2.0
1 x 50 1.4
1 x 85 1.8
1 x 17-55 IS 2.8
1 x shootsac
1 x 580 ex
1 x packet of pocket size kleenix.
extra batteries
business cards
20 x sandisk extrme 2gb cards


1 bag with tide to go, clorox stick pen, emergency wedding jewelry, bandaids, garbage bags, etc.

i also have a bright orange pelican case with all my backup and cleaning stuff and lenses i dont use, but still carry around for whatever reason.

Hey Buddy- Question, do you ussually end up using all primes throughout the day or do you find yourself using the zooms? Not hijacking here just wondering

Hi there and welcome to OSP, one of the best places to learn and share about wedding photography.

Depending on your style your gear may vary. I am still changing a little bit of gear as I define and develop my style. The one constant recommendation that you will get from here is that you need fast glass, 2.8 or better. I am a minimalist now, but working on changing that. Here is what's in my bag.

Nikon D200 & D70s (backup)
Nikon 50 f1.8 (doubles as a macro by flipping it around)
Tamron 17-50 f2.8
Nikon SB-800 with diffuser and color correction gels
Sunpak 120j with battery pack and color correction gels
Bowns Pulsar triggers x2
Manfroto monopod
Adorama 13' Air cushioned light stand
Photoflex 45" convertible umbrella
16 Gbs of CF card
Rechargable batteries

And I rent some of the following depending on the event:
Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR (alwasy rent)
Nikon 85 f1.8
Nikon 135 f2

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the welcome, I feel right at home.

By the way, you all decked out with your gear. Again, nice.

Keep up the good work.

M.J.

Welcome Marlon,
I roll out with:

Canon Mark III
Canon 40D
70-200L 2.8IS
16-35 2.8L
50 1.4
580EXII
430EX
3 Pocket Wizard II's
Tamron 18-200
2 - Midland GXT radios with push to talk headsets
2 lightstands and umbrellas
Manfrotto Tripod with that cool joystick style head
Craftsman flashlight with cardboard snoot duct taped to the end for painting with light
TONS of aa batteries
17" HP laptop
Sandisk card reader
and a truck load of memory cards
Oh and 2 backpacks, of course.

Mark,

Two backpacks? Why two backpacks? Who watches them while you're shooting? So, where is a good place to store your gear while shooting if ones does not have an assistant?

Since I never had an assitant (hopefully my wife will be my assistant), I use to make buddy-buddy with the D.J.'s and ask if they could watch my gear sinced they stayed at their turntables with all of their records. So what do you do?

The reason why I'm asking because it scared me while I was reading an article posted on one of Cory Pariss' blog sites where it mentioned to "watch your gear". A person posing as guest walked out the back door of a hotel (he was caught on camera but is still on the loose) with the photographers equipment and another imposter (caught on tape) got away the b/g gift monies also. Just food for thought.

Anywhooooo, thanks for the insiders scoop of "What's In Your Bag?" Hopefully everyone will contribute to this thread.

M.J.

By the way, you guys and gals have some nice gear.

M.J.

wow I feel naked with only 9GB of CF cards shooting RAW... Ill need to pick up a few more when I get my 5D!

I travel light...

2 Canon 5D bodies (no grips)
1 Canon 28mm f1.8
1 Canon 50mm f1.4
1 Canon 85mm f1.8
1 Canon 580EX with off camera cord
1 Vivitar 285HV with off camera cord
32 GB of CF
A few small CTO gels for flashes
Ziploc bag with tylenol, tums, imodium, and a power bar.

Click to view a movie about what's in my bag

The movie is slightly different as it was done before I went to 2 5D bodies and dumped wireless E-TTL.

-Bruce

yaayyy...Im the first picture!

Photo is kind of old..added another pocket wizard since then...

Dude,

That is so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Thanks for the visual man.

Please tell me (us), exactly what you have in your bag and what kind of bag is that?

