What's in my camera bag? - Rae Marshall Studios

Aloha, my name is Rae Marshall and I’m a full time photographer! I have been doing photography for a whopping 16 years, that’s before instagram came out, so RESPECT YOUR ELDERS and whatnot.

I have done most of my learning the hard way, from buying lenses when I didn’t know what all the numbers meant, to equipment that didn’t work for me, to trying out camera bags and accessories that got in my way instead of helped.

You could figure it out the hard way, OR you could take it from an experienced photographer who’s already tried it

and find out what I think are the BEST photography products right now. These are all products I own and use every single time I go out and photograph, and I feel confident in recommending them to you as well.

So enough of the blabbing, let’s jump right into my MUST HAVE GEAR for full time photographers below!

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, but these are all products I highly recommend. Everything on this page I own and have used every photoshoot.

What’s In My Camera Bag

There are a lot of cute fashionable camera bags out there, and I love fashion. So WHY did I choose such a basic camera bag? Because I don’t need cute, I need extremely useful for the 100+ sessions I do a year. I bought this bag in 2013, had it stolen, and then bought the same bag again because I only have heart eyes for this one.

I choose a backpack style because it is easier to hold any weight for any period of time. If I have a bag that goes over one shoulder, I’m putting all the weight there and that’s not good for me. I also take this up mountains, jumping over rocks near the ocean, running from one place to the other at weddings. I want something that doesn’t have the risk of falling or slamming into anything by my side.

This fits my two camera bodies, up to all 5 of my lenses (including the giant 70-200mm), a flash, batteries, and a few additional accessories. I can also put a laptop in the front zip pocket. WITH all the other stuff.

HUGE BONUS: This fits under any airplane seat. No wrestling with attendants who want to try and put it under the airplane (over my dead body), because even if the entire upper compartment is full, I have this under my feet.

So I mentioned that I got robbed when talking about my camera bag, yeah about that. I was photographing a wedding ceremony on the beach when someone ran up to my bag and purse (that were very close to the guests, it was gutsy), grabbed it and ran away into a getaway car. If you’re wondering he only got 1 lens that insurance covered and I had every memory card already backed up. But he also got my purse, which meant I lost my iphone, keys (had to get the locks replaced) and wallet.

So NOW I wear fanny packs on every single shoot. I can put my phone, wallet, memory cards, batteries, and other things on me.

I really like this Herschel one because it’s a trendy brand in Hawaii, and offers a lot of different colors.

Oh I love youuuuu Sony A7iii. I had Nikon camera bodies (The Nikon D750) for MANY years and still love that body. However it’s becoming older technology and it’s really time to switch to mirrorless if you’re looking for the next step in professional photography.

First, it takes great images. It’s a full frame camera, has two memory card slots (an absolute MUST for a wedding photographer), and does well in low light (ISO capability). Some of the more expensive bodies have higher megapixels, I just find that takes up even more space on my computer and isn’t necessary unless you’re wanting to blow images up to giant sizes. I’ve never had a need for more.

The price is also great. As mentioned, there are more expensive bodies, but I just think this one does everything I need. I also shoot TWO camera bodies every session, so I need to be able to double the price I pay for one. So this one is my choice.

If there’s one main lens you need for portraits and wedding work, most photographers will agree with me. It’s the 35mm. The Sony FE 35mm F1.8 is. the. best. I could only shoot all of my portrait and family sessions with this and I’d be good to go. It is a great focal length for wider portraits without weird distortion, and has a lower depth of field so that you can get that beautiful bokeh in the back. It’s also fast enough to catch kids trying to run out of the frame.

My style is a bit more “light and airy”, so I do use 50mm and up to get that fine art look in portraits, but this one is universally good for all styles of photography.

I wanted to splurge on one of my 3 main lenses (35mm, 50mm, 85mm) and I decided to go for this one as it’s in the middle. I chose the Zeiss version because it’s so incredibly sharp and clean, and because of my photography style (light and airy), the lower depth of field and sharpness really make an image so dreamy.

If you’re looking for a GREAT 50mm lens, but want to pay $1000 less because you’re not quite to super professional money making yet, then go for this one!

So I’m recommending a lot of prime lenses. I’m assuming people of all photography levels will be reading this so I’ll explain what prime lenses are now.

A prime lens means that it does not zoom. It only stays at one focal length. You know it’s a prime lens by the numbers in the lens name. For example, the 85mm 1.8 is a prime lens (only one number 85mm) and 1.8 means how low the f/stop will go, or how wide open it gets. (in basic terms, the lower the f stop number, the blurrier the background will get, or more bokeh)

Because they tend to be sharper than zoom lenses. They give a clearer image, and take away the ease of just standing there and zooming back and forth from the photographer, so you move where you want to go for the correct composition. This actually makes me personally a much better photographer, otherwise I am too lazy.

