- (609) 203-1587
- Jaredwoodphotos@gmail.com
- Mon - Fri: 7:00am - 3:00pm
Menu
My gear bag
Take a detailed look at everything I use to create my images.
Cameras
I use two of these as my primary workhorses for all of my photography work including weddings, commercial, and really all paid work.
The X100 series is one of my favorite cameras of all time. Not only does it take amazing images and look incredible but most importantly this camera forces the users to slow down and really be intentional with what they’re photographing.
Lenses
This lens is widely beloved by so many Fuji shooters including myself. This is one of Fuji’s only pro style lenses that’s completely weather sealed as well. The ability to jump right into manual focus on the lens is another massive benefit.
The 35mm equivalent is a go to for most wedding photographers. This lens lives on one of my cameras during the getting ready part of the wedding day. It’s an awesome documentary style lens since they say that it’s very close to the focal length our eyes perceive.
I have a love hate relationship with this lens. I love the 50mm equivalent focal length and the 1.4 aperture is excellent. On top of all that it’s very small and light making it an amazing every day lens. My only beef with this lens is it’s lack of weather sealing and the AF could really use an update as it’s not Fuji’s quietest of speedy AF lenses.
This lens gives crazy beautiful bokeh. If you’re looking for a go to portrait lens. THIS IS IT. I don’t use this a ton but when I do it’s the perfect lens. Coming from Canon it’s SO much faster with their AF than the Canon 85 1.2 II but like most portrait lenses it’s not super speedy in the AF world.
I’m such a sucker for Ultra Wide Angle lenses. They’re for such rare instances at weddings buts sometimes they can make for awesome reception images. Also a must have if you do any type of real estate photography.
This came as a part of a kit lens. I use it from time to time for walking around but I never use this for professional work. Outside of my telephoto lens I really prefer prime lenses but this is a fine everyday walk around lens. Not sure it’s worth the new price but they’re super affordable on the 2nd hand market.
Fantastic 70-200 equivalent lens. I only really use this during wedding receptions when I’m trying to stay out of the way. You can hear the IOS inside the lens when you’re not using it so don’t get alarmed if you hear it shaking around inside.
Flashes, Strobes, and Light Modifiers
Godox/Flashpoint is one of the best things to come to my photography in the past decade. This on camera light is no different. I use ti all the time on and off a camera even as a master for my eVOLV 200s.
Godox AD200 or Flashpoint eVOLV200 are easily the most versatile lights on the market (within their price range). I use these lights for just about everything. They’re just that good. The fact it comes with a regular flash head AND a barebulb head makes it the first off camera light every photographer should own. Plus it feels like the batteries last forever. I easily can shoot 2-3 weddings before i need to charge them again.
When you need that crazy amount of juice to overpower things like the sun… That’s where these come in handy. I really only use these in the studio but every once in a while they’ll come on the road with me.
I spent years using cheap light stands from Amazon, Adorama, BH, you name it and they all sucked. The idea of spending $400 on 3 light stands seemed silly for years but once I used them just once I was hooked and they are FAR worth the investment plus they have a 5 year warranty.
I’m a huge fan of GLOW (Adorama Brand) softboxes. They’re super easy and quick to assemble, affordable, and produce great diffusion. This one is my go to soft box as my key light for single subjects or a couple. Anything more and I want to go a bit bigger.
For groups this is my go to soft box. I’ll commonly throw a pair of my eVOLV200’s in this soft box.
For product photography or really unique portraits these things are amazing. The included grids allow you to keep the light only where you want it. I’ve got a dozen of these in all different shapes and sizes. These never leave the studio.
Computers and Storage
At the time a fully loaded 15” MacBook Pro is my primary work station. It’s great for a lot of things but I see myself in the future picking up a fully loaded iMac. The only way I make this work at the moment is by using a 4K display with this.
This is a funny one… I’ve been an iPad user since day one and I hated them. I’ve never used them for anything productive. Then came along the 12.9” model with USB-C. Absolute game changer. When I’m not working directly with audio/video/stills I’m using this iPad Pro primarily.
With my workload there is no way I could get all of that done on a 15” display. With built in IPS this display gives my photos the most accurate colors I can find.
Early on in my search for a multi bay drive, speed was something I was pretty concerned about. Most of the multi-bay units on the market are NAS drives which really only are great for backup and remote usage. I wanted something I could easily work off of and even though this isn’t perfect, it’s the closest thing to perfect I’ve found so far.
As I mentioned above backup is always important so the EX2 allows me to have duplicated backups accessible anywhere on the web. These pair great with online backup (cloud) solutions too.
Everyone needs a local Time Machine backup so this is what I use for mine. Simple 12TB model does the trick just fine.
For those days where I need a storage devices that’s not only small but lightning fast, there is the Sandisk Portable SSD. With up to 550mbps read/write speeds this is VERY easy to work off of.
Bags and Cases
I have an embarassing amount of camera bags. You’ll find that a ton of photographers do. None is more important than this bag. It accompanies me on every wedding and almost every commercial job that I work on. Locking zippers are great, it’s even got a cable that extends out and allows you to lock it to something. On top of endless storage.
Overnight trips to other cities or just backpacking around this bag is damn near perfect. Tons of storage for all the camera gear I need for short and low maintenance jobs plus enough room for a day or two of clothes.
This to me was a very undervalued messenger. It was the only I can find that had ample camera storage, tripod storage, as well as a 15″ laptop sleeve and room still for a full 12.9″ iPad Pro. I bought a 2nd one of these as a backup since it seemed they were getting discontinued but Adorama still has them available.
I am a SUCKER for Crumpler bags. The million dollar home series to me are the best made, looking, and constructed messenger bags in the industry. I was so disappointed when they stopped making them so I stocked up on them and keep them around. They have the best shoulder pads of any bags ever made…. ever.
This is my go to messenger for everyday use. Perfect size for two camera setups, a flash or two and a couple of extra lenses. I beat the hell out of this bag and it continues to stay strong for me.
Perfect single camera messenger. I’ll take this for strolls around the city or for small trips. This bag doesn’t come with Crumplers amazing shoulder pad since it’s so small but you can take one off your other bags and loop it on there.
Misc
I use this mic because it sounds great and it’s simple to use with my XT3. I don’t do much video content so honestly it doesn’t’ get used much.
This mic is super affordable and I think it sounds great for the value. Most importantly it works great with the iPad Pro and doesn’t require any additional power to make it work. This is great since I love to do my podcasts on iPad Pro.
First things first… never pay full price for this thing. Canon has a ton of rebates on this printer all the time. I think I paid less than $200 for mine after rebates. The Pixma Pro 100 delivers amazing proof prints and incredible work to show off at home or small galleries. I would leave larger scale prints or prints for sale up to the Pixma Pro 1000 but this is still something that EVERY photographer should have in their home.
Oh the Selphie Printer. If you made it this far down the list you’ll get let in on one of my best kept secrets of how I get prints to my couples the day of their wedding. I bring this baby along to be able to leave a few 4×6 prints on the head table of my wedding couples before I leave for the day. It’s an incredible way to share with them a few images long before their gallery is ready.
I honestly hate tripods…I use this one because there are just times that I need one. Don’t love it, don’t hate it. If someone wants to turn me on to a tripod they love I’m all ears.
