On Sunday I had the honor of meeting with a potential new and upcoming San Diego Photographer! This was my first time mentoring and discussing how I started, what I wish I would have known, what gear I use, what blogs and Photographers I follow, and how to shoot a DSLR in Manual Mode! My goodness, this made me realize how far I have come. Still to this day I see myself as a photographer who is learning and growing everyday, for the past six years ha! It was such an incredible honor to have someone reach out to me and ask to sit down and learn from me!!!! I was thinking to myself, are you sure? Then once we sat down I realized the valuable information I have learned over the years and I thought to myself this is information thats needs to be shared with the world around me!

For years, I followed so many amazing Wedding Photographers around the United States like Katelyn James, Jasmine Star, and Jana Williams. I invested in online courses that was offered by Katelyn James and Creative Live and Mini Guides from photographers like Jasmine Star. I was always so thrilled when a new blog post came out and I was always waiting by my email for the next new piece of information that I would be inspired by. I had that itch to learn, so what an amazing feeling that this is now coming full circle and maybe I can be the woman who makes a difference in someone’s startup photography business.

So here it goes, my first official blog post for Photographers! I remember the biggest piece of information I was always searching for is what was the best gear on the market for Wedding Photography in San Diego. Who was using what and when were they using it? Before I launch into all of the gear I bring with me to weddings, I want to say that I am proud of where I am and how far I have come, but these are my favorite pieces. What I have truly learned is there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to gear. You need to find what gear works for you, your budget and your style. All of this gear has been accumulated over time and not purchase all at once. I highly recommend renting gear from Borrow Lenses to test the lenses you are interested in or not ready to purchase just yet.

Camera Bag:
Each piece of gear listed below is brought with me to EVERY Wedding, not to mention my little bag of goodies and supplies (Which I will have to do another Blog Post on). My main bag that I carry with me throughout every wedding and session is the House of Flynn Evermore Bag in Grey! I also bring along a Canon backpack to store extra equipment in like flashes, spare camera, and spare lenses. Throughout a wedding day I am constantly swapping out lenses from my Evermore Bag to my backpack that way I am not lugging around all of my gear all day long. I usually store my gear under the DJ’s Table or somewhere the coordinator recommends that is out of sight from guests.

Camera Equipment:
Canon Mark IV: This is my Primary Camera (A Brand New Toy HA!). It is great in low light situations, is extremely sharp, and my favorite piece has WIFI! I can now sync the Canon Mark IV to my IPhone, edit a sneak peak on on Adobe Lightroom CC for IPhone and send to my clients within an hour of their session! #Winning!

Canon Mark III: This was my baby for 5 amazing years! I thought I would never purchase another camera or different model ever again! I actually broke a piece of my camera and had to send out for repairs last year. I rented the Mark IV and was WOWED by its sophistication. But the Mark III will always have my heart, we have shared so many wonderful memories with so many amazing clients! I now use the Mark III as my back up spare camera body.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2: This is the lens I use the most! At any photoshoot or throughout any point of a wedding day, I am using this lens or have it nearby and ready to go! At my meeting on Sunday, I was asked if there was one piece of equipment or accessory to purchase to get started what would it be? Hands down get a 50MM! There are options available for Canon for starter 50mm Lens like the Canon EF 50mm 1.8 and Canon 50mm EF 1.4. I started out with the 1.8 and eventually upgraded to the 1.4 as my business grew. Then one day my Canon 50mm EF 1.4 lens was broken at a wedding and I took it as a sign to upgrade to the 50mm 1.2! Hallelujah, my most used lens was purchased! Although I do hear amazing reviews about the Sigma 50mm 1.4 ART and when it comes time to replace my Canon 50mm, this might be the direction I go.

Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART: This lens is used primarily for Family Formals (But I try to use my 50MM during Family Formals as well) Wide Shots of Ceremony and Reception Photographs, and then I use this camera 100% for Reception photographs during Open Dancing and Reception Formalities. I just love the way this camera operates for Reception Photography!

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8: This is a fun lens that I recently purchased and am currently working on integrating into my Wedding day. As of right now I use it primarily during Bride and Groom Portraits or for Ceremony & Reception details. I am still deciding on upgrading to the Canon EF 85mm 1.4 or the Sigma 85mm 1.4 ART.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8: It’s all about those Wedding Rings & Details! This lens is used solely for photographing the Bride’s getting ready details. Just a side note: I don’t use automatic focus when using this lens. I prefer using manual focus that way I can set my focus to be exactly where I want it to be.

Canon 24-70mm & Canon 24-105mm: These lens are brought to every wedding, but are hardly used. I do love my 24-70mm lens for really big Family Formals or wide shots during a ceremony. Otherwise these are used as backup lenses for a wedding day.

Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite Flash: And for my final piece of equipment are these Flashes! I tried for so long to try and nail down how to sync flashes from my camera. And I mean I tried everything! Then finally I was introduced to these bad boys! I use three flashes, one on camera and two off camera on light stands during a reception. The best things about these flashes and what sets them apart is that you can manually set them up to use the two-way radio communication feature so that way when you snap a photograph from your camera your on camera flash will trigger your off camera flashes to go off at the same time! AMAZING!

I hope you enjoyed this post, sorry if it was so lengthy! I just have so much information to give 😉 Please remember that what may work for me, may not work for you or any other photographer out there. I want to encourage you to find the gear that works best for you and where your business is currently at. So go have fun exploring all the different equipment that is out there!