Please wait until the Information Tabs load here

wedding photographer

Looking for the Perfect set of Gear ?

The items in this list have been hand-picked based on years of
experience traveling all over the globe to shoot weddings.

In partnership with Amazon.com, all items found here can be purchased and delivered
directly to your door within a few days.

Of course I get a small comission on any items you purchase after clicking on them
here, so if you need something, please click on it here before putting it in your Amazon.com shopping cart.

If you want several items, return here and click each item seperately before putting it in your shopping cart.

Note:  Clicking here does not raise your price when you get to Amazon.com,
and even with my comission, the prices at Amazon.com are almost identical to those
you will find at B&H or any other reputable online camera store.

So you have nothing to lose, and you can help me pay for all the effort it takes to create this site.

 

 

Thank you for your support,

Glen

The Canon 5D is easily my favorite camera out of all those I've used. It is a wonderful combiniation of light weight and extreme file size. The color quality of this camera is far beyond what I've ever seen in any other camera. Most of my files need no retouching or color correction at all. Shooting RAW produces an absolutely massive file that is a pleasure to print.

The addition of the battery pack provides an extra large grip with a vertical shutter release button so you don't have to stand with your elbow up in the air when you want to rotate the camera to shoot a vertical image. Once you get used to this feature, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it. The fact that you'll be able to go at least one full day of constant shooting without worrying about battery changes helps too.

Memory Cards - The 5D produces LARGE image files. If you shoot this camera in RAW format, you could easily go through ten gigabytes of memory cards in a single wedding. The 20D and 30D don't require quite so much disk space, but it still wouldn't hurt to have ten Gigs just to be sure. Sandisk has become the industry standard for performance and reliability, both of which you desperately need at a wedding. Make sure to have enough disks on hand to shoot the entire event without having to unload a disk and reformat it while on the job.

NEVER format a disk and reuse it on the job!

This provides extra security for those times when the download process malfunctions. If you have enough disks, you don't have to worry about images getting lost in the download process. So don't be cheap here - get enough memory or you'll be sorry, and unfortunately so will your clients.

The Canon 40D has the same large LCD screen as the 5D but with a slightly smaller file size and a faster shooting speed. The 40D has a 1.6X multiplication factor which is the main difference between this camera and the 5D. This difference translates into increased magnification for all your lenses. For example, using a 50mm lens, when you add the 1.5X multiplication factor, gives you the equivalent of a 75mm lens. This is not a big detraction for a wedding photographer, but it requires the purchase of an extreme wide angle lens if you want to have a true wide lens to use.

The Canon 70 -200mm /f2.8 IS USM is an exceptional zoom lens for use with a Canon SLR camera body (35mm or Digital). A unique feature is that this lens incorporates Canon's second generation Image Stabilization technology. Maximum Diameter x Length, Weight - 3.4 x 7.8, 3.24 pounds. This is my very favorite of all the lenses I own. It is SO incredibly sharp. My only complaint is that the little buttons stick up and when I'm handling the lens I often accidentally switch off the autofocus or the stabilization and it takes me a few shots wasted before I figure out what's happened.

Recently, I've actually taken a small file to those buttons and filed the top off so that they are smooth as glass on top. Now I can still switch them if I want to but they don't get switched accidentally any more.

CANON EF 50MM f/1.4 USM is a standard lens featuring superb quality and portability. Crisp images with little flare are obtained even at the maximum aperture. I love this one for shooting in candle light at the reception. Check out my slideshow from Cabo in the Mexico section. All the flash-free images at the reception and all the fire dancer images were shot with this lens.

Canon ST-E2 flash Transmitter
This little gadget allows you to take your flashes off camera and place them anywhere you like. I like to hold my flash off to the side in my left hand while working the camera with my right hand. Placing one flash back near the back of a large room works wonders to open up the shadows. You can also place both one or two flashes against the wall behind where you are working and it acts like a huge window to light up your subject very evenly.

Here's a tip: Make sure to put your camera on Single Servo, otherwise the little red lights will not emit from the flash and you won't get any autofocus in the dark.

Speedlite 580EX - The supreme electronic-flash of Canon's Speedlite series, the Speedlite 580EX has a maximum guide number of 58/191 at ISO 100 in meters/feet (at 105mm focal length), faster recycling, more consistent color and enhanced controls are among the improvements that all photographers, especially those who shoot digital, will find useful.

