I work with natural light only, so for me it's all about camera, lenses, reflectors and most importantly, a good knowledge of how to use the available light to my advantage. Here's what I use...
Camera Bodies
Canon 5d Mk III (+ another as back up) - It's a wonderful full frame camera with superb image quality and fantastic low light capabilities - I'd be lost without this in the darker winter months.
Lenses
My go-to lens is my Canon 200mm f/1.8 L, and I use this for most of my work. Known as the 'Jesus Lens' in photography circles and rare as gold dust, it's the fastest telephoto lens ever made. The images I can produce with this lens are absolutely beautiful - an extremely shallow depth of field at an aperture of f/1.8 allows me to create that creamy melty bokeh that we all love, really isolating the subject from the background. It is also an absolute beast, weighing the same as a chunky newborn baby and about the same size, so you'll never lose me!
Canon 135mm f/2 L - Another perfect lens for portraiture, producing wonderful bokeh. This has now become my back up lens in case anything should happen to my beloved 200mm during a session.
Canon 50mm f/1.8 - The nifty 50 I use for the occasional overhead shot, which would be impossible with the longer lenses. Sharp and pleasing!
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro IS L - Perfect for those close-up details of tiny babies, and another great portrait lens.
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L - The only zoom lens I own and a fantastic wide angle lens.
Camera Bodies
Canon 5d Mk III (+ another as back up) - It's a wonderful full frame camera with superb image quality and fantastic low light capabilities - I'd be lost without this in the darker winter months.
Lenses
My go-to lens is my Canon 200mm f/1.8 L, and I use this for most of my work. Known as the 'Jesus Lens' in photography circles and rare as gold dust, it's the fastest telephoto lens ever made. The images I can produce with this lens are absolutely beautiful - an extremely shallow depth of field at an aperture of f/1.8 allows me to create that creamy melty bokeh that we all love, really isolating the subject from the background. It is also an absolute beast, weighing the same as a chunky newborn baby and about the same size, so you'll never lose me!
Canon 135mm f/2 L - Another perfect lens for portraiture, producing wonderful bokeh. This has now become my back up lens in case anything should happen to my beloved 200mm during a session.
Canon 50mm f/1.8 - The nifty 50 I use for the occasional overhead shot, which would be impossible with the longer lenses. Sharp and pleasing!
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro IS L - Perfect for those close-up details of tiny babies, and another great portrait lens.
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L - The only zoom lens I own and a fantastic wide angle lens.
Previous Camera Bodies
Canon 5D Classic - Ahh my first full frame sensor! I adored this camera! But eventually it was time for me to upgrade to the MK III, which is faster, more accurate and has much better high ISO capabilities.
Canon 7D - I didn't get on with this body, I'm not sure if there might have been some issues with the focus points.
Canon 6D - I used to have two of these, with a different lens mounted on each for ease. They were great, reliable cameras and I never had any issues with either of them, but I wanted to move away from crop sensors.
Previous Lenses
Canon 70-200 f/4 IS L - Great lens, but didn't satisfy my appetite for bokeh. I have also mostly moved away from zooms, preferring the sharpness & stability of primes.
Canon 35mm f/1.4 L - Beautiful image quality but too wide for my specific uses at the time.
Canon 50mm f/1.2 L - This was a really fantastic lens. It got a great deal of use when I used to shoot indoor newborn and baby work, but since moving to location only, it was so rarely used that it was a waste to have it just sitting around. There is no difference in the image quality between the two 50mm's that I can see, although the f1.2 has a much more superior build quality than the f1.8, is faster to lock focus and has a quieter motor. The f1.2 is also much heavier than the f1.8.
Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 - This was my first ever lens. It was a tack-sharp and beautiful at the 50-70mm range, but didn't do so well at shorter focal lengths.
Canon 5D Classic - Ahh my first full frame sensor! I adored this camera! But eventually it was time for me to upgrade to the MK III, which is faster, more accurate and has much better high ISO capabilities.
Canon 7D - I didn't get on with this body, I'm not sure if there might have been some issues with the focus points.
Canon 6D - I used to have two of these, with a different lens mounted on each for ease. They were great, reliable cameras and I never had any issues with either of them, but I wanted to move away from crop sensors.
Previous Lenses
Canon 70-200 f/4 IS L - Great lens, but didn't satisfy my appetite for bokeh. I have also mostly moved away from zooms, preferring the sharpness & stability of primes.
Canon 35mm f/1.4 L - Beautiful image quality but too wide for my specific uses at the time.
Canon 50mm f/1.2 L - This was a really fantastic lens. It got a great deal of use when I used to shoot indoor newborn and baby work, but since moving to location only, it was so rarely used that it was a waste to have it just sitting around. There is no difference in the image quality between the two 50mm's that I can see, although the f1.2 has a much more superior build quality than the f1.8, is faster to lock focus and has a quieter motor. The f1.2 is also much heavier than the f1.8.
Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 - This was my first ever lens. It was a tack-sharp and beautiful at the 50-70mm range, but didn't do so well at shorter focal lengths.
But remember, it's fine to start small...
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it”
Ansel Adams
