Gresham Photography 101: Our Gear

Stacey and I have worked hard over the past few years to slowly and surely build up our gear to where we want it. A few months ago we made our biggest step yet when we purchased Nikon's top camera, the D3 Digital SLR. In addition to the D3, we also purchased its little brother, the D300.

This tandem of cameras has notably taken our images to the next level, and we're excited that with every new shoot we do, we learn more and more about using both of them effectively.

OK, as far as total gear goes, Stacey and I are polar opposites. While I enjoy having a variety of lenses, wireless flash and a couple of camera bodies, Stacey is much more simplistic in her equipment. We both have very different approaches to our pictures, which call for a variety of equipment. We've found that we really compliment each other with our choices in cameras, lenses and flash units.

So let's start with my (Brandon's) gear:



-Nikon D3 Digital Camera Body - My main tool for photography, the D3 is the most versatile camera on the market right now. Picture this: remember when you used to shoot with 400 speed film in the camera to capture high speed shots? The D3 has the equivalent film speed of 25,600. I haven't encountered a bride who walks down the aisle too fast for the D3, I can promise you that.

-Nikon D80 Digital Camera Body - We utilize the D80 as both a backup body in case one of our other cameras fails during a shoot, and also as a wireless camera during ceremonies. Stacey and I have always made a point of not getting to close to the bride and groom during the ceremony. While we do this to not disrupt the intimacy of the wedding, it does keep us from getting and really close up shots of the bride and groom during the vows, first kiss, ect. We combat this by using the D80 remote camera, which I can trigger from the back of the sanctuary (or even from outside if need be).

-Nikon 17-35mm Wide Angle Zoom Lens
-Nikon 80-200mm Telephoto Zoom Lens
-Nikon 20mm Wide Angle Lens
-20 gigabytes of professional grade memory cards (enough memory for 2000 images)
-Nikon SB-800 Flash Unit and diffuser dome
-Pocket Wizard Remote Triggers for Cameras and Strobes (See Below)
-Bogen Monopod
-Bogen Tripod

Like we talked about early, Stacey's gear is alot different from my own. She likes to pack light but is just as, and oftentimes more, effective than I am with her shots.

Stacey's gear includes:



-Nikon D300 Digital Camera Body
-Nikon 28-70mm Wide Angle Zoom Lens
-Nikon 50mm Wide Angle Lens
-16 gigabytes of professional grade memory cards (enough memory for 1600 images)
-Nikon SB-800 Flash Unit and diffuser dome

In addition to the gear that we carry throughout the day, we also utilize a pair of Alien Bee strobe lights with stands and umbrellas for all our formal shots and during the reception. We don't just throw these babies up at the reception and start blinding all of your guests, of course. I spend a good bit of time before the reception picking corners or side walls to place the lights, which are then fired into the ceiling of the venue. This "bounce flash" give us great light throughout the room without shooting flash straight into people's eyes. I can trigger the flashes from as far as 1600 feet away with our wireless radio transmitters.



We've selected our camera equipment very carefully to fit both our needs and those of our clients. With the best camera technology we're constantly able to try new things each and every time we look through the viewfinder.

Check back tomorrow when we'll talk a little bit about the Gresham Photography style.

Goodnight!