I love to use my flashes with the ST-E2 Transmitter
17-40mm f4 EF Lens - This is my favorite wide angle lens for use with the full frame Canon 5D. About half the price of the 16-35 f/2.8 lens, this L-series lens has an entirely new optical design with three Aspherical elements and a Super UD-glass element. The combination provides superb contrast and sharpness, even at the widest settings. It’s ideal for both film and digital SLRs, and features the same weather-resistant design, rear gel filter holder, and high-speed Ultrasonic Motor as the EF 16-35mm lens. Superior optics are assured by the use of three aspherical lens elements, in addition to a Super UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) glass element. This lens focuses as close as 11 inches (0.28m), and offers both Canon's full-time manual focus and a powerful ring-type USM for fast and silent AF. It has a constant f/4 maximum aperture, and offers the choice of screw-in 77mm filters or a holder in the rear of the lens for up to three gel filters. Finally, it offers weather-resistant construction similar to other high-end L-series lenses.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Standard Zoom Lens

* EF mount; standard zoom lens
* Internal focusing; full-time manual focus; aspherical lens; image stabilizer
* 28-135mm focal length
* f/3.5-5.6 maximum aperture
* Micro UltraSonic Motor (USM)

The is a perfect "all purpose" lens for the 20D and 30D. It is not meant for low-light shooting without flash, but it would make a perfect first lens if you are just starting out. The zoom range on this lens allows you to covers a wide variety of situations.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

This is the perfect Wide lens if you are shooting a Canon 20D, 30D or 40D. This exciting new zoom lens provides ultra wide-angle coverage to the EOS 40D and Digital Rebel SLR Digital-camera systems. Equivalent to a 16-35mm zoom, it offers excellent performance and optics designed from the ground-up for digital SLR use. It focuses as close as 9.5 inches. apertures stay constant from f/4.5 thru f/22 EF-S lens mount -- exclusively for EOS 40D and Digital Rebel bodies. Focal length 10 - 22 mm (35 mm equivalent of a 16 - 35 mm lens) (accepts 77mm optional filters)

 

 I absolutely LOVE this product and I would not travel without it. I've gotten so many free internet connections while traveling that I can't possibly say how much time and money this little gadget has saved me. Even if you don't travel, imagine sitting in your own home and being able to connect to the internet (for free) on any wireless computer in your neighborhood because most private individuals don't know how to turn on the security features of their wireless modem.

Hawking Wireless network Detector and Antenna

Detect and Connect to any wireless-b or wireless-g network * 2 Products in One: WiFi Locator and Wireless-G USB Antenna * Lets you find wireless hot spots before you take out your laptop
* Connects to your laptop with USB 2.0 and converts into a hi-gain, directional, 5dBi flip-up antenna (most laptops have a built-in antenna that has only 2-3 dBi). The hassle of powering up your laptop and connecting to wireless "Hot-Spots" is now significantly simplified by the HWL2. Simply push the "Locate" button on the HWL2, detect and connect. When detecting wireless networks, the Hi-Gain Directional Antenna helps the user determine exactly where the source of the wireless netweork is coming from by showing stronger signals at different angles. The HWL2 also automatically recharges its batteries when connected via USB so you never have to worry about replacing the batteries.

Pelican Carry-on Box with padded dividers
The 1510 case will be the toughest and biggest airline-legal carry-on case on the market. Complete with side handle, front handle and convenient extension handle, it will be the perfect rolling travel companion to protect your valuable photo gear from moisture and careless baggage handlers. I have personally carried my own Pelican 1510 through hundreds of airports and many miles of cobblestone streets. I can attest to the fact that this box is TOUGH, and I don't worry at all about leaving it out in the rain with all my gear inside.

ExpoDisk
Capture Accurate Color Convenient, fast and easy-to-use. Works in Mixed and Difficult Lighting Reclaim Time Spent Correcting Color Replace Your Gray Cards and White Cards. Even the best digital cameras are incapable of consistently delivering accurate color without the user performing a custom white balance. Auto (AWB) and preset white balance functions often produce maddeningly inconsistent results. Images shot without a correct white balance may have unnatural looking red, yellow or blue tints that are time consuming and difficult, if not impossible to correct. Recognizing the importance of custom white balance to good color, digital camera manufacturers have designed their cameras to take advantage of a custom white balance. A custom white balance calibrates the camera to the exact color temperature of light illuminating the subject.

