The holiday season is here and, just like every year, we find ourselves saying “wow that year flew by faster than I could have imagined.” If you’re looking for a gift for your loved one, a family member, or even yourself, and you’re considering getting them something you’ve seen me use, I hope you find this useful!
Before getting all the way into it, I feel the need to point out the fact that none of this is sponsored. Everything I list here is something I use on a regular basis and bought with my own money. I’ve used quite a few bad products and, whenever that happens, I find an alternative. If I’m endorsing them here it’s because I truly enjoy using them!
Nikon D5600
I got my first DSLR in December 2018, just before my first big trip to South America. Photography is something I’ve always claimed to be interested in but I never really took the time to learn about it. I heard through multiple sources the best starting DSLR was the Nikon D3500 because it’s inexpensive, easy to use, and relatively compact. It was a great way to test the waters to see if it’s something I’d want to continue to work at.
The first few months with the D3500 I was consistently questioning why I bought it and, more so, why I continued to lug it around with me on my trips. I genuinely felt like I could get better pictures on my iPhone than I was getting with my new $500 camera. The package I got with my Nikon came with two kit lenses; a 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 and a 100-300mm f4.5-6.3 - giving you the ability to shoot things from a distance and up close. It took me a couple months, and a few conversations with my photographer friends, to understand why I wasn’t getting the quality of photographs I was hoping for. The first, and obvious, reason is that it simply takes time to learn about the camera, framing your shot, and camera settings for your intended purpose. Beyond that, it took me some time to realize that not every lens is created equally. The kit lens for my D3500 didn’t allow for much creativity, especially for a beginner. It was simply point and shoot.
In February of 2019 I bought my first prime lens, a 50mm f1.8 and started getting a little more creative with my shots. I was recommended this lens by a friend and, as it turns out, almost everywhere you’ll see experts encouraging beginners to give the ‘nifty fifty’ a try to get a better understanding of your camera, lighting, shutter speed, ISO, etc. I was told that one of the best things about learning on a lens like this is that it forces you to frame shots with your feet rather than the zoom ring. Because of this you get more creative on how you want to fit everything in frame and it turns out being a lot of fun. Non-zoom lenses are also much better in low light so there’s a noticeable difference in quality while shooting at twilight or night time.
Over the rest of 2019 I’ve accumulated a few more lenses with different capabilities. I still have SO much to learn when it comes to photography but looking back at the photos I was taking in South America in December 2018 and comparing them to the photos I’m taking now, just one year later, it’s exciting and motivating to continue to learn and better understand what makes a good picture.
In my bag I have four lenses on me almost at all times. I’ve included a pie chart below (can you tell I like pie charts?) just so you can get an idea of how much I use each lens, because it’s far from equal.
35mm f/1.8 ($167)
On any given day this is the lens I’ll have on my camera. It seems to work for just about every scenario and it’s so affordable it’s hard to justify not having it in your pack.
10-20mm f/3.5 Super Wide Angle ($329)
I first got this lens in July 2019 and almost shot exclusively with it for a few months. It’s great for its price and it opens a lot of doors for fitting more into the frame. It’s also really great for landscape photography because it’s so wide. The quality can suffer in low light and when the subject is far away but overall I’ve really enjoyed playing with it.
70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ($297)
This is one of the two lenses that came with my D3500 kit and I almost discounted it entirely after hearing about how the kit lenses are usually not so good. But, it turns out, this one is actually pretty solid for a zoom lens. It’s great for getting shots of wildlife while you’re out hiking, objects off in the distance, or getting up close and personal with plants or bugs or crabs or whatever. I don’t know. I’m not here to judge what you want to get up close and personal with!
105mm f/2.8 ($469)
This lens was an impulse purchase. I saw one of my favorite photographers posting a bunch of macro shots and so I went out and bought this macro lens to try to replicate some of his photographs. By far the most expensive lens in my bag and I’m not really getting my return on investment with it. It’s especially hard to travel with because it’s so large and extremely heavy. That said, I haven’t shot as much with it as I have my other lenses so maybe I just need to give it more time.
Nikon D5600 ($453)
After about 9 months with my D3500 I figured it was time to upgrade my camera body. The D5600 isn’t that much of a step up from the D3500. In fact, I was advised not to buy this one because it’s so closely similar to my first camera but there were a few functions I could get out of this new one that my first one wouldn’t allow me. The flip out screen, wifi capability, more precise ISO settings, and overall better quality were enough for me to pull the trigger.
I also just recently purchased this vertical battery grip ($28) which makes it easier to shoot vertical photos (for the gram) AND provides space for a second battery for your camera, meaning twice as long battery life!
