I’ve known Teth for a couple of years now. She is currently working in Simple Blue Headquarters with Casey Lee and I. So every once in awhile I will show up at work and she will ask if I have a minute to take a new headshot. I love it as sometimes this is the first picture I will have taken in a week. I thought it was cool that she has red hair and we had the green seamless paper set up.
I oftentimes get emails or questions regarding photography equipment. And while I would encourage everyone to stop worrying about equipment because it has been proven time and time again that it is not the equipment that makes the photo but rather the eye of the one holding it. For instance, Chase Jarvis released an iPhone app called The Best Camera and the photos that some are taking with their iPhones are amazing! So don’t let equipment hold you back.
But…
I also understand that having the right equipment can make getting the image a whole lot easier (I would never shoot a wedding with my iPhone). So that is the reason I am writing this post.
First, a little bit about my shooting and set-up. I am mostly a portrait, concert and real estate photographer. And I am a Canon Shooter. I currently have a Canon 5D mkII with the Battery Grip. I also have a bunch of L series lenses that I love. I have the 16-35 f2.8 which is great for making small houses look big on the inside. I have the 24-70 f2.8 which is my general purpose lens for portraiture and product shots. I have the 70-200 f2.8 which is great for concert photography and the 85 f1.2 which is a great lens for headshots.
These lenses are not for everyone. But if you want to be a professional photographer then you cannot go wrong with this set-up. I will also share that just like you I lust after lenses too. Like right now I would really love the 17mm Tilt-Shift lens which is great for real estate images but the $2500 price tag is a bit scary to me. And I really would love to have the 24mm f1.4 which is just a nice to have. But if you have the budget and are looking for top quality equipment that will hold it’s value and perform when you need it to then you would do well to mimic my 5D mkII and 24-70 f2.8 set-up ($4500).
But realistically most of you will be looking to spend a little less money than the $$$ I mention above. Fortunately there are options…
One step down from this set up would be to get the Canon 50D body which is an excellent camera and an off brand lens. Off brand in this situation just means non-canon. Sigma and Tamron make excellent lenses. As a matter of fact I had the 30D(no longer offered) and the 28-75 f2.8 Tamron lens for a number of years and loved it. It is a great lens and at $459 is 1/3 the cost of the Canon L series equivalent. It would be a great lens for portraits or just carrying around to take pictures of the kids. If you want a really interesting lens though I really like the Canon 10-22 f3.5-4.5 which is really wide and makes for fun shots. So if I was wanting to spend a little less money I would probably shoot with a 50D and a 10-22. This would be around $1600 or so.
If you are wanting to spend a little less than that I have another suggestion. I would suggest the same 10-22 or 28-75 lenses but I would pair it with the Canon Rebel T1i for around $1100-1350 depending on which lens you choose.
To wrap up I think you might be noticing that I don’t like the lenses that come with the cameras as a kit. Generally these lenses are paper weights. There are a few good ones and if you have no other choice but to buy a kit then go ahead and do it but just understand that the lens is the more important piece in the equation. The lens will make the difference between getting the shot or not. When in doubt get the better lens and lesser camera body.
I also do not usually buy my camera equipment from local big box stores unless I have checked the prices from B & H Photo in NY. In a pinch I might consider purchasing from Amazon (Adorama is their supplier). Beware when ordering online. there are many stories of people being taken advantage of when ordering from off name sites. The two I mentioned here are trusted by professional photographers the world over and have proven themselves to have lower prices. So order from them with confidence.
I do hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions please dont hesitate to comment here. And let me know what you think!
My design studio has done the design and web work for the Bluegill restaurant for 2-3 years. Recently they were purchased by Cooper Restaurants which runs Felix’s Fish Camp (Mobile, AL) and the Ruth’s Chris Steak House here locally. Recently they asked me to take some pictures for the Ruth’s Chris for some ads that we are putting together. I was excited because even though the location is part cave, it’s dark inside, where else can you have access to top notch food, beautiful setting, wine cellar and more?
Technical: These pictures were all taken with the Canon 5DmkII. Most of them were taken with the 50mm f1.4 lens, iso640, f2.0 at 1/60th of a second.
So I wanted to share some of those photos with you. To see more click through to the set on Flickr.