P.S. I watched Gary Fong's "Step-by-step Getting Rich" DVD last night and he had some really great ideas. Hey, is there a forum on selling techniques and or methods? Also, is there a forum on things what to "say" or "not say" to win the business of the bride and groom? If not, I guess I'll start a thread and if so, can someone please point me in the right direction. I guess I should look before I ask.

P.S.S. You guys rock!

M.J.

Thanks bro! The bag is a Lowepro AW Trekker II - barely within limits for a plane.

(2) - Rebel Xti's w/ batt grips
70-200 f/2.8 IS
18-55 f/4 IS
50 f/1.8
ST-E2 Transmitter - (sold already)
3 Pocket Wizards (only 2 shown)
580EX
430EX
Umbrella brackets
Gels

...banging images are acheived with great lighting, and sweet glass!

I recieve a lot of "you use that camera?" pretty much all the time.

I just point them to my website.

(2) 5d's w/ Bat Grips
(2) 1DMKII's
70-200mm f2.8 IS
70-200mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
16-35mm f2.8
580EX
480EX
And a pile of other stuff....

Dude,

How did you get your wife to second shoot with you?

I kinda want my wife to shoot with me, but I don't think should would want to hold a heavy camera alllllll dayyyy longggg. My wife is a licensed make-up artist, so once she's done applying make-up for the bridal party, I think I can use her as my assistant, especially to work the laptop display at the reception. Uhh uhh uhh, I can also get her to color correct my pictures.

I too see a husband and wife team in the making.

M.J.

Yes, two backpacks, one is my wifes, one is on me. I think husband and wife teams are awesome, as long as that relationship is strong and you have OPEN lines of communication and know who's in charge at the shoot. I don't mean that to sound harsh in anyway shape or form but if the B/G saw us argue at the wedding over anything, they might get nervous and I don't want that. My wife is learning and it's not her first job. A lot of her work ends up getting deleted and she's ok with that. But when we're at t job I am the lead and she's totally cool with that. If your wife was the photographer that they hired and you were the assistant, as I know of several on OSP that are that way, I would expect that the husband as the assistant doesn't back talk or argue for all the same reasons.

I think your wife would be great to have as an assistant because of her background as an MUA. I think that would be a huge asset. To bring her in and let her have some owner ship I ask her opinions on how she feels light is falling on someone and what she feels about how to rightly photograph makeup. If you give her that freedom it only enables her and helps her find where she can really fit and help you.

My wife is a doctor of physical therapy. Probably one of the more over qualified (as far as strict education goes) assistants out there. But she's not a creative person like me, but she's crazy type A and that's been a huge help to me at weddings. We have discussed our roles and know them to the T. She is great at organizing all the family members etc. She also does a lot of detail shooting when I can't and she's dang good at it. And to me, she's easy on the eyes, so I dig having her around.

where did you buy this lense????

Jonathan

What's in your bag?

M.J.

Bump.

M.J.

I usually use 3 bags for weddings:

Domke J-2:

40D
Canon 135/2,0
Tamron 17-50/2.8
Tokina 12-24/4
Tokina 11-17/4 Fish
580EX
Quantum Turbo SC with Canon cable
extra batteries
extra CF cards
bungee cords
flash table stand
white and gold Stofen Omnibounce
businesscards

Domke J-1:

1D Mark II
Canon 70-200/2,8 IS USM
Tamron 28-75/2,8
Canon 17-40/4
Lensbaby 1.0
580 EX
CP-e3 or CP-E2 battery pack for flash
extra batteries
extra CF cards
bungee cords
flash table stand
white and gold Stofen Omnibounce
businesscards


A Lowepro Pro Roller 2 (mostly for the formals, but sometimes, in church also - depends):

3 Sunpak 383 flashes
1 Quantum T2 with normal bowl reflector, bare bulb enhancer, snoot and replacement bulb
1 Sunpak 120J
1 Nikon SB-800
2 Quantum Turbo Z (or 2 Turbos, it depends)
3-6 Pocket Wizards: 3 Plus II, 1 MultiMax, 2 Sekonic RR-32 receiver
2 collapsible light stands

