Image by Katie Lamb Photography
I am a huge believer in doing the best you can with what you have and making it work…but I will admit that gear is a HUGE part of the photography world! Being a full time wedding photographer means my job is reliant on stable and consistent gear that will give me dependable technology on a wedding day and allow me to focus on creating and capturing moments! We started small, but slowly have built our collection of gear over the last 3 years, buying things in order of priority! I am so thankful for these pieces of gear that give me flexiblity and freedom on a wedding day, while knowing that everything is reliable and safe! In the beginning I was totally lost as to what gear to buy and what to use it for and now I frequently get questions about the same things, so today I’m rounding up what is in my camera bag on a wedding day!
My Mom and I shoot together and use all the same gear, so this is a collection of gear that works great whether you are the lead or second shooter. While we do shoot primarily weddings, we do use (or have used in the past) these lenses for other types of work (portraits, familes, newborns, interior, etc) so hopefully this post will be helpful with whatever you prefer to shoot!
We are Canon girls because it is what we learned on and I also am a huge fan of their repair service! We have a Canon Professional Service membership (SO worth the money if you are contemplating it!) so we know they will quickly and safely repair any gear in the event that an issue comes up or something was broken! With yearly maininace and cleaning our Canon gear has held up for years with heavy use! There are a few other pieces we rarely use, but this is a collection of our favorites and most used!
These pieces are professional grade, but if you are looking for a starter set up I’ve got tons of recomendations HERE!
The workhorse. Both my Mom and I shoot on Mark III’s as our main camera bodies. We keep a 6D with us at all times so that we have a full frame backup that we know would produce quality images if needed (or if I want to have two different lenses on me at the same time), but my heart is with the Mark III! The sharpness, focal point options, color profile and video capabilities make this a dream to shoot on! We’ve had one for 3 years and it still works like it’s brand new (with sending it in to Canon yearly like I mentioned) and I have no desire to upgrade further! …yet 😉 
Mamiya 645 Pro Medium Format Film Camera + 80 mm LensÂ
In addition to digital we love shooting film! We like to be able to acess the situation and determine if it is better suited for digital or film and be prepared for both options! For portraits on a sunny wedding day you just can’t beat some Portra 400 or Ektar 100 film! The colors and skin tones they capture are just something you can’t match with digital! We have other lenses for this camera, but the 80mm shoots like a 50mm (because it’s medium format) so it really is the only lens I use for it!
50mm f/1.2 L Lens
MY BABY. This lens and I go way back and I don’t know what I would do without it. It was the first “nice” lens I purchased and I thought I was going to pass out spending so much money on it…let me tell you what, I’ve never regretted it!!! It is sharp, creamy, and quick to focus! I could (and often do) shoot an entire wedding on this one lens! It is a fixed focal length meaning it doesn’t zoom in or out. For me, this length (50mm) feels like a natural extention of what my eye sees. If you are only going to pick one lens, it would be this one in my opinion!! I could not go to a shoot without this lens. Also, almost every image on my blog is taken with this!
I should add that I use this only on a full frame camera (this is the case with all the lenses in this post). A cropped chip camera (opposite of full frame) does crop your images in tighter, so if you want the feel of this lense without upgrading to a full frame camera body, I would recomend something like a 35mm. However, if you have a full frame and need a new lens, look no further! 😉
This is the equivilent to how I feel about the 50mm for my mom. While the 50mm is on my camera all day, the 85mm is on my mom’s. My Mom is my second shooter so this lens allows her to get close up images without getting me in the shot during portraits. During the reception it allows her to take a photojournalistic apporach, being a fly on the wall while getting tight candid shots of people naturally interacting! I LOVE the candids she gets on this lens! Once again, it is a fixed length and does not zoom in or out.
With this length when we switch to her leading she still is prepared to get classic portraits striaght on.
This fixed lens is one that grew on me and now is a favorite! It is a macro lens so I know what people most often use it for is detail shots, but I love it for ceremonies and my mom loves it for receptions! I couldn’t justify the price for only detail shots, but after using it in other situations I was hooked! It is similar to the 85mm in that we can stay back (even further back which is helpful during ceremonies) but still get a crisp intimate close up image! The soft depth of field this lens gives is beautiful!
