Photo gear that I use

Whenever a fellow friend starts taking an interest in photography – the first question they ask: What photo gear should I get? Today I am listing all the photo gears I use.

1. Camera: I use two cameras Canon 6D and Rebel t3i. Rebel t3i was the best camera to start with and I still use it for my travel. Canon 6D is a full-frame camera and I have rarely taken it out of my studio (I don’t have money to buy another if something happens to it). If you’re just starting, I recommend you start with a basic Camera. The reason I chose Canon over Nikon – Canon lenses are much cheaper than Nikon ones.

2. Lenses: I have 5 lenses

18-55mm came with my Canon T3i and 24-105mm IS STM came with my Canon 6D. I use these two zoom lenses for outdoor as they are pretty helpful when you can’t get very close to the subject.

100mm f/2.8 Macro : I love this lens the most for food photography and it suits my style.

50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro Lens: Recently I have purchased it and I love the fact how close I can get to the subject with this.

50mm f/1.4: I use for portraits and top down mostly.

50mm f/1.8: I had and sold this lens for its poor quality. It’s a good lens if you’re just starting your photography but definitely not recommended for serious photographers.

3. Tripods: NEVER EVER BUY A CHEAP TRIPOD. 

After breaking 2 cheap Manfrotto tripods, I settled on a good and sturdy one. I have two tripods and I can’t imagine my life without it. This is the one I use for food shots as it has a horizontal column: Manfrotto Aluminium 3-Section Tripod with Horizontal Column.

I do have a carbon fiber tripod MeFOTO Aluminium Roadtrip Travel Tripod Kit for travel as it’s much lighter.

4. Diffuser:Despite having sheer curtains on my window, I use Neewer 43-inch / 110cm 5-in-1 Collapsible Multi-Disc Light Reflector as a diffuser. It helps to soften the light as much I need.

5. Reflector:I use cardboard papers (which comes with my husband’s laundered shirts) and wrap it with shiny aluminium foil. They are easy and light weight. Reflectors are pretty helpful to bounce the light when you’re shooting with backlit light or side lights. 

6. A clamps: I use it to hold a diffuser or reflector. You can find A clamps in any hardware or craft stores. I use LimoStudio 6 PCS Black Nylon Muslin / Paper Photo Backdrop Background Clamps and find pretty useful.

7. Filters:I use Tiffen Circular Polarizer Glass Filters on my lenses. It not only protects my lenses but also stops glaring light. It helps to curb down highlights on shiny objects in a set. I have filters for all of my lenses but my friend Mohammed suggested me to get the highest size polarizing filter and use Stepping Adapter to save money.

8. Camera Bag:I do have 3 camera bags. For international travels, I use Lowepro Photo Hatchback 16L AW (Galaxy Blue) as my gears are safe in that.

I use AmazonBasics Backpack to store my gears at home. If you have clumsy cleaners like mine, trust me you need to use that and keep the backpack in a safe place.

I use Manfrotto Holsers when I am just hanging out at Boston and only carrying one camera and lens.

9. Software: After consulting with my friend Kevin Gilper I purchased adobe CC membership. It’s 10 dollars a month and comes with all adobe software though I use Lightroom and Photoshop mainly.

10. Tethered Capture: Bartosz Joseph Luczak convinced me to shoot tethered and I regret all my shots without a screen. Get some extension cable and always shoot tethered if you’re shooting food. It is really helpful to see the screen when you’re on the set. I use lightroom to shoot tethered but I heard Capture 1 is amazing too.

Bonus: Backup Device: I use WD My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive to store my pictures portably. However I dropped one of the hard drives once and lost my 1-hour work. After that we invested time on buying a Network Attached Storage and I safely backup all my pictures there. There are a lot of cloud storages but I do not use any.

This is a small list of photo gear I use. What’s your favorite photo gear?