For those interested, I've put together a short list of the equipment that I use in architectural photography. You’ll notice a micro four thirds ended up in the case, thus making the list, as I use it quite often in portrait photography. I know, I know. Small sensor. Size matters. But... this little camera is a beast, if you play at its strengths!
Anyway, enough defending the Gh4, it's already got its share fair of reviews. This post is geared towards architectural photography.
Check it out and hope it helps!
1. CANON 6D
At 20mp, this camera has a rugged full frame body, and, is not crazy expensive! Not anymore...It's perfect for shooting architecture and pretty much anything else, and I personally have had no issues with it so far. A classic look too. Check!
2. PANASONIC GH4
I don't use this for architectural photography, although it's not the quality that keeps me away from taking it out of the bag. Most of the portraits and headshots I’ve done were on the GH4. However, that is not to say it's an impossible feat using a micro four thirds sensor, but unless you're lucky to be planted in some huge space where you can afford enough room to back up and to properly compose your shot, I'd tread carefully. As such, it's a no-no for me. I do sometimes use it for detail shots.
3. CANON 17MM TILT SHIFT
By far one of the most used and abused lens out there. I was lucky and found it on sale on amazon. The regular price is usually 2K, but I got mine for 1.7K. Not a huge savings but the lens was in almost perfect condition if you take away the fact that it wasn't boxed in its rightful Canon boxing. My only issues with it is the shape of the glass which makes it easy to scratch or damage (if you're not careful). Otherwise, it's an amazing lens with a sharpness that is very hard to beat! Even by its older brother the 24mm TS.
4. CANON 24mm TILT SHIFT
Eureka! He shouted when he found it on sale! Again! I love sales!! This lens is a beauty. It's insanely sharp. It's crazy versatile. And It's just fricking amazing! The shift function allows for super wide and creative compositions that you can easily achieve in post processing through stitching in Photoshop - so long as you're using a tripod there shouldn’t be a problem. It also conserves pixels by enabling you to fix keystoning (converging lines) in camera by making adjusting the shift function of your lens, as well as your tripod head to ensure all vertical lines are at ninety degree angles. Super useful tool to own. It's the magic rat in the hat trick for some. Or something like that.
5. CANON 50mm
This lens also made into my bag because it purposeful in its own right. For the price, one rep at B&H talked me into it, and at the time, right after hanging up the phone, I thought: You fell for it! You stupid fool you. But then, I took it out for a spin, and to my surprise, it turned out to be ridiculously good for the money. So yea, I use it quite often, especially when I want to accentuate something and make it look more majestic. Or, you can use it for details and to capture the most beautiful skies at sundown, sunrise, a beach, whatever.
7. CANON 70-200MM
Thanks to my English professor in college, I'll call this the "Long Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" lens! For all its beauty and glory, this piece of glass is nothing short of spectacular. I got this from a third party seller on amazon. Coolest dude ever! Sold me the lens and expedited shipping so it was in front of my door, like... yesterday. Tried it out. Tested its powers. It's superior in every respect. Now, there's but one thing left to do: take it up high and fly over NYC to photograph the skyscrapers. Acrophobic here...Wish me luck!
8. THE CAMRANGER
Talk about great communication! This device should be award winning for all the things it can do. Will the Camranger please stand up and accept this award? No. Okay then. Maybe next year?
At its core, the Camranger is to photography what teleportation was to the Startrek Enterprise. Although it won’t exactly break down your body into subatomic particles and transport them from A to B in split seconds, it will give similar results by giving you a preview of your shot for up to 100 meters away. What’s so amazing about that you ask? Well, you don’t have to run back and forth to check on your camera for one. So, if you’re light painting, which involves a speedlight, or a continuous light and longer exposures, you can preview and get a very clear image of what you’re doing without running around like a madman. Unless it’s very cold outside, and the reason you’re running is to keep warm – it is therefore an acceptable solution.
The other pros are, client previews, through extra iPad minis or laptops. Changing all camera settings through an easy to use interface which make it an incredibly multifaceted tethering device.
9. THE SIGMA 18-35mm
This lens is great company for my Gh4. I haven’t mentioned this earlier, but I also have a Metabones Speedbooster Ultra .71x crop. This practically focuses more light onto the micro four thirds sensor, which in turn, produces much less noisier images in low light conditions by allowing you to shoot wider than otherwise possible. The lens itself is beautiful and part of Sigmas’ Art series. As I said before, I love this lens for portrait photography – you can see how sharp it is here. I use it for shooting video as well and so far, it has not disappointed me.
10. THE iPAD MINI
This is kind of self explanatory, so I won’t spend too much time dwelling on it. However, the main purpose of this is to have more real estate than the iPhone allows, or, if a client wants to see the work in progress as you’re shooting. Other than that, it’s still great for it carries a library of books that I always find useful because I love to read every spare second I have.
11. THE YONGNUO YN600EX-RT
This is my go to speedlight. Initially I spent some time debating over Canon’s original version of this, but, seeing how Yongnuo is so much cheaper and more powerful, I decided to give it go and I’m not sorry. I have two of these and use them all the time. It comes with a master/slave option, that allows for on camera, off camera flash. Ideally, if you’re photographing real estate, you’re going to be off camera ninety percent of the time. It’s just so much more practical to not be immobilized to one spot.
12. X-RITE COLOR CHECKER
I always use this, especially if a client wants to see the photos during the work process. It doesn’t matter so much for the raw files, but if you don’t calibrate in camera before you start, and hand your client an iPad, it’s going to look darn awful and they might even chuck an iPad mini at your head! Not really, but you get the idea.
13. MANFROTTO TRIPOD, MONOPOD, MINIPOD
These are my main -pods. The Manfrotto monopod I only use for portraits or video when I need to pan. The Manfrotto mini comes in handy in certain situations where there's a lack of space, however, because there is no level, you have to be extra careful when tweaking the ball for proper alignment. And finally, the Manfrotto tripod is my main workhorse, which gets paired with the head below.
13. MANFROTTO 410 JUNIOR HEAD
This is a great tool for getting those vertical lines nice and straight. It has three nobs which you can tweak for extremely fine adjustments. The pairing of this Junior head with the Canon 24mm tilt-shift lens, is a pretty unbeatable combo! And the there's also the Manfrotto micro ball head sibling on the right, which I use mostly to prop an external recorder.
14. FILTERS: POLARIZERS, ND's AND STAR FILTERS
I always carry some filters with me. These are all Tiffen. Sometimes I'll use polarizers for portraits to soften up reflections and super bright lights a bit. Star filters are also great have as part of your toolkit, and I use them quite a bit. I actually have lots of photos which I haven't had a chance to edit yet - and know I should - to update my gallery. But starting 2017, that's gonna change, as I plan to completely revamp my portfolio. Some neat stuff to look forward to!