Please note: These are my personal recommendations based on my own experience with 15+ years of being a professional photographer. This is what I feel works for me OR what I wish I knew when I started out! Also, I primarily use Canon so you will primarily see Canon products as my recommendations. For information on other brands, feel free to reach out to me and I'll do my best to answer your questions!
✨ = If you see this, that means it would be my top choice if I was starting out!
The camera body is only as good as the photographer holding it! Personally, I feel the lenses are more important for the quality of your work. So if you had to put your money somewhere, lenses > camera body. The other thing to consider is Mirrorless vs SLR. I use an SLR camera (I started before mirrorless was really a thing!), but mirrorless is that new hotness and I highly recommend going the mirrorless route! I will specify what is Mirrorless vs SLR with each product.
I always recommend starting out with at least 2 lenses. The kit lens that can come with some cameras is... okay. But I would recommend buying the body without the kit lens to save money! There are 2 categories of lenses: general purpose zoom and prime lenses.
These zoom lenses can be used for all types of photography (especially busy events and landscapes) and they give you more versatility. They tend to be heavier but more convenient in a pinch!
Canon RF24-50mm F4.5-6.3 is STM ($299 new on Amazon)
✨Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L ($2,099 new on Amazon)
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L is USM ($699 new on Amazon)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM ($1,899 new on Amazon)
Prime lenses have a fixed focal length and are known to be crisper and create better quality images. I use these 99% for all my portrait work! Since you cannot zoom, I think prime lenses can help you be a better photographer since you have to move your own body to capture the composition you're after.
Canon RF35mm F1.8 is Macro STM ($499 on Amazon)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM ($1,999 new on Amazon)
Great for low light situations! This is a great flash for starting out that will fit Canon cameras:
Tripods are useful if you are photographing still life, nighttime scenes, and landscapes. And of course, for taking selfies or group shots that you want to jump in!
I always get lots of questions about camera gear, so I wanted to take the time to sit down and get all the info in one place! I sure hope this article was helpful to you! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.
There are affiliate links throughout this post. If you use my links, you pay nothing extra but I will greatly appreciate your support! <3
Gear from this shoot: Canon 5D Mark IV, 100mm lens, 35mm lens Edited using: Lightroom & Photoshop
I can hardly handle how sweet and gorgeous and romantic these images came out!
These heart are so fun! What a cute idea!
Gotta show some love for that impressive ring...
After those already super sweet images, we made it even sweeter... with some Ice Cream!
And in the only appropriate Washington style, we ended the shoot with some coffee!
Gear from this shoot: Canon 5D Mark IV, 100mm lens, 35mm lens, Fog Machine
Meet Matthew! Emerging from the misty depths of this forest enclave...
Meet Tinnel! These whimsical, witchy vibes though, amirite?
I feel like these next look like something out of a horror movie!
Then to bump up this shoot to a new level... it turned into an engagement pumpkin head shoot!!
Between the time of booking and the shoot date, Matthew proposed to Tinnel. So obviously we had to get some proposal and ring shots...
We did a few fun shots with a light stick of mine as the evening got darker...
Lastly, we ended the night with some romantical scenes. Gazing at each other by the light of a lit lantern, shot through a wreath... swoon!
Would you ever do a couples shoot with pumpkin heads?
After seeing these photos, I hope you'd consider it!! It was an absolute blast and I can't wait to do another one.
Location: Carriage Hill
This shoot was on Father's Day!
Location: Cox Arboretum
The before shots are straight out of the camera and shot in RAW.
The after images were edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.
A few notes on how I shoot images:
I tend to shoot in Aperture Priority Mode, usually with a wide aperture, letting the camera set the shutter speed itself. This usually lets me shoot pretty fast. But sometimes requires more editing. Some of my photos are so dark to begin with, and would not have been if I had shot in Manual mode. Though I do prefer a photo being underexposed rather than overexposed as it is usually easier to bring back details in blacks more so than whites.
The above two photos were sort of combined together and then edited to create this photo:
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Gear from this shoot: Canon 60D, 100mm lens, 35mm lens, 24-70mm lens, 580EXII, 430EXII, light modifiers, black background, fog machine
Edited using: Lightroom 4.1 & Photoshop CS6.
Meet Brielle!
Badass, right?
For the shoot, I used a large black background. Two lights: 580EXII to the right of the model through a softbox and a 430EXII through an umbrella to the left and behind model, but I took the umbrella off for some shots. And a fog machine (yay! never used one before!) - which was to the right of the model and aimed between her and the background. The robe she is wearing is something I picked up at a thrift store years ago and thought it might work. And it did!
I took the following set-up photo before we got it just right so things were slightly adjusted for different shots.
More photos...
Afterwards, we took some other different-style photos for fun.