We do use it for details as well. There is nothing else like it for rings and jewlery shots! I just also wanted to point out that this lens can be used for so much more than just that!! 
Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art Lens
This is actually the only product we own that is not gear! I was not thrilled with the Canon 35mm, but love the Sigma! It is a life saver for tight getting ready rooms, full reception decor shots, and areal views of tables or invitation suites! Shortly after I purchased this we shot at Grand Ledge park and I don’t know what I would have done without this lens! I needed to be able to shoot without backing off a cliff 😉  I know lots of photogs that use this as their primary lens (in place of something like the 50mm) but I haven’t quite gotten there yet! I am pretty short and often feel that the wideness of this lens is not most flattering when coming from below. However if I have a step stool I’m usually good to go! Tall friends rock it out! 😉
This is also a great lens if you shoot in home family sessions!
Back to Canon! This was the next purchase for me after the 50mm and I’m happy it was! I like to stay unnoticed during ceremonies and this is the way to do it! Once the bride is down the aisle you will find me in the back of the church with this baby on my camera! It allows me to get really close shots without being in the way! The only downside is that it is HEAVY so be warned, you may need to workout before using it! Ha!
This is also our primary lens for our video shooters! It lets them get around us completely and change focal lengths (because it does zoom in and out) without moving their camera and tripod (/monopod). The image stabilization comes in handy for this, but it is a little noisy! If you are recording video with audio I would recomend the second edition of this lens!
Canon 600 EX-RT Flashes and ST-E3-RT Transmitter
I am on a mission to make the world love flash! YES you read that right! Not just any flash though, off camera flash used in a way that mimics natural light! Most natural light photographers I know (like myself) hate flash and would do anything to avoid it! I get it! I was there!! But after learning how to use it in a natural and flattering way (THANK YOU Justin & Mary!!) it has changed wedding days entirely for me! I know I use it often during getting ready, ceremonies, and receptions! It is game changing, trust me! Add a few light stands and you’ve got our set up! We use 3 Canon 600’s because they sync so effortlessly!
Again, if you shoot in home family sessions or newborns where you aren’t sure what your lighting circumstances will be like, this is great to learn!! It is so freeing to not feel 100% reliant on finding a window!
Bolt Battery Pack for Canon Flashes
If you struggle with lag time between your flash firing, I would check these out! My Aunt recomended them to me and I don’t know what we did before them! They hold two extra sets of batteries and plug straight into your flash (we hang them on the stand with a carabiner or hook them to our camera strap). It has helped a ton! No more missing moments because your flash is recycling! 
Sunpak VL-LED-96 Compact Video Light
This is my prefered video light for dark receptions! I also use it occasionally for photos when the reception is so dark that I can’t catch fast movements with my flash (hello boquet toss!). If you are wondering why I prefer it over other video lights look at the price tag. 😉 
Kinotehnik Viewfinder
If you (a.) wear glasses/contacts (b.) shoot video or (c.) shoot in bright sunshine, you should pick up one of these guys! It magnifies and blocks out light on the LCD screen on your camera so that you can see what you are shooting CLEARLY! This was another recomendation from my Aunt and I was resitant at first because it seems pricey for what it is. Now I’m screaming TAKE ALL MY MONEY because it is so. helpful. I would highly recomend it!
Holdfast Money Maker Camera Strap
I’ve always used a Black Rapid Strap but often have two around me. The cumbersomeness combined with my back pain at weddings lead me to purchase this strap and I love it! I dragged my feet for about 2 years because it is non-returnable and I wish I had gotten it sooner! It carries two cameras but they hang in a way that puts your weight on your torso not shoulders! I love that they stay back out the way so that I have my hands free and it really has relieved back pain (combined with a specific workout routine that has been game changing, but that is for another day!). I generally keep my Mark on my right and my Mamiya on my left! If it is later in the day when it’s less likely that I’ll use film I’ll either put my 6D on my left, or carry my Mark without a strap on it at all.
I also would like to note that I do not dress as casually for weddings as I am in the right image! We happened to be doing a lot of hiking in the woods for that wedding so I wore what I needed to for movements sake and changed before the ceremony! Ha! Gotta do whatcha gotta do! That image just showed what the strap looks like 🙂
I hope this helps! Please comment and let me know if you have any questions! I’d be happy to answer as best as I can!
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