Once you know what your gear is capable of, choosing what photography equipment to use becomes a bit easier. If your photography equipment can\u2019t handle the rigors of a project, you can always rent the photography gear you\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n
There are a few things that influence how to choose photography equipment: your shooting style, your visual signature, the space you\u2019re working in, and the needs of the job.<\/p>\n
![\"Photographer](\"http:\/\/resourcemagonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photographers-gear-choice-4-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nReady to start making choices? Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n
Your Shooting Style<\/h2>\n
How you work can have an impact on the photography gear you choose, and your image quality.<\/p>\n
Light, Fast, And Flexible<\/h3>\n
If you are constantly on the move, carrying your gear for long periods of time, and you need to be able to change direction at a moment\u2019s notice, you probably should consider lighter camera bodies and flexible lenses. A flash is likely your best choice for mobile lighting. And if you need to get that steady shot, a lightweight monopod is the way to go.<\/p>\n
Photojournalists, street photographers, wedding photographers, and travel photographers often fall into this category.<\/p>\n
Light camera bodies:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Flexible lenses:<\/strong><\/p>\n Portable Flashes:<\/strong><\/p>\n Monopods:<\/strong><\/p>\n Some photographers plan every detail of the shoot, style, and location. They\u2019re after the high-quality hero shot, and they\u2019re not afraid to set up a studio or bring their studio with them. If you\u2019re one of those photographers, then you\u2019re free to choose whatever camera and photography equipment suit your personal style and location.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not afraid to carry a bit of weight around if it means getting the look you want, but you don\u2019t want to be tied down with too much photography gear. You want equipment that suits the kind of work you do, and you\u2019re willing to make a few sacrifices to get what you want as long as it doesn\u2019t hamper your ability to get the shot.<\/p>\n All-around bodies:<\/strong><\/p>\n All-around lenses:<\/strong><\/p>\n Mobile flashes:<\/strong><\/p>\n Tripods:<\/strong><\/p>\n Every photographer has their own visual style, and the photography equipment they chose can serve that vision. Some photographers live for creamy bokeh, and others want wide angles or shallow depth of field.<\/p>\n Visual style happens in subject matter, camera angle, lens choice, and lighting, but since I can\u2019t recommend camera angles or subject matter, this section will focus mostly on lenses and lighting. If you need to choose photography gear based on the look you or your clients want, this list might give you some inspiration.<\/p>\n Creamy bokeh:<\/strong>\u00a0Look for lenses with wide apertures, from 2.8 to 1.4. The more blades the aperture has, the smoother and more rounded the bokeh appears.<\/p>\n Compression:<\/strong>\u00a0Compression makes it look like elements in the frame are closer together in distance, and longer lenses, like the 70-200, make it happen.<\/p>\n Wide angles:<\/strong>\u00a0These lenses let you include a lot of the scene, and subject, in your frame. Barrel distortion starts to become more noticeable at 35mm and below, but the unique quality of these lenses can play into your photography style, too.<\/p>\n Subtle:<\/strong>\u00a0I consider mid focal length range lenses to be from 35mm to 70mm. These lenses are closer to mimicking the human eye, especially the 50mm, and don\u2019t contribute quite as much stylistically as lenses farther on either end of the spectrum.<\/p>\n Soft, multidirectional light<\/strong>: If you want a light that fills up rooms and fills in shadows indiscriminately, large shoot-through umbrellas are a great option. Scrims can also become light sources if you can keep your strobe or flash far enough away to fill it up with light.<\/p>\n Soft controlled light:\u00a0<\/strong>Large softboxes and octa boxes can still give you soft light but with a bit more control, so the light only goes where you want it. And if you need to control the spill for even greater light accuracy, you can add a grid.<\/p>\n Concentrated light:<\/strong>\u00a0If you need spotlight-like control, a parabolic modifier might be just the thing. Thanks to the shape, they produce a much narrower beam of light and significantly less spill. You can still use a diffuser or a grid to control light quality.<\/p>\n Hard light:\u00a0<\/strong>While almost any light source can produce hard light if it\u2019s far enough away from the subject, some modifiers are naturally suited to hard light. Reflectors control the light from a bare bulb and produce hard shadows with specular highlights, and snoots concentrate the light into a miniature spotlight.