What do you shoot with?

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is “what do you shoot with?”  I wanted to put together a gear list and let you figure out what works for you.  I usually give two answers to this question: what I shoot with currently and what I think the minimum is to adequately be prepared for microstock photography.

We all know it’s not the gear.  It’s the lighting and the photographer.  But in a profession that defined the word Measurebation, here are my thoughts.

My gear

Cameras

Canon 7d – I LOVE my 7d.  You could offer me almost any camera and I would not trade. It focuses quickly, has HD video, takes beautiful photos and works with every lens I own.  I absolutely love my 7d.

Canon 1d2 – my backup/old camera.  I do miss shooting this but the 7d blows it away.  I also have a 20d in my bag in case I need a 3rd camera but I rarely fire either the 1d2 or the 20d.

Lenses

Canon 100 mm 2.8 macro – a great closeup lens as well as a sweet portrait lens.  I don’t use a lot of fixed focal length lenses but if I do, this one and the 50 1.8 are my mainstays.

Canon 50 mm 1.8 – a very good low light lens but less useful for microstock than other images I shoot.  This lens has incredible sharpness at F8 – F16.

Canon 24-70 mm 2.8 L – nicknamed “The Brick” for it’s square-ish shape and incredible weight, this is the best lens I’ve ever owned.

Canon 70-200 mm 2.8 IS L – although a little long for indoor stock work, this is my favorite portrait lens.  I love how it destroys backgrounds and has excellent sharpness.

Tokina 12-24 mm F4 – Basically the only non-Canon lens I carry anymore.  I love this wide angle because it covers up to 24mm where my Brick takes over.  It’s SUPERwide and is amazing.  You don’t need lower than F4 for most things if you can shoot them at 1/20.  This lens will stay in my bag for a long time.

Camera bags

ThinkTank Airport Acceleration – My everyday pack.  It’s a bit large so smaller people and weaker people may not want this.  It’s not for the faint of heart.  I stuff the heck out of it and can fit almost everything I own in it. Yes, it fits in every overhead compartment I’ve seen except the very smallest of Turboprops.

ThinkTank Airport International – My roller bag is huge.  I have the dividers for the laptop case (low dividers) but usually use this in a configuration that has lenses standing straight up so I can fit … well, a few camera stores in there.

Lighting

AlienBee B800 – get a couple of these, some umbrellas or softboxes and you’re done. This is all the power I need for any of my tabletop food shots, models in the studio, basically anything.  Are there lighting situations I’d need more?  Sure – but not for typical stock photography.

Minimum Microstock Gear – camera & lens

Canon xTi with 18-55 mm kit lens – barebones minimum for a microstock camera should be a low level DSLR.  This is Canon’s intro camera and a very good one.

Tamron 28-75 mm 2.8 – a great low budget midrange lens.  I used these for years before upgrading to the Brick.

I would suggest that a 550EX or 580 EX speedlight is NOT enough power to shoot most microstock.  You are going to need a B800 or similar strobe at some point.  You can do a lot with a speedlight and I highly recommend buying one.  Just don’t think you’re going to become a famous micro artist overnight with a single speedlight.