Thursday, February 1, 2018

What's in my camera bag


Darya Morreale Photography What's in my camera bag



Nikon D750 is an amazing full frame camera. I have nothing but great things to say about it. A fabulous camera for wedding and portrait photography and handles high ISO and low light situations beautifully. I love having Nikon MB-D16 Grip on it. I can shoot vertical without having to stretch my fingers to reach for the shutter button, there is a shutter button on the grip. And having two charged Nikon batteries in the camera is a lot better then having just one. I can go an entire wedding day without having to worry about changing batteries.










This Nikon D5200 camera served me beautifully for four years, and still hasn't retired. It is now my backup camera I bring it to all my sessions, events and weddings. I love how lightweight it is, I can barely notice having it around my neck with a prime lens like Nikon 35mm f/1.8 or Nikon 50mm f/1.8, about 90% of my portfolio was shot with this camera and those two lenses.





Nikon 85mm f/1.8 is my brand new portrait lens. I haven't had a chance to use it that much. I did test it out on my kids and this lens is absolutely delicious. Dreamy bokeh that looks like buttery, velvety, yumminess (see, I checked, it's a word) with the subject popping off the background. Photos can look almost three dimensional when nailing the focus at a wide aperture, and I almost always shoot wide open unless it is a large group of people. It’s also a fabulous focal length for flattering portraits, fantastic in low light and very sharp. 






Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is my very first prime lens and the only lens for the first year
of my photography journey. I have shot entire sessions and even a wedding with
just this one lens. It is most versatile lens on any camera body. It works perfectly
on full frame cameras and acts like 85mm on crop sensor cameras such as
Nikon D5200.  This one is definitely a keeper, it's fast, has beautiful creamy bokeh
and tack sharp at any aperture. After upgrading to full frame Nikon D750, I briefly
considered upgrading to Nikon 50mm f/1.4 but quickly dropped that idea.
About 60% of my portfolio was created using this lens.
Here are some image examples that I shot with this baby.









Nikon 35mm f/1.8 is a DX lens, meaning it only works on APS-C (crop) sensor
cameras like Nikon D5200. Since upgrading to full frame body, I don't use it as
much, but it is an excellent lens, actually all the gear photos on this page I shot
with this lens (except for the one of it self of course). This lens is a go-to lens for
times when I need a good “walking around” lens. It was perfect on our
New York City trip, I could take lovely portraits of my daughter and it was wide
enough to capture skyscrapers in the frame as well, that blurred out beautifully,
but still with some visible detail. I have shot weddings with it family sessions,
maternity sessions, newborns, landscapes, cityscapes, shooting stars, milky way.
In the very near future I will be upgrading to Sigma 35 f/1.4 Art and this baby
will retire it's professional career and stay at home with the kids, lol. Here are
some images that I shot with this lens over the years.






Not just an incredible macro lens, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 but is an amazing portrait lens as well. I do quite a bit of true macro photography for professional purposes, such as macro shot of wedding rings for bride & groom and newborn baby details like the little eyelashes, tiny fingers and chubby toes. And for art sake I love shooting macro water droplets, insects, snow flakes, cat's eyes, flowers. And I would gladly have it as my only portrait lens, but I needed something with wider aperture that lets in more light in low light situations, such as indoor portraits of a bride getting ready and newborn photography, and my choice fell on a lens that is similar in focal length - Nikon 85mm f/1.8 . However I still use Tamron 90mm quite a bit, not just for macro, but portraits as well. It is absolutely amazing!!! Here are image example that I've shot with this lens.







I really love this Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 VR lens, I have shot so many amazing things with it. It is super fast and great for sports photography both outdoor and indoor. I have been photographing my daughter's dance recitals and competitions for years with this lens. The VR (vibration reduction) works amazingly it freezes a subject and locks in focus instantly, whether it is a flying eagle or a tumbling gymnast or a ballerina in mid air executing a perfect grand jeté. And the long tele photo zoom range is to die for. I photograph Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston out of my bedroom window 10 miles away. I will be keeping this lens even after I get the higher end professional Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC lens that will soon join all of the gear in my camera bag. This lens is perfect for vacations, sports, wildlife, landscapes, sunsets, moon photography and even portraits. I don't take this lens to my professional photo sessions, but I have taken some fabulous photos of my kids with it that are in my professional portfolio, that you can see in the image examples below.









This is my most underestimated lens that had pleasantly surprised me.
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 I only bought as a "walking around" lens.
I didn't want to spend a fortune on a more superior Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 VR
or half of a fortune on a beautiful beast Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC.
I just wanted a fast mid range zoom to take photos of my kids on playgrounds,
parks & family vacations. Well I took this lens on our family vacation to California
and I shot this (see slideshow below) couple's portrait session of my niece Mia
and her boyfriend Brian on Topanga Beach. I never expected the photos to be
so portfolio worthy. I think I will start taking this lens out on photo
sessions more often.







This is a vintage Russian lens that creates an incredibly unique "swirly bokeh"
image examples coming soon.



For the most part I am natural & available light photographer, I love to "paint" 
with light and shadow, I like to see some depth in photos. So I avoid using a 
flash as much as possible. But for indoor weddings and events or night time 
photography an off-camera flash is a must. Over the years I have picked up 
some creative techniques using a flash to make images almost three dimensional. 
Yongnuo YN565-EX has been in my camera bag since day one and has never

failed me.


I only use flash about 15% of everything I shoot, so I am perfectly happy with
Yongnuo Speedlites.



Sometimes I use this flash/light for macro photography.


Wireless Flash Trigger/Wireless Shutter Release Transceivers. These guys sync
speedlites with the camera. The Speedlite will fire from over 300 feet away as
I press the shutter button on my camera.




As soon as I am done with a session I transfer photos from the camera to my
computer and backup on Seagate 4TB external hard drive
I have a handful of Sandisk ExtremePRO SD cards. Two cards are in
Nikon D750 second one is set to backup files. And a few extras in my camera bag
 in case the ones in camera run out of room
.
Almost all of my lenses are protected with B+W XS-Pro UV MRC Nano filters.
They are very easy to clean with LensPen and protect the front element from dust,
scratches, sand, rain, fingerprints, dirt and damage. I buy a filter at the time of
purchasing a new lens, so as soon as I get the lens I screw on a filter and never
worry about it again.

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means
if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
Regardless, I only recommend products I love and use personally. You have been
warned, lol .





7 comments:

  1. It was a very enjoyable reading. I know Darya as a true professional artist-photographer. Now I see that it takes not only talent, but also vast technical knowledge and a lot of money to be a great photographer. I love Darya's sense of humor!
    I.V.H.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing article! The most, I love how the author shows that you don't need thousands dollars equipment to create outstanding results!!! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love reading about photography equipment! Love many lenses in this article and my d750 thank you for this great information

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great information and I realized I need a protection from dust and scratches for my lenses! Thanks for the reminder!

    ReplyDelete

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