One question that isn’t asked enough when hiring a wedding photographer is: “What camera/gear do you use and what do you bring to a wedding?”

When I first graduated from photography school I worked for a very successful Boston based wedding photographer that only brought 1 camera, 3 lenses and 1 flash to every wedding. I asked him why he would risk not having backups, and he said “it’s too expensive” and ” I have never had a camera break, I’m careful with my gear”. Like all electronics, cameras can stop working without any warning – and when that dreadful moment occurs you might not have time to troubleshoot and fix a camera. This is something that this veteran photographer learned only a few days after I had asked him that question. I learned a lot in my days as a second shooter and assistant and this is something that I will never let happen to me or my clients.

Between Emily and I we have 5 cameras, 22 lenses, 5 flashes and many other gadgets and gizmos that we bring to weddings. Our main cameras are a Canon 1D X and a Canon 5D Mark III. I also use a Fuji X-Pro 1 for moments that need extreme discretion. Below are images of what can be found in just one of our bags.

The bag Kiboko 30L is made by Gura Gear. It’s by far the best camera bag I have ever owned and I can’t imagine a better bag. It fits everything I would need to shoot a wedding and then some. I’ve had this bag for 6 years – it’s been to South America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean a number of times and it still works and feels like it did on day one. The lightweight, compact design allows it to fit in almost any overhead bin when flying. Even when flying on a small puddle jumper you won’t get too much grief from the crew. I’m not sure what Gura Gear suggests as max capacity weight, but I can say that I’ve had all of the gear pictured below in the bag for the past 6 years and have shot 300+ weddings in that time and the bag is still holding strong.