What's in the bag?

As the photographer at many events throughout the year, be it weddings, parties, corporate events, or charity events, I get asked a lot of questions about my equipment. I also get asked by lots of potential clients if I have backup equipment, and what type of cameras and lenses I use.

In response, I decided to share the answers to three of the questions I get asked most often about my gear.

1. What's in the bag?
   • 3 Camera bodies
     • Canon 5D Mk III
     • Canon 5D Mk II
     • Canon 7D
   • 4 Speedlights
     • 580ex
     • 580exII
     • 2 600ex-RTs
   • Lenses galore
     • Canon L-series 16-35 F/2.8
     • Canon L-series 24-70 F/2.8
     • Canon L-Series 70-200 F/2.8
     • Canon L-series 100mm Macro F/2.8
     • Canon 85mm 1.8
     • Canon 50mm 1.8
     • Canon 16mm Fisheye
     • 2 other back-up lenses, both by Canon
   • Off-Camera Flashes
     • 1 Einstein 640 with reflector and softbox
     • 1 CheetahLight with reflector and softbox
   • Video Light
   • Tripod
   • Various Light Stands
   • Various triggers for off-camera lighting
   • TONS of batteries of all shapes and sizes
   • TONS of memory cards, also of varying shapes and sizes
   • Tissues, Hand Sanitizer, Shout Wipes, Bobby Pins, Safety Pins, Screwdrivers, Pliers, Needle and Thread in varying colors, and many other tools and items a bride might not know she needs on her wedding day.
2. My favorite question is, "How many MegaPixels is that camera?"
   • I don't personally get too caught up in MegaPixels. My typical response is, "Enough that we can put these guys on a billboard if we want to." As technology continues to advance and sensors in cameras get larger and larger, the megapixels continue to increase in size. At the end of the day, the very first digital SLR I had could make a billboard and it was 6.3 MegaPixels. Most people are not going to notice the difference in any of the photos shot with a camera of 6 megapixels or 26 megapixels. There are certainly advantages to the newer technology, but at the end of the day, the megapixels aren't anything to get too caught up in.
3. "That camera must be expensive. How much did all that cost?"
   • Now there's a fun question... Anyone who wants can google the prices of the items listed in my gear and add it up. My favorite answer comes in the form of a statement/question that was made to me the first time I walked out of the studio with a bag full of gear almost ten years ago. My boss at the time said to me, "You know what you have in that bag cost more than your college education, right?" Granted, the way college costs have skyrocketed, I'd venture to say that my gear bag comes in under the current four-year-degree mark at this point, but let's just call it "a lot".

What other questions do you want to ask about your photographers gear? Post a comment and I'll update the post with answers to any questions. :o)

Happy Thursday!