This is one of the best portrait lenses on the market. It takes absolutely beautiful headshots and portraits. I also use it a lot at weddings, like first dances and speeches, guests in the audience, and bride and groom portraits.

The solution to that? I shoot two cameras at the same time, so I have this lens on one camera and a wider lens on the other camera.

So this focal length is super popular among technical shooters and a lot of photographers love this lens for portraits. I want to first say that I don’t think this should be a starter lens by any means. The only time I use this lens is during ceremonies at weddings. (That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t use it at other sessions, because some do.)

It’s pretty hard to beat this kind of reach when you need to stay back and not be a distraction. It’s an amazing event lens because of this reason. It is great quality, and gets me amazing photos of my couples in some of the most personal moments during their vows. This would be a great lens if you were shooting events of any kind and are farther away.

This is the last lens that I added to my kit, after using the first ones listed reliably for many years.

I got this lens when I lived in Hawaii, where the mountains are breath taking and the oceans are sapphire blue. This is an AMAZING lens for wide photos, especially when you still have people in the photo. The low depth of field capabilities and sharpness for a wide angle lens are beautiful additions to my clients galleries. I usually put this on for a few bridal party photos with a luscious scene in the back, or bride and groom photos to really showcase where we are.

I also discovered it’s a cool lens for model portraits, and elongates legs and gives a cool distortion to the photo.

You need a memory card holder to hold all those cards. This is the one I use. I like it. It has not failed me. I think it’s pretty sweet. Don’t let your SD cards just flail around in your bags, they are the most precious things in that camera bag when memories are on them.

Guys I’ve saved a lot of money now over the years with my rechargeable batteries for my reception flash. No more buying packs before every wedding, I just charge them at the same time I charge my camera batteries and it’s like no additional effort at all.

ORGANIZING TIP: I put my charged batteries in my top zipper pocket, then put the used ones in the lowest pocket. Every time. So no confusion.

I used to go to weddings without ring boxes and would just be standing around trying to figure out where to put the rings for great photos. Now I’ve solved my own problem by bringing multiple ring boxes in different colors to use as part of my styling kit. I’ve loved these, they elevate your images and make things easier as well.

Every photographer needs an external hard drive (or multiple) for storage when you are dealing with the amount of files that we are. I have used multiple brands and personally think my Seagate hard drives have held up the best.

I’ve been using my HoldFast leather camera harness for at least 5 years now. Yes it’s more expensive than many other strap options. Would I buy it again if this one fell apart tomorrow? YES.

I found out about this harness when I was living in Nashville, where it was definitely the trendy item to get for professional photographers there. First of all, it’s still in amazing shape after 5 years of usage. It is very comfortable and doesn’t cause me any discomfort at all, and my cameras are secure. So the functionality of it is great, and I am always shooting double camera. But the best reason of all? It’s fly as hell. I get compliments on this thing all the time. I look professional and cool.

I’m including my shoes of choice because wedding photographers know it is very difficult to find a shoe that looks good and also can handle 8 or more hours of standing, running, kneeling, whatever you’re doing on a wedding day and keep your feet in one piece.

The sandals in this photo above broke a few times, so I’m now recommending THESE Gold Pigeon sandal brand that I’m currently working in. They are also my favorite sandals I’ve ever bought. They aren’t the most stylish, but the black ones look good with outfits, can get wet and have great support.

I have this in my bag for a “macro” (closeup) lens, and it has saved me SO MUCH money. Instead of buying an expensive macro lens for wedding ring photos, I pop one of these on my 35mm Nikon lens and get amazing macro photos for $20!!!! This is one of my favorite photography equipment hacks for adding that extra beauty in your photos.

NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT SIZE FOR THE LENS YOU WANT TO USE THEM ON!

Ever dealt with HAZE or FOG on your lens making your images look like crap? This can happen in the morning, or near water (Hawaii has it bad), and these are what I always keep in my fanny pack to wipe the lens when it needs. I can use 2-3 per shoot if it’s really humid. These are priceless when it comes to saving your images from looking really foggy and unfixable.

Let’s wrap it up

Thanks for sticking around to hear all of my top favorite photography items! I’ve been in the business for 15 years now so I’ve really honed in on the equipment that works for me, looks good, and does exactly what it’s supposed to. If you have any additional questions you can always send me a message on instagram and see if I can give you any additional feedback!

Must Have Gear a Full Time Photographer

Who am I?

You could figure it out the hard way, OR you could take it from an experienced photographer who’s already tried it

What’s In My Camera Bag

Let’s wrap it up

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