What's in my camera bag 2023

Cameras + Lenses

2 x Sony a7iv camera bodies, one with the 50mm f/1.2 GM lens and the other with the 24mm f/1.4 GM lens.

1 x Fujifilm XT5 camera with the 90mm f2 lens. (This will stay in my shoulder bag and only come out when I really need it).

Also pictured - 35mm f/1.4 GM lens.

(I go into more detail about the cameras and lenses further down this page).

Holdfast Skinny Moneymaker harness. I’ve had this for something like 7 years / 7 wedding seasons and it still looks brand new. I find this harness the most comfortable way of shooting a wedding day with two cameras hanging off me!

2 x Peli SD case (one to hold my empty formatted cards, and one to hold my used (shot on!) memory cards.

Tiny USB dual camera battery charger (this is my emergency charger, not my main one). I have 6 camera batteries on me at a wedding and this is always enough to see me through even the longest of wedding days… but its good to have a backup plan.

Vanguard battery holder/pouch. This holds 4 Sony batteries inside the pouch, as well as a zipped compartment that holds 4 more SD cards (in case I use all the ones in the Peli case). It also has two compartments on the outside that hold 8 AA batteries (spares for my flashgun).

Giottos Medium Rocket Air Blaster. A must for removing dust from the camera sensor.

Godox TT350s Flashgun. This tiny (and VERY cheap) flashgun is probably my favourite flash I’ve ever owned. So small and light. Only needs 2 x AA batteries, and recharges really fast (fast enough for me anyway!). I also love its discreet size because it makes it less-intimidating when photographing people up-close on the dancefloor.

And finally… my iPhone and 13” M1 Apple MacBook Pro laptop. (Please n.b. the laptop isn’t on me all day… I’m not that strong! Its just there to show what I generally take to every wedding. I do tend to back up all my images/SD cards onto an external hard drive when I get back to my hotel room/home).

(Not pictured - the camera bag I use all day on a wedding day is the Lowepro Passport Sling III Bag / LP36657-0WW.)

I also have a Lowepro roller case I use for destination weddings. And when I need to take my laptop to a wedding I swap out the Passport Sling III bag and use my Lowepro CompuDay Photo 150 Shoulder Bag which comfortably holds all the cameras along with my laptop.)

The nitty gritty! (prepared to be bored to tears… or interested… there’s no inbetween here!)

I consider myself to be a documentary wedding photography with the added bonus that I love taking editorial/stylish portraits in a fun and fast manner! So for me the 24mm focal length covers my documentary needs, and the 50mm provides the beautiful bokeh and character for when it comes to portraits and detail shots. As for the 35mm GM, well this has been my favourite focal length for almost 10 years now and I know I could easily shoot a whole wedding on this lens alone… because I have done!

For many years I’ve shot with 35mm lenses along with my 85mm f/1.8 lens and have loved that setup, but last year I bought the 50mm f/1.2 lens and have been blown away with its performance and the amazing quality of the images i’ve got from it… despite it weighing nearly as much as my 3 year-old son!

The 35mm GM lens is also an absolutely stunning lens, which is why I have to have it in my camera bag even with the 24mm and 50mm focal lengths covered. I just find the 24mm and 50mm lenses to be a better combo for me RIGHT NOW… check back in with me at the end of 2023 and who knows. If Sony ever get round to releasing a better 28mm lens option then my preferred pairing could change again!

I bought the Sony a7iv camera body last summer and have shot 30+ weddings with it and I honestly cannot fault it in any way! I loved it so much after my first wedding shot with it that I immediately bought a 2nd one.

The improvements they made on the a7iii body weren’t enough to please a lot of people, but for me I thought they did a brilliant job upgrading an already amazing camera into an even better one. Both from a performance perspective AND an ergonomics point of view. The deeper grip on the a7iv makes it a much nicer camera to hold, especially as weddings can be very long days of holding our kit. The larger AF-ON button is fantastic as I use this to select eye AF. The previous model had the tiniest AF-ON button and I was forever struggling to press it. The a7iv also has a larger joystick on the back… thank you SONY! My thumb never ever slips off this joystick, and its very responsive.

As far as improvements in performance go, the quieter shutter is a great addition… the better/faster autofocus is noticeable compared to the a7iii… and the extra megapixels on this new model mean I never worry about quality if I have to crop into an image.

So, the Fujifilm… whats going on there then? Why am I mixing brands? Its not the first time I’ve shot with two different camera brands. Back when I was a Nikon user I was shooting with a D850 and a Fujifilm XPro2 and had no problems at all. That was a good 5 years ago though, and Fujifilm cameras have come on so much since then, or I should say their autofocus system has come on a long way since then! I’m really excited about using the the megapixel beast that is the Fuji XT5 alongside the absolutely stunning 90mm f2 lens at my weddings this year. In full-frame terms this lens is close to a 135mm which means it will be ideal for when I need that extra bit of focal reach. Mainly speeches, and when a grumpy vicar forces me to shoot a wedding from the back of a church.