2 umbrella swivels with Pocket Wizard holders, made by Gregg Zivney:

http://greggzivney.blogspot.com/2007/08/ho...hey-hangin.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37808569@N00/...57601708633455/


from next year on alternatively these all-new pw caddys:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/11/strob...ket-wizard.html


some snoots and gobos from Davidl Honl:

http://www.honlphoto.com/servlet/StoreFront


2 double folded Westcott umbrellas
2 Bogen Super Clamps
1 Bogen Magic Arm
2 Morris slave flashes
2 Sunpak Readylight videolights
1 Gossen Color temperatur meter Sixticolor (it's from the 60's, but works great!)
1 Sekonic L-358 light meter with built-in pw transmitter (it's not from the 60's, but works great, too)
1 Hyperdrive Colorspace and 1 Nexto CF storage devices to double-backup all the pictures
2 little walkie-talkies
lots of batteries and stuff like Wein optical slaves, adaptors, different gels, screws, little ball heads, table flash stands, lots of cords an cables, safely stored in tupper boxes, dozends of bungee cords, bongo ties, velcro, and and and


And for cases when murphy's law hits me:

Another backpack in my car:

30D
batteries
Canon 17-85 IS
Canon 28-300 IS
some cactus (ebay-) triggers
430 EX
second Sekonic L-358 light meter with built-in pw transmitter



In case when Murphy's law hits me double:

A Pelicase rolling bag with another set of lights stands, 2 Quantum T2, 2 Turbo batteries, another Magic Arm and 2 Bogen Super Clamps

(but this one stays at home most o'the time)


Last but not least: A very good insurance for all that stuff!!!!

Mario

No, I don't have an assistant! It's just me!!!

P.S.: Here you can see how Chase Jarvis (Seattle photog) packs his bags. Very interesting, I think...


http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/11/chase-is-on-case.html

Thats a lot of gear.

You should open up a store

I second that.

M.J.

Sometimes, I think, I really should do this :-)

Mario

You could open a private rental store....be sure to include the "you break it you buy it" clause in VERY fine print...at the bottom of the page.....on the back....in 1 pt white font....

I've posted this before....

In the bag is:
2 Fuji S3's
17-55 2.8
28-75 2.8
70-200 VR 2.8
10.5 2.8
50 mm 1.8
business cards
bateries
memory cards
2 SB800's
Bracket and flash cord

I just added a Fuji S5 and a 50 mm 1.4

Thanks, I'll think about it :-))

I'm a PJ and wedding photographer, and for me, my business and my clients it is very important to have a redundant second equipment when first gear fails. So I decided to grow in gear.

I would like to have an assistant, but cannot pay him or her because I don't earn enough money as a PJ in germany (hard market)... In the U.S., a pro PJ is paid much better, normally.

Mario

lol..

Germany? Wow...gonna ask the question everyone always asks....hows the weather there?

I agree with you about backup stuff....except all mine fits in one bag with my main stuff....sometimes I pack 2 bags just to torture my assistant...and sometimes I'll strap the refelctors to his neck....ahhh....he's a cool guy though....

2 5D's
2 40D's
1 20D
The L's...70-200, 85, 24, 16-35, 24-70.
Fish...100 Mac...
3 580ex's
Pocketwizards
Etc.

I just bring some crack , a pencil and a sketch pad. gets us $7000 a day!!!

Mike,

You shoot with five cameras? Wow!

M.J.

A shutter for each finger!

Bump.

M.J.

Bump. Say what say what.

We're going to start charging you $5.00 per bump MJ.

those who use it how do you find the 135 2.0 lens? Looking at purchasing this one as i don't think i will be able to hold the 70-200 2.8 still enough.

Jodie,

Nice pictures on your website.

M.J.

135/2.0 is the sharpest Canon lens I ever had. Great lens, great quality. But if you don't think you will be able to hold the 70-200/2.8 still enough, why not buying a 70-200 IS (Image stabilizer)??? It's a great lens, too ...

Mario