Camera Geek

I day dream about cameras and camera equipment. It might be a problem, I'm not really sure. I do have lots of knowledge about camera things, so I will share with you 4 very important items that will make your life easier when photographing. 

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Camera Bag - this one is for ladies! Ok, so dudes can use it too, but that just happens to be the Jo Totes slogan. I just got this because the way I carried cameras around before was too ridiculous - awkwardly wrapped in blankets and t-shirt camera bodies and lenses in a back pack, or a myriad of cameras strung dangerously around my neck. This camera bag is a much safer (not to mention stylish) alternative.

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35mm f/1.8 fixed lens. Why is it awesome? Many Reasons - great for landscape, portraits, bokeh backgrounds, and mostly I want to use it for low lighting situations. It's the kind of lens you can leave on your camera for weeks and never even think of changing. I don't have one, yet, but I'm looking for a manual focus lens so I can use it on my film camera and digital camera.

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White card board? What? Yea, I know. This is the cheapest piece of equipment you could ever have. It's great for reflecting light onto shadows when taking portraits. And, you could glue a grey piece of paper on the back and wha-bam! You have a grey card/light reflector combo. And it will probably cost $2.

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Light Meter - a good one can be expensive, but boy, after learning to use it correctly you will have well lit photos every time! Great for film images because you'll spend less time freaking out about whether or not a picture will be exposed right, and you'll save frames because you won't need to bracket (aka taking multiple pictures but under and over exposing to compensate for difficult lighting situations). 

But, if you're low on the monies, you can always try a light meter app. I've been trying out one called "Light Meter" that was a free app. I can't tell you how well it works just yet - I'm currently using it with one of my film cameras that has a broken light meter. I'll let you know what happens!

Is there anything else you would add to this list that makes your life easier? I would consider also adding a tripod to this list, but I only use mine for night photography. Plus, I am a tripod.