What’s In My Camera Bag // Blogger Edition

Hey everyone! Today I am sharing what’s in my camera bag! I have never done one of these posts before, and I really love to read them, so why not write one?

I have always been into photography, whether that be as a seven year old with my barbie polaroid camera, or a 21 year old with a DSLR, I love to be behind the lens… And in front of it, if I’m shooting fashion pics for my blog. I love taking photos because I believe that you can capture memories. I love taking photos because they serve as a reminder to certain events, moods, and feelings. A picture can really say a thousand words. I believe that there is a story behind every photo- whether it is staged or not.

I bought my first DSLR after my freshman year of college. I got it before heading on a trip to Europe. I wanted to get some great photos that would remind me of the great summer I had. The camera I had was the Nikon D3200. I really liked this camera because it was really easy to use… I mainly just used it on auto setting with the kit lens. At the time, it was the perfect thing for me.

The next year, when I started falling in love with blogging, I decided to upgrade my camera to something that I could shoot videos with. I upgraded to the Canon Rebel T5i, which has taken all of my photos on my blog up to this point. Once I upgraded to this camera, I also upgraded with my lenses. I got two prime lenses within 6 months of purchasing this camera.

I have loved my Canon Rebel T5i. It is such a great camera whether you want to take simple photos, or you want to take some quality pictures for a blog. Just recently, I decided that I wanted to sell my Rebel and upgrade to a full-frame camera. If you don’t know what “full frame” means, it basically means that the sensor is not cropped and you can get more of the picture in your frame… If that doesn’t make sense, google “crop-sensor vs. full frame” and some professional photographers will explain it better than I can.

Here are some sample photos I’ve taken with my Canon Rebel T5i, with my 50 mm f/1.8…

 

If y’all want another post dedicated to how I edit my photos, let me know by commenting below!

That being said, I just upgraded my camera. I was on the fence as to which camera I should buy. I have been wanting a new camera, one that is better quality, for at least 6 months now, so I decided to bite the bullet and make that investment. At first, I wanted to upgrade to the Canon 70D, which is a great option. I almost got this until I realized that I would want to upgrade in the future to a full-frame camera, as this one is cropped, just like my Rebel.

Then I looked into the Canon 6D. I have friends who have this camera and absolutely love it. I almost bought this camera, but I also had my eye on the Canon 5D Mark III. After way too much time researching online, I finally decided to get a used Canon 5D Mark III.

I decided to get this camera over the 6D because I knew that I wouldn’t need or want to upgrade for a long time. I know that Canon just came out with an upgraded version of the 5D Mark III, but dishing out almost $4,000 just wasn’t in my budget as a college student. From what I’ve heard, the Canon 5D Mark III is an amazing camera that produces amazing results. I am so excited to test it out and shoot with it for my blog.

I bought my Canon 5D Mark III just recently, so I can’t truly give an accurate review on it. The quality is amazing and it is everything I wanted. Now for what’s in my camera bag…

Canon 5D Mark III

As I just mentioned, the camera I use is the Canon 5D Mark III. This is the body camera that I use. It rocks. And yes, before you ask, I paid for this camera all by myself with zero help from my parents. I didn’t buy it new either, so it wasn’t quite as expensive as it would normally be. I found this camera for a really good deal online.

Extra Memory Cards

Having extra memory cards is crucial. I have about 4 or 5 memory cards total and I keep them in a little shock proof and waterproof case. I like 32 GB memory cards. This memory card is my favorite kind.

Canon 50 mm 1.8 Lens

This is my go-to lens. I have my eye on the Canon 24-70mm 2.8, but that’s super expensive… I use the 50mm often because it’s what I shoot my fashion posts with and it’s a great lens for portraits, which I shoot fairly often. This lens is on my camera 90% of the time.

Sigma 30mm 1.4 Lens

This was the first lens that I bought aside from my kit lens. I got this 30 mm lens mainly for video purposes, but I love it regardless. Since the aperture is so wide, at 1.4, the shots it takes are very detailed and clear. I usually travel with this lens because of its variability and ease. After having this lens, I want to try out more Sigma lenses!

Kit Lens

I have the kit lens, the 18mm-55mm the 18mm-55mm, that came with my Rebel, but I honestly really haven’t used it since I even got my camera. It is an okay lens, but the aperture isn’t great and I have other lenses that work more nicely for my preferences.

Lens Filter

I just went ahead and bought a lens filter/protector the minute I bought my lens. Having a lens filter is important because it protects your lens from scratches and dust. Especially since I travel a lot, a lens filter is crucial for protecting my lens. I also just ordered a polarized lens filter, so we’ll see how that works!

Extra Battery

It is super important to have extra batteries! I only have one extra, but I use it as a backup- I rarely need this extra battery- unless I forget to turn my camera off- whoops!

External Hard drive 

I edit all of my photos on Lightroom and since I do that, I store all of my photos on my external hard drive to save space on my computer. I have Lightroom set up to run on my external hard drive so I don’t have to worry about the program slowing down my computer. Just be careful, though, because last summer, my hard drive stopped working and everything got wiped from it… So backup everything! Even your hard drive!

Remote

While I originally bought the remote for video purposes, I have found myself using this remote quite often! When I went to the beach with my roommate, I used the remote to take the pictures of us since we didn’t have someone to shoot for us. I’ve also used this to take a family portrait. Here are some posts I’ve used a remote for: One // Two // Three

Charger

I was debating even putting this on here, but here it is. Don’t forget your charger. Even though I have my backup battery, sometimes the backup isn’t charged.

Card Reader

This card reader is one of the greatest inventions EVER! I use this card reader with my phone. You basically just plug your SD card into the slot and plug it into the charger port of your phone and you can upload the photos from your camera directly to your phone- how cool! I got mine from Apple, but I know that other brands work. P.S. I’ve heard of this card reader not working for some phone models… I use it on my iPhone 6 and it’s a charm!