Recommended gear guide for creative photographers

Creative photographers are the rule breakers of the photography world. We thrive on experimentation and use our gear's limitations to our advantage. But even us rule breakers benefit from some essential pieces of kit.  


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Prices are in USD.

These recommendations are based on the gear I personally use as a Canon shooter. When purchasing gear, use these suggestions as a guide only to help you find similar products specifically for your own camera brand, lenses and needs. Items with an asterisk * are not ones I have personally used.

Cameras

The Canon cameras I use (note, you do not need expensive cameras for creative photography):

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera

Canon EOS R6 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera

Lenses

(These are specifically Canon lenses)

Wide angle lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

Zoom lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

Telephoto lenses:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

(These are specifically Canon lenses)

Nifty Fifty: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

Macro: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro

Fisheye: Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM Ultra-Wide *

Tilt shift: Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Ultra Wide Tilt-Shift *

Lensbaby: Lensbaby Composer Pro II with Sweet 50 Optic for Canon EF *

Tripods

Remotes

Filters

Make sure to get the correct size for your most suitable lens!

Filter starter kit (UV, ND8, CPL): Hoya 77 mm Filter Kit II - ND8 blocks 3 stops of light, I prefer ND64 which is 6 stops

ND64: B+W 77mm 1.8-64x Multi-Resistant Coating Nano Camera Lens Filter

Variable ND: Hoya 77mm Variable Density Screw-in Filter

Rectangular graduated ND set: LEE Filters 100mm Graduated Neutral Density Soft Edge Filter Set (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9) *

Filter holder for the above set: LEE Filters LEE100 Filter Holder 100mm *

Infrared Filter: Hoya 77mm R-72 Infrared Filter *

Macro accessories

Make sure to get the correct size for your most suitable lens and brand

Extension tubes: Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set DG 12mm, 20mm, and 36mm Tubes *

Reverse mount adapter: 49mm Filter Thread Macro Reverse Mount Adapter Ring for Canon *

Close up filters: Hoya 1286 49 mm HMC Close-Up Filter Set

Focusing rail: Neewer Pro 4-Way Macro Focusing Rail Slider *

Accessories

Tether cable: Tether Tools TetherPro USB 2.0 to Mini-B 5-Pin Cable, 15' (4.6m) *

Prism: Amlong Crystal 6 inch Optical Glass Triangular Prism

Lensball: Original Lensball Pro 80mm

Lensball stand: Original Lensball Stand *

Water drop kit: MIOPS Splash

Lightning (and other) trigger: Pluto Trigger

Fog/smoke machine: AGPTEK Fog Machine *

Cards & Storage

Lighting

Lighting modifiers

Lighting accessories

Backdrop accessories

Editing

Monitor colour calibrator: Datacolor Spyder X Pro

Adobe products: