What’s in my camera bag?
Shooting from the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge, Squamish, British Columbia
Is it important? No. Am I going to write a blog post about it anyway? Yes.
This post is more aimed toward gear heads, but if you're a client or just curious about what equipment I use, this will certainly give you an idea. My setup varies greatly and evolves often depending on the shoot, brief, or if I'm just messing around in the countryside. Especially since moving to Canada, my everyday and hiking setups are still something I'm trying to nail down. (New camera on the horizon?)
Firstly, I don't subscribe to any brand being better than another. Life is ever-changing, and so are cameras. I've owned Nikons and Canons before and use them with work fairly often, but at home and on my own shoots, I'm currently a Sony user. Most of the time, I'm rocking my Sony A7III. It's my workhorse camera and has never let me down. This is the one constant camera I use on every shoot. Coming from DSLRs, this was a game-changer for me. Autofocus is always quick and accurate, and the low-light performance has allowed for some creative flash-free shots at weddings. At weddings, I also have a Canon 77d on hand as a B cam with some prime lenses ready to shoot. It's a retired workhorse that got me many of my first professional shoots, and at this stage, it may be nostalgia that keeps me hanging onto it.
To make my cameras work, we need some lenses. I'd built up a collection on Canon before I made the full-frame jump to Sony, but I sold them all, only keeping the good old Nifty Fifty. It's a solid lens for most situations and always a recommendation for any photographers who ask for first-lens advice. I only keep one other lens for my Canon, the 10-18mm, which I used for some vlog stuff as well as time-lapses. However, my 50mm f1.8 usually lives on my Canon.
Some of the essentials
Next up, let's talk about the lenses for my Sony. On wedding shoots, I carry three lenses with me. My primary lens, and the one that stays on my camera most of the time, is my Sigma Art 24-70. I love this lens, although it's heavy, it's an absolute beauty. For those longer-length shots, I have a Sony 70-200 f4, which can struggle a little in low light, but most low-light scenes are usually much tighter than this allows for. I went with this option as it's very sharp for the price, and I use it mostly in the mountains where the extra aperture stops aren't really needed. Lastly, and my most recent addition, is a Sigma 16-28mm. I needed something wider because the 24-70 was just too tight. I've used it on one wedding so far, so the verdict isn't really decided on this one, but it's in my bag for now. I've made videos about all of these lenses on my YouTube channel, so be sure to check them out if you want to know more.
Lastly, I carry around a GoPro Hero 10 for general shots and have been using it to vlog whenever I'm making content like that. I also have a DJI Mavic Air 2, which I can't fly in Canada for now. The drone was an impulse decision, I'll admit, but it's been useful for some establishing shots. It's great for getting shots of those hard-to-reach places and was always a great option/tool to have in my arsenal.
M1 Pro Macbook Pro
When it comes to working on the go, realistically, there are no better options than what Apple has to offer. I do have a tower set up back in Ireland, but knowing Canada was on the horizon, I just had to pick up something portable. Currently, I’m rocking a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, and I don’t foresee any upgrades anytime soon—it meets and exceeds all my expectations. Being able to offer on-the-day edits for the weddings I shoot is crucial, and having a portable setup makes this possible.
The little extras I carry are essentials. I use SanDisk Extreme (despite all the media attention, I’ve had no issues) and a Samsung T7 for onsite backups. My go-to SD cards are Lexar Professional 64GB variants; I prefer not to overload a single card to avoid losing an entire shoot. As for camera batteries, I stick with OEM batteries—others haven’t lasted as long in my experience. I also carry various battery banks to keep all my devices charged. And lastly, I always have a notebook and pen handy. Notes tend to get lost on my phone, so having a dated notepad in my pocket has been a game changer for organization.
Is all of this in my bag all the time? Rarely. It depends on the shoot or what I’m doing. Currently, I’m planning a hike in May and scouting for a lightweight camera and lens combo for this multi-day adventure.
This has been my gear rant section and means you get an idea of what I use to capture weddings, events and my day to day. Check out my Galleries if you want to see more of my photowork. I have also linked some Youtube videos below where you can see pretty much all of the above in use at some stage.
