What’s In My Camera Bag

A few of you have asked about my camera equipment, so today I thought I’d share what’s in my camera bag! 

I know from experience that photography is definitely a form of art. It can be hard and sometimes pictures don’t turn out as good as you hope. I’ve had plenty of those pictures, just dig deep in my blog archives! Some of those pictures are just plain bad!

Photography is a true journey. It’s something you have to practice and play with. I know, because I’m still on my journey. I’ve come so very far from where I started, but I still have a long way to go!

First, I think a good camera is essential. When I first started my blog, I was using a really basic point and shoot camera and my pictures definitely showed it.  I’m not saying you need the top of the line equipment, who can afford that?, but a nice DSLR camera is worth its weight!

I use the Canon Rebel T3i and absolutely adore it. It’s been such a wonderful camera and I’m not sure how I ever lived without it, it’s practically an extension to my body.

When I bought my Canon, it came in a package with the very basic 18-55 mm lens. I was so excited when I first got it, but after about a year of using the basic stock lens, I was ready for an upgrade. I wasn’t able to capture some of the shots that I was hoping for, blog and personal life!

After a bit of research, I ended up splurging on the Tamron 28-75 mm lens. This lens is 100% amazing!

Here’s the first picture I took with it, right out the box:

Not only is it a fabulous lens for Bokeh (focused subject, blurry background), but it’s really sharp…

DIY Mind Your Manners Burlap Placemats

Often times it will pick up the smallest speck of dust, which my eye missed…

Truly I can’t even compare my Tamron lens to the stock lens that came with my camera. They’re not even on the same playing field and I’ve noticed such a huge improvement in my photography since the edition of my Tamron lens. It’s a bit pricey, but very worth it if you use it every day, like me.

My next piece of equipment, is a tripod. After trying to shoot in a few dark rooms, specifically our powder bathroom, I quickly bought a tripod. It’s another item that has really improved my photography, but I don’t always use it. There are times I feel like the tripod is a bit limiting to me, so I don’t use it. For overall room shots, or dark rooms where I need to turn my shutter really low, it’s an absolute must.  Without it in those situations, my pictures are blurry and dark.

Here’s an example:

Without the tripod:

With the tripod:

Railroad Spike Wall Hook

I’ve also found that it’s best to use my camera timer when I use my tripod. If not, even the movement of my finger pressing the camera button can result in a blurry picture.

Next, is my photo editing software. I can’t rave enough about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Just wow. Before I spent the money on it, I played around with the free trial version and knew I had to have it. I completely hated editing my pictures in all the web editing sites. It took waaay too long and I was always disappointed with the outcome of my pictures. In my opinion, Lightroom is worth every penny I spent on it. It’s user friendly, I can edit my pictures in batches and save the pictures with my watermark on them. Easy. Easy. Easy. Lightroom has so many fabulous editing features, and I’m sure I don’t know about half of them! Every now and then I’ll find a new feature and I fall in love with it all over again. I wish I were exaggerating!

Here’s a before & after with Lightroom, it truly makes a difference…

I seriously couldn’t do it without those items… My pictures have come a long way from where I started, and I always enjoy seeing my growth and progress with every photo shoot.Kitchen Island

Perfect Fluffy Pancakes

And if you don’t believe that I took some seriously awful pictures when I first started blogging, just take a peek at this, this and this one. It actually hurt to look at those… We’ve all got to start somewhere, and we can only make progress from there. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Be patient and keep taking pictures! You’ll see growth!