Chris Taylor's TD&P Blog

A friend of mine posed a question on Facebook about what a friend of her’s should buy for her photography so I thought I would put together a post that might give some insight to new photographers.

I shoot quite a bit of things. I don’t necessarily have a specialty; I kinda just shoot which interests me which is portraits, weddings, and products. I was one of those that when started, bought a shit load of gear and then didn’t use half of what I purchased. I still have some stuff sitting in boxes in the closet just in case I need it. I’m one of those that has the mentality, “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” Unfortunately, photography is not cheap and you can get stuck with debt on stuff that doesn’t suit your shooting style or photographic needs.

The following details what I have, the percentage I use it, and the gear that is on the list of “want to have.”

Gear Owned                        Use                                                                         Percent Used

Canon 20D                          Main Camera                                                             100%

Canon Digital Rebel            2nd camera                                                                 20%

580EX II                             Hot Shoe Flash                                                             20%

Gel kits                              Light conversion                                                          75%

70-200mm f/2.8 IS             Portraits / Weddings                                                   80%

24-70mm f/2.8                   Ports / Wed / Prod                                                     100%

85mm f/1.8                        Portraits / Weddings                                                    20%

50mm f/1.8                        Products                                                                       10%

Polarizing Filter                   Lens Filter                                                                      5%

C-Stand (full)                       Light stand (more versatile than typical stand)             20%

White Balance card               Exposure / Custom White Balance                               75%

Panel frame                          Frame for diffusion / reflector pane                           90%

Diffusion panel (4×8)         Softening harsh light on daytime shoots                          90%

White panel (4×8)                           Reflecting light                                                 50%

Black panel (4×8)                            Subtracts light / gobo                                       50%

Med sized gold disc                         Reflecting light                                                 25%

Med sized diff disc                          Softens harsh light                                           25%

Umbrella                                         Spreads / softens light                                     5%

Travelite kit (QTY 1 750W)              Portrait light / Product shoots                          25%

Novatron (1 350W & 1 500W)          Portrait light                                                     10%

Light stands (3)                              Standard stands                                                20%

40×30 Softbox (1)                            Portraits / Products                                          75%

56×14 Softbox (2)                            Hair Light / Rim Light                                      10%

16×20 Softbox (1)                            Portraits                                                          10%

Travelite Grid Kit                             Controls light spill                                             5%

Panel stands (3)                                Hold reflector / diffuser                                  5%

That about covers the gear I have. The % of use is up to this point. For 2010, I will be putting certain items to more use. The C-stand is going to start making it’s way to more shoots. It’s a little bit heavy but its versatility is worth it.

The gold reflector is good for late afternoon shoots. It’s very bright though so I use it mainly for the intimate type shots where the subjects eyes are closed.

The Travelite light and the Novatrons are great lights. There are a few issues with these:

You need a considerable amount of space to use them.

In order to power them on location, you need power packs

Once used, you should let the lights cool down before moving them or you can shorten the life of the lamp(s)

I have been moving towards a more mobile approach:

Because of this, I am looking to get some more hot shoe flashes for my location work:

There are a couple reasons I want to get more hot shoes:

Power- I’m not talking flash power because the 750W light is a powerful bastard. I’m talking AA batteries vs. wall / power pack power. I really don’t feel like spending the money on decent power packs or lugging them around while walking around Balboa Park or the beach.

Mobility- We will try out about 5 different spots on a shoot and we may walk 250 feet between spots. It’s a lot easier to move a hot shoe flash / stand combo than to move the bigger lights and packs. Don’t forget about moving around the hot bulb on the bigger lights.

I am also planning on purchasing some Justin Clamps this year as well. They are definitely worth the money. We have used them on fences, car trunks, etc… The versatility of these clamps is insane.

Pocket Wizards are in the list of things to buy this year. They have actually been on my list for a long time (2 years) but that’s another point. I’m looking to get the TTL versions of these considering they are not much more than the regular PW’s.

The 430EX II hot shoe is probably my next purchase. These make for great slave flashes and will pay for themselves after a few shoots.

I will start taking more shots of the stuff in use so you can get an idea of how we are using it and why we use it. If anyone has any questions or wants more insight on certain pieces of gear, feel free to leave comments and I will do my best to give you the answers you are looking for.

Until next time…