Yes, I could’ve got the 135 GM lens from Sony, but after testing it I just found it was way too big and heavy for me. Even more so as I already have a bulky heavy lens on me in the form of the 50mm GM.

So thats it! On top of the kit mentioned here, I also have a few spare lenses knocking around at home in case anything ever breaks… (and because I’m a complete camera geek that loves kit!). I also have other Fujifilm cameras (XT4 and XPro3) that I use for my personal photography as I just find them such a joy to shoot with.

Thanks for taking a look at my work, and I really hope you’ve found this info on the kit I use to shoot weddings helpful in some way!

The Slaughters Manor House, Cotswolds wedding

 

“Ed, I have just looked at the photos and they are simply wonderful.

Thank you- we couldn't have asked for a better wedding photographer.

It was a pleasure to have you with us on the day, and I cannot quite believe how many pictures you managed to capture and edit!

Thank you again for everything.” 

Ellie & Nick 

100 Barrington, London wedding

 

“Hi Ed!

Wow! We are blown away by how many amazing photos there are in here. They are everything we wanted them to be and more. THANK YOU! 

We have finally had time to go through all of the photos and can’t wait to start sharing with friends and family. 

You have told the story of the day so brilliantly, adding in all the little details around the event and so brilliantly capturing the looks of love, big smiles, silly faces and quirky moments. All the fun of the day is there to see in colourful sharp focus. It’s exactly how we remember it. 

Thank you also for being so wonderful and easy to work with and for fitting in on the day just like one of the gang. Our friends and family really enjoyed meeting you.” - Jess & Tom 

The Tournerbury Wood Estate wedding

 

“Oh Ed where do we even begin. You surpassed everything we could ever have imagined for our wedding day. The images are crazy beautiful, we are in constant debate on how we are ever going to choose which ones to print, there are SO many!


Not only are you insanely talented, but you are also a joy to be around and slotted in to our crazy, huge, family wedding so easily. We have had endless compliments on the images and how lovely you were.


I could go on forever but the quality of your work speaks for itself. The best decision we made for our big day.”

Katie and Ryan

West Mill Venue wedding

 

“Just Hire Him!


So we ended up having almost a four year relationship with Ed, after initially booking him, then being delayed due to Covid, and then finally getting to the big day! All the way through, Ed was fantastic.


We utilised Ed for a pre-wedding shoot, so we’d already seen the quality of his work come the wedding, but then the photos we did get from the wedding went to another level!


Ed really managed to capture the “vibe” of the day, and there were too many amazing photos to choose from. We actually received our photos whilst away on Honeymoon, which worked out really nicely!


We had a family bereavement between the wedding day and the photos coming back, and Ed went above and beyond, to go out of his way to make sure we got all the pictures he had of our family member back to us. It really meant a lot, and will be forever great full of those pictures.
An incredibly nice guy, but an amazing photographer, that you 100% should have capturing your wedding day. Thanks Ed.” - Matt

“My husband has already posted a 5* review for Ed but I had to get involved because he deserves more every review he can get!

Of everything we booked and organised for our wedding, we had the most confidence in our choice in Ed and he certainly did not disappoint! Aside from just being the loveliest guy who felt like a valued guest as well as our photographer, the photos from the day are incredible and we love them so so much.


The amount of compliments we have had on them has been unreal, and everyone who met Ed at the wedding has commented on how lovely he was and how at ease he made everyone feel. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him photographing a friend or family member's wedding in the future as I think a few people have now got their sights set on him for their special days!


Fingers crossed we do see him again because he is fabulous and the BEST around.” - Sofie

Dewsall Court wedding

 
Dewsall Court wedding venue

“Oh Ed! We’re only halfway through them as we’re away but my goodness!

How you’ve managed to capture these moments, and from every angle, is incredible! Thank you so much!”

Jenny and Paul 

The Depot, London wedding

 

“Ed!! I’ve started to have a look through and they are INCREDIBLE!!!

Just gorgeous… so many too, so we’re going to look properly tomorrow xx

You were there for so many moments I didn’t even realise… you’re a magician!

THANK YOU.” - Pippa & Toby

Holmes Mill, Lancashire wedding

 

“My wedding was literally yesterday but here I am writing my review because it’s SO important for me to express just how thankful we are and just how much Ed made the whole day so much easier.

He captured all the Candid moments we wanted and we can’t wait to see, he made jokes and had the biggest smile which made us feel comfortable and took out any sort of ‘forced’ feeling to the day.

Ed didn’t even mind when mid make-up I had to stop to have a 30 second dance party to calm my nerves…which ended with some beautiful photos of me and my best friend.