The ExpoDisc is a custom white balance filter that allows digital photographers to quickly and easily set an accurate custom white balance. Consistently producing excellent results in natural, artificial, and studio lighting, the versatile ExpoDisc even excels in difficult mixed lighting environments. The ExpoDisc is far easier to use than any gray card, white card or calibration target. Simply place the ExpoDisc in front of your lens and capture the incident light while setting your camera's custom white balance. Using an ExpoDisc custom white balance will virtually eliminate the need for RAW or JPEG post-capture color adjustments.
The Lensbaby 2.0 is a second-generation selective-focus SLR camera lens, bringing brighter, sharper, and faster selective focus photography to professional and avid amateur photographers.
Lensbaby 2.0 and the Original Lensbaby bring one area of a photo into sharp focus, with that "sweet spot" surrounded by graduated blur, glowing highlights, and subtle prismatic color distortions. Photographers can fluidly move the sharp area around the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing. Lensbaby 2.0 features an f2.0 aperture setting in addition to the Original Lensbaby's f2.8, f4.0, f5.6, and f8.0. With Lensbaby 2.0, a photographer can control the size of the sweet spot of sharp focus by changing the apertures. The brighter the aperture, the smaller the sweet spot of focus, and the greater the amount of graduated blurring in the photo's surrounding area.

Lensbaby 2.0 also features a coated, high-refractive-index, low-dispersion optical glass doublet instead of the singled uncoated optical glass element in the Original Lensbaby. Lensbaby 2.0's optic creates a much sweeter sweet spot of focus, which allows photographers to print large photos and see fine details like eyelashes or individual threads of fabric in the sharp area. Photographers will also find that Lensbaby 2.0 has minimal diffusion even at the f2.0 aperture setting.

High performance Lithium Ion battery with no memory effects

SAVE when you buy TWO!!!

* Our Canon BP-511 equivalent
* Specifications: 7.2V Li-Ion 1800mAh
* Did You Know? The mAh rating of a battery indicates how big the "gas tank" of a battery is. The higher the mAh rating is the more power that battery will store and the longer you can take pictures!

* 1 Year Warranty

I reccomend having 4 batteries. Two will easily carry you through a full day of shooting but you should have extras in case you lose one or two by leaving your charger hanging on the outlet in some reception hall.
The Underdog Battery System

Ever get tired of missing shots because your flash batteries can't keep up?
This used to bug the SHIT out of me.

Not any more!

After doing extensive research I've come across what I think is THE ideal battery for
on-camera flash for the wedding photographer.

The battery connects under the camera and a single sturdy cord connects it to the flash. The weight is about the same as 12 AA batteries but the advantage is that you have all that power available at once. Flash recharge times with full power bursts are only 3 seconds! My most demanding flash work is for the cake cutting and dancing shots. For these I usually shoot at high ISO so I rarely use full power bursts.

Here's the test: 15 feet at 400 ISO and f8, Canon 5D shooting as fast as it can until the RAM is full (which varies from 14-17 shots). This is a very challenging "worst case scenario" for a small flash. Most of your "real" work will be at closer distances, wider apertures and higher ISO settings.

Underdog battery made 75-78% correct flash exposures.
Alkaline AA batteries made 41-43% correct exposures.

That's almost double the success rate in rapid fire situations.

Each underdog is rated at 100-150 full power pops and the number of lesser powered (real life) shots with a modern TTL flash will most likely be several hundred shots.

Underdogs are also Lead-Acid batteries which have no "memory" problems
associated with charging them frequently.

Two underdogs with an international charger = $200 (not including cables)

 

If you need even more power and you don't mind carrying the battery on a shoulder strap...

Then in that case, I'd reccomend the Al Jacobs Black Box

This is a true powerhouse.

If you do school photos or kids sports photos or
Dog shows where you need your flash all day long, then this is the perfect battery for you.

2.7 lbs   Sealed lead acid battery in black metal box   

$160 each (not including cables)