Now I will be the first photographer to tell you that a good picture comes down to WAY more than the gear that was used to accomplish it. A good picture comes from posing, editing and a decent camera. Although it isn’t the whole cake, it’s definitely an ingredient. Here you see what is currently in my camera bag and what has lived in there previously. 

CURRENT: 

• Nikon Z6II Camera Body: 

This is a mirrorless camera body, one of Nikon’s most recent as of 2022. I chose this body because I wanted one of the newest models for longevity purposes. I also needed a camera body that had an SD card slot. The Z6 only has a XGD card slot, and I couldn’t afford to upgrade my camera and entire memory card collection at the same time. 

Pros: Lightweight, fast, great low-light capability, touch screen

Cons: Only one SD card port, max shutter speed of 2k compared to 4k

• Nikon 50mm 1.8 Lens: 

You can never go wrong with the nifty fifty. The focal distance is great and the aperture is in the perfect range you need it to be. 

Pros: Easy to use, great bokeh effect. 

Cons: Longer focal distance can be constraining indoors

• Godex V850II Flash: 

This is a great low budget flash. I do not use flash regularly. I pull it out for my 10-15 weddings a year and for some fun projects. In total, I probably only use my flash 20 times a year. Therefore it was not worthwhile for me to spend the money on the Nikon flash. This flash has done everything I have needed it to do, especially as I have learned how to use it more. 

Pros: Amazing battery life, low budget

Cons: Takes a new set of knowledge to learn how to use. 

• Camera Bag:

I looked long and hard for this camera bag and did a ton of research. There are SO many bags on the market nowadays at every price point. I wanted a durable bag that could fit all of my gear AND had decent storage for other items such as my laptop, planner and hard drive. This bag has exactly that. It held my largest gear setup of 2 camera bodies and 3 lenses with ease. The storage compartment can also hold my Macbook, full size planner, small book, multiple hard drives and some pens with room to spare. I love it a lot, and it’s on the cheaper end of camera bags.

Pros: Tons of storage and looks cute

Cons: Not water/weather resistant for rainy days

PAST: 

• Nikon D750 Camera Body

This was my full frame camera body that I used for two years. I ADORED this camera. It helped elevate my business and carried me well for a long time. I highly recommend this camera to any user that doesn’t want to go mirrorless. 

Pros: Two SD card slots, 4k shutter speed, great battery life, Wifi compatible

Cons: No touch screen, poor monitor view capability

• Nikon 50mm 1.4 Lens

This was my baby. This lens RARELY left the body. It captured everything with fantastic bokeh in all lighting scenarios. 

Pros: Versatile with great bokeh

Cons: Higher price point for a 50mm

• Nikon 35mm 1.8 Lens

Although my 35mm is now my go to, I really didn’t like the DSLR version of this lens. It gave me a lot of vignetting that was hard to remove in editing. 

Pros: Shorter focal length making it easier in indoor settings

Cons: Heavy vignetting 

• Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 Lens

I purchased this lens feeling the need for zoom capability on wedding days. This lens served me great on wedding days and gave me flexibility to not get as up close and personal if I didn’t feel comfortable on a wedding day. I also used this lens for various events. I ended up getting rid of this lens because with a 2.8 aperture I wasn’t able to achieve the same bokeh look I could with my prime lenses. I was comfortable ditching the zoom to have the bokeh back. 

Pros: Zoom capability is versatile.

Cons: Higher aperture for less bokeh effect

• Nikon D3500

This was my first DSLR camera. It is what I started my love for photography with and what jump started my business. It was the perfect starter camera with all of the necessary fundamental settings that you need to truly learn. I simply used the lenses that came with this camera for multiple years. It is a great camera to learn the basics with. 

Pros: Easy to use

Cons: Crop sensor cameras create lower quality images.

There is SOOO much camera gear out there. It can be really hard to decide what direction to go to. At the end of the day, there is truly no wrong choice. Gear is gear. What matters is that you learn how to use it and practice often. If you would like to know why I switched from DSLR to mirrorless, you can read that blog post here!