<\/p>\n Beauty light:\u00a0<\/strong>The beauty dish is a unique modifier because it creates a relatively hard light source, but with reflected, rather than direct light. The result is even, semi-hard light with filled-in shadows and lots of texture, eminently suitable for beauty portraits and makeup advertisements. Like any modifier, the larger it is in relation to the subject, the softer it will be.<\/p>\n Sometimes you have to choose photography equipment based on the space you\u2019ve got to work in.<\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re focusing on headshots, small spaces generally require wider lenses. How wide you go is determined by the size of your camera sensor (full-frame recommended,) the size of the location, and how much distortion you\u2019re willing to put up with.<\/p>\n If you work in low light often, a camera body with a large sensor and in-body image stabilization plus a lens capable of shooting at f 1.8 or below, might just become your best friend.<\/p>\n You never know what mother nature will throw at you, so it\u2019s best to be prepared with weather-sealed photography equipment and some kind of camera cover.<\/p>\n If you have to shoot in bright sunlight but you aren\u2019t a fan of hard light, it\u2019s great to have a secondary light or a few modifiers, like scrims or reflectors, that can save the day.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019ve got a client brief for a commercial photography gig or you\u2019re shooting a family reunion, there are times your clients will have needs you have to take into account when selecting photography equipment.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll walk through an example scenario of what my personal process might look like. Your process has to be dialed in to fit your needs, but I hope this helps give some insight into how to choose photography equipment for a given job.<\/p>\n The job:<\/strong>\u00a0A series of 10 portraits at different locations in the Sandia Mountains for a fitness blog, showcasing both the subject\u2019s fitness and the beauty of their local area. To include a few short video clips.<\/p>\n Considerations:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sandia Mountains sit at 10,000+ feet in elevation, so I\u2019ll want lightweight portable photography equipment I can pack from location to location on my own.<\/p>\n Weather conditions can change quickly and drastically in the mountains, so weather-sealed equipment is a must.<\/p>\n Light conditions in the forest are uncertain, so having an additional light source is a good idea.<\/p>\n The client wants to showcase their fitness. This could mean shaping their body with light and capturing movement. I\u2019ll want a quick, sharp lens and a light with High-speed sync.<\/p>\n The client also wants a few video clips, so the camera body should be suited to video.<\/p>\n Of course, there are loads of photography equipment choices, multiple personal factors, a whole boatload of possible cameras, and different processes, but I hope this guide helped create a framework for making choosing photography equipment a bit easier. You don\u2019t need the best gear to create awesome photographs, you just need the right gear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you\u2019re a Sony Stan or a Canon fan, deciding how to choose photography equipment can still be tricky. Mirrorless cameras or DSLR cameras? Long lens, wide-angle, or something in between? Big diffuser, octa box, shoot through umbrella, beauty dish, or a snoot? How do you decide what photography gear to use? Most photographers build […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\n\n
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Planned, Purposeful, And Stationary<\/h3>\n
![\"photographer](\"http:\/\/resourcemagonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/photographers-gear-choice-5-1024x682.jpg\")
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Your Visual Style<\/h2>\n
Lenses<\/h3>\n
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Lighting<\/h3>\n
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![\"photographer](\"http:\/\/resourcemagonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photographers-gear-choice-3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe Location<\/h2>\n
Small Spaces<\/h3>\n
Low Light<\/h3>\n
Outdoors<\/h3>\n
Bright Sunlight<\/h3>\n
The Needs of the Job<\/h2>\n
Scenario<\/h3>\n
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The Process<\/h3>\n
Equipment Choices<\/h3>\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n
![\"Nicole](\"http:\/\/resourcemagonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/photographers-gear-choice-1.jpg\")
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