My Wedding Kit Bag
This is my full wedding photography outfit.
Here is a brief breakdown of the kind of gear I use at weddings, and a bit about why I choose to use what I use.
I like to keep my kit light and simple, some photographers are happy to carry round cases of gear but for me less gear means more focus on the photos, as well as being able to blend in that much easier.
So that is the whole lot, minus a few batteries and bits and bobs this will cover me for a whole wedding and offers enough equipment to use as a backup while making sure each piece of gear has its own use and its ideal time to shine.
Canon 5Dii
Fuji XE1
Fuji X100
Fujinon 35mm 1.4
Canon 100mm 2
Sigma 105 2.8 Macro
Nikkor AIS 135 2.8
Sigma 15-30mm 3.5
x 2 Yongnuo Flashes
Lens Adapters
Batteries
Memory cards + Case
Laptop
Business Cards
Thinktank Bag
[And other cables, chargers, filters etc]
My main go to camera for the day is the Fuji XE1, which with the 35mm lens is an incredible machine, I would be happy shooting a whole wedding with just this gear, as I have mentioned many times before but it really is that good, the 50mm equivalent focal length suits me just fine and this cameras low profile makes it an ideal documentary wedding photographer's camera.
I'm going to be chopping and changing this kit over the next year, I like the look of the 14mm so that will replace the 15-30 on the Canon, and the 56mm /1.2 that is out next year will most likely replace the 100mm.
The one disadvantage that this system offers me is the lack of long lasting battery power, not really sure why fuji can't make a better battery but oh well, extras are a must and I usually go through all but one on a wedding.
I'm really keen on the whole Fuji camera system, the image quality that comes out of these is nothing short of fantastic and for the size you can't go wrong, the main downside the Fuji's have at the moment is a fast telephoto, that is where the 5Dmkii comes in;
The Canon 5Dmkii is a wedding photographers camera, they seem to be the most common piece of kit for us wedding photographers and to be fair they are incredible, the low light abilities and full frame advantages mean you can really push the limits of what you can do, this camera for me is the go to piece of gear when I need long range and a hardy build quality.
The camera is seen here with the Sigma 105mm on it, this makes a great combo for me and I love this sort of focal length for portraits and the thin depth of field allows me to make very selective shots, if I had to take a camera anywhere wet or where it would get knocked about it would be this, the Fuji's cameras just aren't built as solid as this.
Lets take a look at the lenses that I use;
100mm F\2 : A really great lens, fantastic focal length, nice and bright, this lens is used for the ceremony, especially when I have to stand far away, it also comes in handy for getting close ups of intimate moments where I want to remain discreet.
15-30mm F\3.5 : A great lens from sigma here, pretty long in the tooth now but still great, this lens is for when i want to get super wide, which isn't often at weddings, mainly for venue shots.
105mm F\2.8 : Another offering from Sigma this lens serves two purposes, it acts a back-up for the 100mm and gives the option for macro shots, I don't take lot of macro at a wedding, but its a nice option to have for the odd occasion.
135mm F\2.8 : This is a bit of an extra lens that doesn't get much use at all, but via an adapter it takes to the Fuji XE1 really well, it serves as a telephoto back-up and with crop factor gives you a 200mm lens, its super small so no trouble to have in the bag.
The last camera is the Fuji X100, just an awesome camera that I have droned on about before so I wont go into how much I love this thing! For weddings it has the best feature, and that is silence, its great for the church or quiet moments, the size makes it unsuspecting which allows for very close shots without being too imposing.
Another time I like to use this camera is with a flash on for the dancing, once everyone is up for showing off their moves this camera becomes a very light, very easy to use piece of kit that with a bit of know how can create great party shots. I'll put the shutter to about 1/4th and at F5.6 ish then dial in the power on the flash till I'm getting a sort of rear curtain sync look.
The rest of my gear is all the bits that make the cameras work, extra batteries and memory cards, and an awesome bag to carry it in, if you have a smaller camera system I would recommend a Thinktank bag, they are very sturdy and offer lots of customisation inside.
I also take a small laptop on my weddings, I do all my work from my desktop but I like to have the laptop for backing up files on the go, this gives me two copies of the photos before I even set home.
There are also a few business cards in there, I like to take a few to hand out if anyone is interested in my work, just always handy to have on you.
Summary
So thats my gear as it is now, I'm edging towards a more Fuji orientated kit bag but this will come over time, for now I'll be happy to shoot with this forever. I'm not too mush of a gear orientated guy, although I do get gear lust like we all do, the important thing is to think if it is really needed, or just wanted.
Thanks for reading feel free to pop a comment below!