Would you like to check out my photography equipment, photography lighting kit and video set up? I get a lot of questions about my DSLR camera, how I take pictures of my children and my favorite video camera setup Whether you are a blogger, YouTuber, Mom Photographer or just a parent, you will find photography equipment ideas that are perfect for your lifestyle. In this post, I will show you how to take overhead shots with my overhead tripod and how to get into pictures with your kids by using a camera remote and a small tripod. You will find camera gear that is great for creating YouTube videos, family home videos and general pictures. You will also see examples with all this camera gear in use.
Photograph Equipment
Something important to note before we begin is that the camera gear and photography equipment you see here were purchased over MANY years. Don’t expect to have everything at once. Build up your kit slowly to include items that you currently need and use.
Besides my website, you can also find a lot of my picture examples on my Instagram Page. Video examples can be found on my YouTube page.
Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a purchase I will make a small commission from the sale. I have only recommended and included items that I have actually used and liked. See my disclosure policy for more information.
Camera Gear
Camera for Video/Vlog camera: Canon G7x Mark II . This is the camera you will see in a lot of my YouTube videos and VLOGS. Here are two example videos of the camera in use:
Action camera and water videos: I recently purchased the GoPro Hero 6 and am in LOVE with its capabilities. How did I ever travel without one? The colors are vibrant, the camera is SO incredibly small that you can just slip it into your purse and it can help create great YouTube videos as well as home videos too!
Here is an example of it in use:
DSLR Camera: I have the Canon 5d Mark iii but if I didn’t already have it, I would purchase the Canon 5d Mark IV. I generally use this camera more for pictures rather than videos. I have compared two videos taken at the same time one taken with my Canon G7x and one taken with my Canon 5d Mark III and to me, I don’t see a big enough difference to necessitate the use of the DSLR.
My Favorite Lenses
Favorite All Purpose Lens: Canon 24-70 L II and another good basic one is the Canon 35mm 1.4 L. The 24-70 L II is almost permanently on my camera. I can’t be without it.
This image was taken with my 24-70 lens as are most of the pictures you see on my blog. I do also use my cellphone for pictures too.
The above two lenses are most commonly used in my photography. I rarely use the ones here but have them as a part of my photography equipment and camera gear kit in case I want to use them for a specific purpose like to take portraits or capture sports photography.
Canon 70 – 300 L – This lens is for sports photography and when I am not standing far away. It is heavy and often gives me hand cramps but when my children are playing soccer and scoring a goal the memory that I have captured is well worth the temporary hand cramp.
canon 135L – I love that it isn’t too heavy. I haven’t used it that much but when I have taken pictures with it I have been blown away by how gorgeous the bokeh and blurriness has been. Your subject will pop out so amazingly with this lens.
Favorite Tripod
Manfrotto Tripod – I have the Manfrotto 055XPro tripod used this tripod for the last 9 years and it’s been great for me. I love the clips because it is easy to position. I have it with a ballhead but have recently purchased a tilt-shift head to see if i prefer that for video. I can mount the DSLR camera on this tripod as well as the Canon g7x mark II on it as well.
Carbon fiber tripod for traveling – I recently purchased a Mefoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber tripod that includes a ball head. We do a lot of travel. Some of which you can see on my family vacation ideas page. I plan to take this tripod with me when I travel. It is also good for hiking.
Timers
When you want pictures with you actually in it or just want to naturally capture your subject doing something, an interval timer is perfect for this.
Interval Timer: Satechi Wireless Timer – I got this last month and I REALLY love it. I can go and set everything up on the camera and then have it take pictures every so often without me standing there. You can set it at your own determined amount. I like to use 5 seconds.
The image below is one I captured using the interval timer set to 5 seconds. It was bedtime at home and this was just after my daughter finished brushing her teeth. It is so powerful to capture your natural routines and be able to create a photobook or photo album for your child to see as they grow up. I placed the camera on my Manfrotto Tripod.
I have also used this basic wireless shutter release from Canon too. It is nice and small but sometimes it can get hard to hide the remote from your picture. You could also use it on a timer option if you set your camera to the Self timer: 10/sec remote setting. Then the picture will be taken 10 seconds after you click the button. This gives you time to hide the wireless remote controller from the picture.
Photography Lighting Kit
A lighting kit is often an important part of your photography equipment. You can go for very expensive lighting and budget friendly lighting.
Diva Ring Light – The ring light is the latest addition to my photography lighting kit. I am really loving how flattering this ring light is. It can add gorgeous catch lights to eyes (depending on how close you put it to your subject) and really improves the overall lighting in a room. It also removes harsh shadows from your face to create a softer look.
Overhead Shots
If you plan on adding overhead shots or overhead video to your portfolio then I have included some overhead photography equipment for you below.
Not sure what an overhead shot is? You can look at the videos below to see my overhead photography equipment in use. I tend to use this style a lot on my Facebook page.
This is the photography equipment I used to create the video above:
Having a camera up on top means that if I need to find focus I will have to either stand on a ladder or use a tablet to watch the phootage in real time. I chose the latter. I purchased an arm that I can attach to one of my light stands with a clamp and a tablet mount. You can either use a tablet and the Canon app to see the live view in your tablet. I have this Lenovo tablet which I permanently keep attached to the stand and this usb cable to link the camera to the tablet.
Photography Equipment for Moms
If you don’t have a blog and just want to take better pictures of your children I wanted to recommend the following items that are good for family use. This is what I would purchase even if I was not a blogger.
- Canon DSLR – I would get the Canon 5d Mark IV but if that is out of your budget check out the Canon 5d Mark III.
- Canon 24-70 L II
- GoPro Hero 6 for water sports, fun travel, etc.
- Canon G7x Mark II for general video use including travel and family home videos
- The Satechi Wireless Timer so that I would actually be in pictures with my children.
- A subscription to ClickinMoms
Learn Photography
If you would like to learn more about photography I recommend you take some local photography classes. If you are a mother and want to take better pictures of your kids then you need to check out ClickinMoms. This is my FAVORITE resource for photography. You can try out a membership and see if you like it. The forums there are filled with tutorials. I also purchase 3 workshops a year to help me improve my photography. ClickinMoms has many fairly priced workshops that can really improve your photography. This has made me a much better mom photographer. Even if I wasn’t a blogger, I would still have a ClickinMoms subscription.
I hope you enjoyed this walk through of my photography equipment. If you have anymore questions about my camera gear, photography lighting kit or video lighting please don’t hesitate to ask. You can either e-mail me or add a comment below.
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