I will be recommending him to every couple I can as without Ed taking the photos the experience would not have been the same!”

Jo + Henry

Hazel Gap Barn wedding

 

“From the moment we came across Ed and his online portfolio, we knew he was the right person to capture the memories on our big!

Ed was such a pleasure to have, we're so happy with our wedding photos, the investment was money well spent.

I don't know how and when you catch those 'moments' but your work and photography style is quality - the photos truly tell a story!

Not to mention your personable personality, very professional, we didn't even notice you were there in the moment at times. You've captured some epic shots!

THANK YOU” - Jhenelle & Nick

Soho London wedding

 

“Huge thank you to Ed who captured the most beautiful photos of our wedding day!

His vibrant, candid style was exactly what we wanted to remember all the fun moments. I loved them so much I sent out prints of our guests in their thank-you cards which made everyone’s day.

He perfectly captured the emotion of being reunited with family & friends after a long time, as well as some cool, gritty shots in the streets of Soho that I’m obsessed with.

He took on the job with very little notice during a very busy season and was professional, friendly and relaxed which put everyone at ease. 1500+ photos delivered relatively quickly given the crazy wedding season of 2021. Couldn’t be happier!” - Emma & Callum

Cripps Barn wedding

“Our overall experience with Ed from start to finish was nothing short of fantastic!

His approach and demeanor was exactly what we wanted from our wedding photographer, he really listened to what we wanted and he delivered above and beyond.

His work certainly speaks for itself and we were simply blown away by the quality of the images that we had received following our wedding; It's so hard to pick just one image that we love the most as they're all amazing!

Nothing was too much trouble for Ed and he would definitely be a top recommendation for others Engagement or Wedding Photographer needs. Maybe we should just get married again for more?

Thanks Ed!” - Rhiannon & Chris

Elmore Court wedding

“Ed was everything and more that we could have hoped for in a wedding photographer. Ed had photographed our friends wedding a few years back and as soon as we saw his work we knew we have to book him... and it was one of the best decisions we made!

From the first call Ed made us feel so relaxed. On the day he managed a perfect balancing act of blending in but also capturing all the big and little moments so perfectly. The final gallery has blown us away!

We can not recommend him enough! Thank you Ed for capturing these beautiful memories that we will be able to look back on forever.. we are so over the moon!”

Chloe + James

My 2022 slideshow!

Last year was bonkers… that is honestly the only word I can use to describe 2022 (the only word suitable for publishing on my website anyway!).

With 50 weddings in the diary it was my busiest year for a very long time. Many of the weddings were postponements from 2020, and it was amazing to finally see those couples getting the day they’d dreamed about for so long. This year I’m back to my usual 25 weddings a year, and am really looking forward to all the fun weddings I have in the diary.

Compiling this slideshow has been difficult. With so many weddings to choose from I’m not only making this slideshow this year, but also a larger, padded-out blog with a whole heap load more photos for you to enjoy. This slideshow, as you’ll notice, only shows landscape images, but SO many of my favourite photos from 2022 were portraits, so obviously those will appear in the blog. (Expect to see that on my website around February sometime).

So, for those of you with 4 minutes to spare, here below are 222 of my favourite photos from 2022.

From the big moments, to the small moments… the fun bits, to the serious bits… the emotional times, to the silly times… I’m there to shoot your wedding day in a fun, relaxed, and totally unobtrusive manner. It really is the only way I know how to photograph a wedding day!

THANK YOU so so much to every couple that trusted me to capture the story of your day last year. I hope you enjoy the moments I shot at your wedding for many years to come.

Looking for a wedding photographer?

If you’ve just watched my slideshow and thought “YES! This is exactly the way I want our wedding to be captured!” then I’d love to hear from you. And fingers crossed I’ll be available to photograph all the fun at your wedding… LET’S CHAT!

Wiltons Music Hall wedding - London

 

“Ed's an absolute master.

We found Ed through a recommendation and we genuinely couldn't be happier with the job he did. So please do yourselves a favour and take our recommendation!

We've looked through all the pics with a smile on our faces and kept saying to each other "I didn't realise he was there to capture that bit".

Ed somehow manages to blend into the shadows and not intrude on your day while simultaneously being right there for every perfect shot.

We love his documentary style and he was funny, accommodating, amenable and suggested cool ideas we hadn't thought of.

We wanted a wedding that was fun, tradition breaking and not in the least bit stuffy and Ed was able to capture the essence of us to a T.

The final pictures are incredible and even more beautiful than we could have imagined - we can't wait to get them printed and put up around our home!

Our memories of the day wouldn't be the same without his pics.” - Katie + Geoff

 

Becky + Nat // Tey Farm wedding

Dec + Josh - Richmond wedding