My Top 5 photography equipment for successful shootings

I quite often receive the question which equipment I am using while I’m taking pictures. The answer is – it depends. Depending on the location, the (available) light conditions you would usually use more or less equipment. In order to be not too generic with my statement, I wanted to provide you my Top 5 of equipment which I am using the most.

MY TOP 5 EQUIPMENT

1. Nikon D780

There is always this philosophical question on whether to use Canon or Nikon. Well, I have to admit, that I personally like Nikon more because of the easier handling, but of course Canon knows how to manufacture decent cameras. It took quite a while to decide on the Nikon model which I wanted to have, in the end I have decided for the D780. For me this camera delivers the perfect balance between the price and the technical features that you are receiving in return. For further technical information and more reviews you can check it out on Amazon:

2. Nikkor 24-70 mm 1:2.8 VR

A proper camera is nothing without a proper lens, therefore I was looking for a full frame lens to have the best possible integration. This lens offers a great versatility – I was using it for portraits and for travel photography. Because of the optical stabilization, the optical performance is very satisfying in terms of sharp and contrasty images:

3. Nikon SB-5000 flash

Some of you might know the previous model SB-900 and might wonder what the main differences are. The SB-900 was a great flash, but with the SB-500 it is possible to take more pictures without risking to overheat the device. The overheating always means that you have to give the flash time to cool down in order to continue with its support while you’re shooting. Without getting too technical it is possible to fire up to 120 continuous shots at 5 second intervals, which is quite impressive:

4. Sunbounce Mini Traveller Kit

There are plenty of situations where you have enough available light and you don’t have to necessarily use a flash – the Sunbounce reflector will help you in those cases to perfectly illuminate your model. The Sunbouncer Traveller Kit comes with an extreme stability – even strong wind is manageable. It is quite small once you break it down and it also doesn’t take up much of your valuable travel space:

5. Manfrotto Cold Shoe Tilt Head

Last but not least, the last item of my list is the cold shoe by Manfrotto. It is the perfect combination if you want to use your flash remotely, e.g. mounted on a tripod. It gives you additional flexibility with your light settings without over engineering it with too much of technical equipment. I often use it on location, If the light is still fine but to add additional highlights to the picture.

Please note that the links marked with ‘*’ are affiliate links – there are no additional costs for you in case you make a purchase. The provision helps me to cover the costs of running this page.

Tutorial Tuesday

My colleague Ben Bernschneider created an awesome workshop about photography which I wanted to share with you. It covers all the relevant areas about taking pictures as:

  • Basics – how to set exposure, aperture, ISO etc.
  • Composition – Rule of Thirds, how to set balance etc.
  • Light – hard light, soft light, studio light etc.
  • Style – Fashion, Beauty, Portrait, Landscape etc
  • Bens Approach – Self-made Flares, Ying & Yang etc

Please note that the links marked with ‘*’ are affiliate links – there are no additional costs for you in case you make a purchase. The provision helps me to cover the costs of running this page.