My wedding photography gear (Updated for 2021)

As a photographer, I know how important gear is to capturing a wedding beautifully. When I first started, I looked to Jasmine Star’s blog to figure out what you really need to capture beautiful photos. It was a critical first step and today I wanted to share with you what I use and why.

If you want to watch a video that shows me going over all of the gear I carry in both bags, click HERE!

Also, if you want to know more about all the things I did to grow my photography business, you can click here to see!

When I first started, I bought a Nikon D5300 crop sensor and a 50mm 1.8. I didn’t know much about how the camera body affected my image, but I did know that your lens is probably the most important purchase you can make as a photographer. Why? Your lens refracts light in a way that creates a beautiful image. It essentially controls what the final outcome of the image will look like, depth of field, sharpness, angle of view. These all make up the quality of your image and ultimately affect how magical it is.

Now, this isn’t to say that the camera body isn’t important, as it really is, but when people ask me which camera body to purchase first, I usually respond with “buy a lens before you upgrade the body.” That is where you get the bang for your buck. You also need a camera body that helps you to capture the kind of images that you want. For me, I needed a camera that would support fast refocusing (i.e., when the bride and groom walk down the aisle) and shooting in extreme low light (i.e., dance-floor shots), so it made sense for me to get a camera with a great autofocus system and high ISO range with low noise. I chose my camera based on the needs I found that my current camera body couldn’t meet.

So let’s chat about gear shall we?

Lenses:

  • Canon Tilt Shift 45mm 2.8 – This creates a beautiful and unique image. It creates a band that is in focus and blur in other areas.
  • Canon 85 mm 1.4 LI – This is an amazingly sharp lens that lets in tons of light and allows you to shoot far enough away without getting in peoples business. I love this for the ceremony as well as reception to get candid shots.
  • Canon 100 mm 2.8– This macro lens allows me to get the beautiful detail shots of wedding rings and jewelry. I only use it for those shots, but I’m sure it has other great uses!
  • Canon 50mm 1.2 LII– This is a gorgeous portrait lens. I love using it for like 90 percent of shots, however, when I purchased my 35 mm, I started using that most of the time. There is no way I could get rid of this lens and use it often on my second body.
  • Canon 35 mm 1.4 LII– I use this for most of the portrait work that I do because it allows me to get close to my subject and also capture their surroundings. It is such a fun lens and I love that it allows me to capture everything, but the one downfall is that it does have some distortion on the edges of the images that make it feel a little bit like a fisheye. Nothing Lightroom can’t fix!
  • Canon 24 mm 1.4 LII– Truly the best lens for capturing getting ready photos in tight quarters AND allows you to take some epic bridals, especially if you shoot low. I love this lens and even though I don’t use it all the time, there is no way I would be able to part with it for the quality of images I get.

CAMERA BODY:

I have two. One as my main, and one as the backup.

My main: Canon EOS R6 – Click HERE to see a video review of my first impression after the first week of owning it.  I love dslr’s so the switch to mirrorless was hard. But I do have to say that this camera is rad and I do love it. The viewfinder is also digital which was odd and hard to get used to. As you move the camera, it lags a little bit because you’re essentially looking at a screen and not through a lens. I purchased it for a few reasons:

  1. Eye tracking. You can set it up so that it will always lock onto eyes to make sure they’re in focus before you shoot. Not really necessary but a really great add-on to have.
  2. Lighter than a DSLR which makes it phenomenal for travel and my back.
  3. The newer and better lenses that are going to be made are for mirrorless. Sorry to all my DSLR lovers out there. If you want to upgrade to the newer epic lenses Canon will start putting out, you will have to have mirrorless. 

The downsides: 

  • I needed an adapter to use my old lenses. 
  • I had to get used to the menu and the way things are set up on the back end.
  • The lag that you get when moving the camera and looking through the eyepiece. 

My other main: Canon 5d miv – I LOVE this camera. Hands-down love the color, the capabilities, just everything about this camera. Sometimes I will use it more than the R6. Eventually I need to get rid of this and buy another R6 because the colors of the raw images just aren’t the same as the miv. That sucks. But I color-correct (and would rather not have to). 

My Backup: Canon 5D miii – This was my first major camera, and I can’t bear to part with it. I love the low light capabilities, its autofocus points, and coloring. The main downside that makes me glad that they don’t make these anymore is the CF card slot. The metal prongs inside are known to bend and break and if you go to get them fixed, it costs the same as getting a new body. Every time I would ask a camera repair shop, they would say they didn’t understand why Canon didn’t just put another SD slot rather than have an SD and CF. The great part about the R6 is that it’s dual-slot with SD. 

My other backup: Canon 6D – which is the most affordable full-frame Canon offers. When I first started, I knew I wanted a backup and wanted it to be a full-frame but couldn’t afford another 5D. When I upgrade to the 5D miv, I plan on keeping the miii as my backup. The 6D is a great backup and does extremely well for what I need it to do.

backup camera for Casi Yost is the canon 6D

 

Flash / SD and CF Cards

Unfortunately, you will shoot in situations that require flash. Dance floor’s dark rooms and hallways all require some kind light to fill the shadows. My favorite flash to use is the Canon Speedlite 430 EX II.

I’m the kind of photographer that does a “spray and pray” type of shooting. I shoot really fast and most of the time the SD or CF card can’t keep up. I don’t like seeing the “busy” screen on my camera, so I purchase SD/CF cards usually that can record at 150 mb/s or faster. I still have some that are 95 or 120 mb/s but usually buy 10 new SD cards per season. It might be overkill, but I’m okay with that.

Other equipment

Prisms, Reflectors, Multi-image lenses are all ways to add something unique to your images. I personally love using the glass side of my phone to create interesting reflections in front of my lens. You can take a look at THIS blog post how I use these and other items to add magic to my images.

 

Camera Bag

I really needed something durable, waterproof, compact, and could carry my laptop. When I saw this Chrome Niko F-Stop bag, I was sold. It is well worth the $200 and has been one of the best investments I could make to protect my gear.

 

There are many things you can do to add unique features to your images. The most important of all is your creativity. Don’t obsess over how others create their images, but instead use what you have to create something new. Comparison is the thief of joy and I would argue that it is the thief of creativity.

Use these tools well my friends. And show me what you make!

XO,

Casi