January was a good month at Emma Lee Creative. I booked a couple of new clients, and new business is good business for small business. I also stocked up on new gear for wedding season. I recently shared about the new products I purchased, but now that I have had a chance to use them, I thought I would review them, and share a little bit about how my gear benefits the clients I serve.

CANON 5D MARK IV
This camera has been on my list for awhile. As I was told at Christian Photo, I have found that it functions quite a bit like the 5D Mark III. The one major difference I’ve found is the touch screen. I love the touch screen. It makes my workflow a lot faster since I can access menus with a quick touch instead of having to scroll through menus as I do on the 5D Mark III.

The next thing I like about it is, as I mentioned, its similarity to the 5D Mark III. It feels like I’m using the same camera, and I really like that familiarity. I don’t have to spend a whole bunch of extra time getting to know a new camera, as much fun as that is. If I had to, I could pick up the 5D Mark IV out of the box and go shoot a wedding with it and have no problems using it. Finally, my purchase of the 5D Mark IV adds a second full-frame body to my kit, which will produce a little more consistency in my images.

Brand consistency is something that is extremely important to me, as it is to every business owner. Between my photos and my design work, I strive to create clean work that embodies the true to life essence of my client’s brand or their images. This is also why I don’t heavily edit my images. Using two full-frame cameras that are close in age to each other will provide a means of creating aesthetic consistency from image to image, giving my clients a much more cohesive collection of photos.

CANON 35MM F/2
I’ve noticed myself being more and more drawn to prime lenses. The 35mm is a staple in any wedding photographer’s bag. I’ve been doing photography since 2008, and I’ve waited till now to acquire the 35mm lens. Truthfully, I didn’t realize I wanted it until my second shooter, Aundrea Eilers, used it at a wedding last summer. The images she produced with it were absolutely gorgeous. Now I recognize that it’s not the gear that made such fantastic images. Aundrea is an extremely gifted photographer who consistently creates beautiful images. Being a talented photographer myself, I just had to try it out.

So far, I really like the image quality of this lens. The 35mm, at least on a full-frame camera, offers me a perspective that I don’t typically go for. I tend to shoot really wide shots or really close up. This lens seems to satisfy my affinity for both wide shots and close up shots. Sometimes 28mm is too wide, and 50mm is too tight. It’s going to be really great to have the 35mm focal length covered with a prime. As I stated, it caters to a method of framing an image that I don’t tend to gravitate towards. Having the 35mm in my bag is going to create a little more diversity in the kinds of shots I take.

HOUSE OF FLYNN EVERMORE
New gear means I need more room to store it, and holy pouches, Batman! I’m impressed with all the little nooks and pockets for things. The front has two side zip pockets, two top-access snap pockets, and a larger zip pouch in the middle. Inside, there is a large pocket, and four dividers, creating space for any combination of five pieces of camera gear. The ends feature a large zip pocket and a smaller zip pouch. On the back, there is a pouch where the backpack straps are stored, as well as a medium-sized pouch perfect for odds and ends.

The side-zip pockets will be great for storing smaller personal items in an easily accessible fashion. I’ve never had a great way to store batteries, and the snap pockets will be perfect for that. Not to mention having two may prove to be a good way to separate dead batteries from fresh ones. The larger pouch in the middle has slots for memory cards, which I will probably not use for fresh cards. I will likely keep my other card pouches in that pouch but use the built-in slots for a place to put full cards. This will help keep them separate from fresh cards. All of these pouches are easily accessible which is something I don’t currently have in my setup. Being able to swap memory cards and batteries quickly will make my workflow more efficient and I will spend less time swapping gear and more time shooting.

I’ve used this both as a camera bag and as a work bag, and it’s excellent on both fronts. If I’m working remotely and need to carry a camera with me, this is perfectly functional. There is room for my laptop and a folder. The five compartments provide just enough room for a camera, a lens, a pouch with all of my power cords, and my wallet. I keep my business journal in the back pouch. For the most part, this bag functions really well for work. It does limit what can be carried, and if I need any books or too much more beyond a camera and a computer, it may be more suitable to take a backpack. When it comes to using this bag for work, it is a little bit bulky and cumbersome for how little it hauls. That’s okay with me since it was primarily designed for photographers.

With all these new toys, I’m set for any shoot I would need to do. I have two cameras, lenses for every occasion, and flexible storage that equips me for a short engagement session with one camera and two lenses, or a twelve hour wedding where I might need everything in my collection. Not only that, but I’m prepared to be more efficient, take my work to the next level, and give clients an even better product yet. Gear doesn’t make the photographer, the photographer makes the gear, but the right gear and setup for the work is invaluable.