Bonus idea: Create different color smoke by adding a gel to your flash or select "Multiply" on a colored or gradient layer in Adobe Photoshop! The examples at the top of the page where used with a rainbow gradient layer. Example of a colored layer:
Gear from this shoot: Canon 60D, 85mm lens, 35mm lens Edited using: Lightroom 4.1 & Photoshop CS6.
Gear from this shoot: Canon 60D, 85mm lens, 35mm lens Edited using: Lightroom 4.1 & Photoshop CS6.
And here's the best shot I got of the Orcas! :)
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View my blog post from their Newborn Photo Session!
Thanks for letting me photograph you cuties! :)
For this wedding, I used all Canon products.
Cameras: Mark III, 60D, Rebel xTi. Lenses: 10-22mm, 24-75mm, 35mm, 85mm. Flashes: 430EX II on camera (for only a couple of shots), 580EX II on stand, shot through umbrella (for formals after wedding).
Can't wait to give one of these out in my next session!
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What You Need
Set your ISO low as it can go (usually 100 or 200).
Your aperture should be good around f/8 to f/11.
For shutter speed, try 4 seconds. If you have a bulb option and a remote/cable release, you can press the shutter down for the entire burst.
And there you have it! Other things to think about...
More than any other question, people ask me "how do you get the background to be blurry?" Well, it's easy and possible with any DSLR.
This guide is going to be quite simple. I'll try to just tell you how to do it without being too technical.
If you don't want to read this whole thing, just have a look at the bold, black statements below.
But don't fret. We're not going into full manual for this guide. Just use Aperture Priority: Av or A on the dial.
Choose the smallest number for the aperture/f-stop/f-number. For kit lenses (the lens that comes with the camera when you first buy it), it is usually f4 or f5.6. Other lenses may go as low as f2.8 or even f1.2. The smaller the number, the greater blur effect you will achieve.
Zoom-in. Step back if you need to.
When you zoom-in, the f-number might change. As long as it's on the lowest number, you're good.
Increase the distance between your subject and the background. I always see people taking portraits with the person right up next to the background. I mean, there are times when you want that, I guess. But this article is about blurriness. So get your subject to step away from that background and watch the magic happen.
Some photos examples of what we just talked about. My cat Hermione will model for us.
Look what 100% auto mode did here. Not the worst picture I've taken of this poor cat, but she's not very sharp in the image. Auto is always a gamble. We can do better than that.
ISO 160, 27mm, f/4.0, 1/40sec
This is an example of a sharp background. Nobody wants to see my living room & dining room. Not a good portrait, imo.
This was in Av mode with a large f-number and zoomed out.
ISO 1000, 18mm, f/9.0, 1/50sec
Blurry background! There we go.
In Av mode. Using the smallest f-number with a kit lens. Anybody can do this one.
ISO 400, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/60sec
THAT is a nice portrait of her.
Av mode. Same f-number but a longer lens.
ISO 200, 85mm, f/5.6, 1/20sec
Super ultra blurry background!
Av mode. Long lens plus a tiny f-number.
ISO 250, 85mm, f/1.8, 1/320sec
That's it! I hope you learned something useful and get some amazing shots. If you want some more tips, read on...
Lenses matter. Some are just more awesome than others. If you like taking landscape shots, you'll probably want a wide angle lens. If your thing is taking pics of animals, a telephoto lens is the way to go. For portraits, and it totally depends on your style, you might be looking for a long-ish lens with an aperture you can open wide up (aka a small number for your f-stop).
My favorite lens for portraits these days is the 85mm f/1.8. I used that lens for the last 2 portraits of Hermione above. It's a prime lens. No zoom. Usually a better price than zoom lenses and I really dig the quality. The small f-number is really something.
One of the most affordable lenses to get amazing bokeh/blurriness in the background, is the $110 50mm f/1.8. It's pretty bamf. Also available: 50mm f/1.4 (~$400) and even 50mm f/1.2 (~$1600)!
Now if you want an all-around zoom lens for daily use that features a smaller-than-usual f-number, it'll cost ya. The 24-70mm f/2.8 is around $1600. It's a fantastic beast of a lens.
So you may notice that even though you followed the steps above and now you can make the background blurry, your subject sometimes ends up blurry too! Not what you wanted at all. Well, now we shall delve slightly into the technical end of the pool.
I told you to use Av mode. This only controls one of three major settings on your camera. There is also ISO and shutter speed.
To keep it simple, you want the lowest ISO number that won't let your shutter speed drop below 1/60th of a second.
So... put your camera in Av mode. Set it to its lowest number. Change your ISO to its lowest. Now meter (press the shutter half way down, like you're focusing) on something you want to shoot and what is your shutter speed at? If it's above 1/60th, you're good to go. If not, raise your ISO until you can get your shutter speed in the correct range.
You may notice I did not follow those guidelines at ALL on my photos of Hermione. But I'm just doing this article for fun and she wasn't cooperating very much, so I said "screw it". Now... if you were charging someone for photos, you better keep an eye on your settings.
