KIT | Clare Nolan

{let's talk KIT }

My kit is minimal - I'm not really a techie, but it suits me perfectly. For my professional work such as books, magazines and websites I use a Canon DSLR camera, but for most social media content I'll just use my iPhone.

CAMERA

I'm a Canon girl. I use a Canon 5D mark iv (1). I also use an iPhone 14 Pro.

LENSES

My most used lens is a 50mm 1.4 (2) - it's great for most pictures. When I want to get in really close and do macro work or have a very shallow depth of field, I use a macro 100mm 2.8. (3) It's an investment (and the price seems to have gone up even more recently), but it's a beautiful lens. I also use a lens hoods (4) as they help to reduce flare.

TRIPODS

I use a Manfrotto tripod with a 90 degree arm (5) - which is perfect for shooting flat-lays/overhead shots as the arm extends out so that you can position your camera directly above your set up. I found this tripod a complete game-changer. When using my iPhone, I use a Joby Griptight Mount (06) to attach my phone to my tripod. I (very rarely) use a small tabletop tripod (07) for my phone - this one is by Joby.

REFLECTORS

My pop-up 60cm 5-in-1 reflector (8) was bought online for under £15, but it quickly became a favourite part of my kit to help control light. The covers zip on and off so you can use it to bounce warm or cool light and to block or defuse light when needed. The only tricky part if figuring out how it twist it back down to get it back in the bag again.

WORK FLOW ACCESSORIES

I use good quality memory cards like SanDisk Extreme Pro that are fast to download and upload (9). A good quality card reader to match my cards (10). I use a portable hard drive (11) to store all images (I personally like the WD brand) - I use a second one to back everything up and store this in a different place. I use Adobe Lightroom to process the images taken on my camera. When I'm using my phone, I just use the edit function to alter exposure/contrast/definition etc.

Links for kit:

Canon 5D mark iv

Canon 50mm 1.4 lens

Canon macro 100mm 2.8 lens

Canon lens hoods

Manfrotto 90 degree tripod

Joby Grip Mount for iPhone

WD external hard drive

Adobe Lightroom

A word on CAMERA KIT...

Don't get caught up in thinking that you need all the gear...the expensive lenses, the big camera. It's perfectly possible to take beautiful pictures with a smart phone or a cheaper camera. It's your creativity and eye that will make the difference.

It's the cook that creates the magic in the kitchen - it's not the pan or the oven. It's the same with photography.

You create the magic, not your kit.