I often wonder if I would do things differently if I could go back to the beginning and do things differently now that I know more about the space. I love my Nikon but I continue to see friends shoot with mirrorless camera that yield just as good, if not better, quality phots (and videos). The great thing about mirrorless too is that they are much smaller than my Nikon which means they’re lighter and easier to travel with. I do think that eventually I’ll make the switch but, for now, I have money invested in my Nikon and its lenses and therefore I’m going to stick with it until I feel the need beyond
DJI Mavic Pro ($889)
I bought my first drone on December 22nd 2017. And crashed it on December 26th 2017. Thank goodness for insurance!
Before owning a drone I always kind of silently ridiculed others who flew them, thinking they weren’t very cool and didn’t provide much value. Once I finally got my own and started flying it around I quickly realized how awesome and just how much fun they really are. Drones give us the opportunity to see the world from a new perspective, from thousands of feet overhead and several miles off into the distance.
When it comes to drones, there’s one company that reigns supreme and that’s DJi. They sell drones of all sizes, speeds, and weights. The perfect starter drone would probably be the Spark ($399) or the Mavic Air ($764) but I went straight for the Pro because I figured I’d pick it up quickly and would tire of the smaller models.
The DJI Mavic Pro does everything you would need a drone to do for you. It’ll elevate your ability to see the world and show you the things you never even knew you wanted to see.
After I crashed my third Mavic Pro, I decided to upgrade to the Mavic Pro 2 ($1,295) and, after about a month of flying, I decided to trade back. It was a difficult decision to make but, at the end of the day, I value vertical shots too much and the Mavic Pro 2 only has the ability to shoot in landscape. It’s clearly a superior piece of machinery, flies much smoother, shoots crisper, but it can’t turn its camera 90 degrees and that was a deal breaker for me.
I’m about two years into being a drone owner and, while I’ve gotten much more comfortable flying them, I still have a long long way to go to master them. In my opinion, it’s an essential piece of any photo/videographer travel bag.
In addition to buying the drone, I recommend you to have spare batteries ($59) for it on you at all times. The Mavic Pro has about 20 minutes of flying time per battery. I personally have 4 batteries for mine that I’ve slowly accumulated throughout the years.
You’ll also definitely want insurance. Insurance covers any damage taken by the drone, as long as you’re able to recover it. Insurance costs ~$300 for 24 months of coverage.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a drone, be mindful of where you choose to fly it! I’ve made the mistake of flying my drone in areas that aren’t allowed or restricted and, even though I haven’t been fined or ticketed, I regret having done it. Be sure to do your research before you go out and fly.
GoPro Hero7 Black ($299)
Go Pro has owned the action camera market for as long as any of us can remember. Personally, I think their products could use a lot of improvements but for the size, price, and ability, it’s hard to find anything better. Thanks to the introduction of the ‘hyper smooth’ feature has made so many shots that used to be off limits seem like a walk in the park.
People often ask me when I use when shooting under water, while skiing, or skydiving and the answer is always a GoPro. They simply can’t be beat when it comes to capturing action sports or maintaining durability.
They recently released the GoPro Hero8 ($400) and GoPro Max ($499) which means the Hero7 Black can be bought at a discount. Though I’ve heard the new iterations are pretty incredible!
Software
I’ve been told a few times that half of what makes a good picture is how you’re able to edit it. I think this has been that most challenging part about learning and playing with all this camera equipment - the editing process.
For editing photos there seems to be one clear cut leader in the industry - Lightroom. Personally, I use Lightroom almost exclusively on my cell phone and have simply grown accustomed to the buttons, hot keys, interface, etc. The software costs $10/month which is kind of on the higher side but, in my opinion, it’s definitely worth it!
Editing videos, to me, comes in two different forms. There are quick, 15 second videos, that you just want to throw some music over and post on your instagram story- and there’s :60 second+ long videos that require a bit more thinking and organization.
For the quick videos, I use Videoleap on my phone. It cost me a one-time payment of $36 and allows me to quickly edit a video, add some music to it, and put it on my Instagram story within minutes. It’s the simple software I swear by, probably just because it’s the one I’ve grown accustomed to using more than any other. I’m sure there are other options out there but this one is by far my personal favorite.
Longer videos require more planning and organization. For a long time I used Adobe Premiere but, after enough use of it, I didn’t like how it wasn’t able to render quickly enough. Within the first six months, I switched over to Final Cut Pro for Mac. The program itself isn’t quite as intuitive and doesn’t allow for as much creativity but it is better suited for Apple products and, because of that, I was happy to make the switch.
MacBook Pro ($1,099)
I’ve never owned a new laptop in my life before purchasing this one. In December of 2018 I finally decided to go to an Apple store and buy a new one for myself. I went with the most simple, basic model of a MacBook Pro and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. I don’t need much and the base model gave me exactly what I needed - and more! I couldn’t edit the long form videos or write about my experiences without it!
FINAL THOUGHTS
So there you have it; that’s what I take with me everywhere I go! I hope this helped you make an informed decision on what you might be thinking of getting for yourself or someone special in your life.
What do you think of all the things I use? Is there a product I don’t have that you’d recommend? My favorite thing about all of this is that you can never stop growing and learning so I’m all ears!