Some other things to check to make sure your subject is sharp:
1. Make sure you are focusing correctly. Make sure your lens isn't set to manual focus if you're trying to autofocus.
2. If you're subject is moving, that can cause motion blur. If you can't control your subject, you need to raise your shutter speed.
3. Your hands may not be steady at 1/60th of a second, try around 1/100th or 1/200th of a second instead.
4. Not enough light? If your ISO is too high, the graininess can effect the quality of your image. A flash or letting in some window light or something else may be necessary.
5. Maybe there is not enough contrast on your subject and the autofocus may not be able to pick it up. This can happen on a plain wall or in extreme darkness. Try focusing on an area of contrast such as the edge of an object.
6. Try taking multiple photos while refocusing in between each shot. I usually do this in just about any circumstance anyway.
7. Still having issues? There are a lot of factors that go into creating a good, sharp image. Maybe you didn't check your settings. Maybe your lens is messed up. Play around, experiment, go get your camera/lens checked if needed.
And... that's all I've got to say about that. Go forth and take beautiful photos full of sharp subjects and blurry backgrounds.
Thanks for reading! Some photos with blurry backgrounds for you to consider...
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Thanks to ModelMayhem.com, models and photographers alike get to trade skills (model's time for photog's prints/CD) to expand their portfolios. This is especially beneficial to those starting out with model photography... like me!
Hallie is one such model that I got to do a shoot with! We had so much fun exploring different areas around Norman from skate park to amphitheater to abandoned factory. Then we did a shoot indoors at my home studio where we played around with lighting and different looks.
This was also the first shoot with my new assistant Shagoofa! She was a great help and I am SO glad to have had her with me.
For the following indoor shots, I used only one or two speedlites, sometimes with umbrellas, gels, and other fun stuff.
Flash brackets are used to reduce the effect of red-eye and create more natural shadows. Normally, I try to bounce my flash off ceilings or walls (if they are white!) but quite often events are held in banquet halls where there is nothing close enough to bounce off of.
Here is my old on-camera flash setup:
It consists of a small L-shaped flash bracket, cable, and an omni-bounce diffuser on the flash head. The bracket has a nice enough grip, but doesn't provide very much height. The diffuser does very little, in my opinion, but is better than nothing and was only about $3. For photo example of this setup, see #5 below.
Behold my new setup:
Talk about a big upgrade, eh? It includes the ALZO flip flash bracket softbox kit. Aside from the fact that it's so heavy that I'm sure I'll never need to lift weights again, it does pretty good! For photo example, see #6 below.
My darling husband allowed me to use him to compare some of the different ways we can use flash and diffusers.
So here we are. Seven portraits, each with different lighting. And sorry, Julian, that some of these look like mugshots. lol All of these were shot on Auto. No need to be artistic. Just showing you something. No editing except tweaking the exposure on some of these in Lightroom.
Please note that you should try to place your subject much further away from the background if possible. Julian is close just so you can see the differences between lighting techniques.
1. The pop-up flash that comes with your camera. Flat-looking, a bit of red-eye, and harsh shadows. Not flattering on anybody.
2. My flash unit: 430EX II. On camera without any diffusers. Ever so slightly better quality than #1, but hardly.
3. Same flash unit, but with an omni-bounce diffuser on. It looks... yellow? Hm. Easy enough to fix in Lightroom, but I just want to show you what happened without editing. Aside from that, hardly a change from #2.
4. Same flash unit, bounced off of the white ceiling. Brighter, which I like. Shadows are not as dark, but still have a harsh outline. Much more natural looking since the light is coming from above. Another benefit of a bounced flash is that it can light up a small room so if it's very dark, your subject won't like so bright with a nearly black background.
5. When there is no ceiling or wall available, I use my flash unit on a flash bracket. Compare to #2. Shadow has moved a bit, which is a bit more natural looking, though still not "there" yet.
6. Check it out!! My new toy in action. The bracket extends much higher than in #5. Then the softbox creates a much softer shadow. WAY better!
7. Of course... off-camera flash is best. This one was shot with the same flash, but shot through an umbrella on a light stand, camera left. Triggered with my Canon 60D's pop-up flash.
What have we learned here today, kids? If you are using on-camera flash: bounce when you can, bracket when you can't. If you do lots of events, investing in a softbox is not a bad idea. You could even get a small softbox to place directly on the head of the flash rather than on a bracket if you want to ditch the bracket. If you can get your flash off the camera though, DO IT.
Edit: After using the ALZO flip flash bracket softbox kit a few times, gotta say that I feel really silly carrying that huge thing around. The bracket without the softbox needs the ability to tilt as it does with the softbox. The softbox though... is awesome. Great quality. I actually use it on a lightstand instead of an umbrella at times.
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