ONE lens

I contemplated what gear to bring for quite a while before we headed to Italy. I knew I wanted good glass that would provide great results during our trip, but I didn't want to lug lots of lenses around with me for a couple of reasons. 1) more gear = more weight (who wants to carry lots of weight especially when we would be doing lots and lots of walking and sightseeing) and 2) risk of loss/damage/theft.

In the end I decided to bring one main lens (24-105mm f/4.0) and one portrait lens (50mm f/1.4). I was planning on taking some portraits of my friends while there but that didn't really happen so the 50mm barely got used during the trip. In hindsight only bringing the 24-105 would have been fine. It stayed on my camera the entire trip, I didn't have to worry about switching lenses and leaving it somewhere, or it getting snagged out of my bag. It is a really decent zoom lens and I knew that most of the shots I would be taking would be outside in the daylight so the 4.0 f-stop wasn't limiting to me. Even on indoor shots it worked great since my 6D handles high ISO really well. I definitely recommend a zoom lens such as this one if you are planning to take a mostly sightseeing trip. Leave all the other gear at home, safe and sound!

Multiple batteries/SD or CF cards

In order to save room (and my back since I didn't check any of my camera gear onto the plane) I didn't want to bring a lot of chargers, hard drives etc...I recently purchased these handy little Think Thank cases for batteries and CD/SD cards so I loaded both of them up and brought only these with me on the trip.

The battery case (black) holds up to four batteries. I only have three so I fully charged up all of them, put one in the camera and the other two in here. I only used up one and a half of the batteries the entire time I was there! I also brought multiple SD cards (red) so I could just keep the images on the cards and wait to download all of them until I got home. I know most people might not recommend this because if you loose the case, you loose all of your images! I totally understood this risk, but I made sure to keep really close tabs on this case and had it on me at all times.

Go WIDE

If you are traveling to Europe or anywhere with grand architecture or fascinating landscapes, I highly recommend a wide angle lens. Even if you don't have a wide zoom like the 24-105 or a 17-35, a 35mm prime would do great as well. Being able to take in the whole scene (especially inside the ornate basilicas and churches) you need something really wide since you often have limited room. This is another reason I am glad I brought the 24-105, it handled those wide shots perfectly!

Strap it

Initially I was planning on just carrying my camera strap free in my Kelly Moore Kelly Boy bag. I was somewhat worried with the possibility of it getting snatched so I thought keeping it in the bag as much as possible would be a better idea. Boy am I glad I changed my mind at the last minute! I brought my Peak Design camera strap and could not be happier that I decided to bring it. The bag got heavy with the camera in it and it was a chore to take it out every time inspiration hit. Paul ended up carrying the bag and I carried the camera cross body and that system worked out perfectly!

Put it down!

You are in a new place. You are with loved ones. You are experiencing something for the first time. Take time to just soak it all in and EXPERIENCE it all without a camera in front of your face. Make sure you have a balance of capturing moments and relishing and marinating IN those moments with your loved ones. You will be immensely blessed by both!

All images (with the exception of random iPhone images) taken with:
Canon 6D | 24-105mm f/4.0 lens

Starting a photography business can be a lonely and scary endeavor. You have found something you really enjoy and you think you have what it takes to really take it to the next level. You likely follow a lot of other photographers and have been reading a lot online (hopefully.) You see some of the battles in facebook forums about how "newbies" are destroying the photography industry. You may even personally know some professional photographers and are nervous that starting your business might "step on toes" or cause people to roll their eyes. You may worry that other photographers in your area will say, "Another one? Greeaaaaat. Just someone else with a camera trying to take business away from me."

I experienced all of this and more. My personal strategy to combat this downward spiral of negative thinking, competition and ugliness was to dive in and learn and practice as much as I possibly could as well as to consistently encourage others. I've said it before and I will say it again, there is room in the market for everyone who wants to join, YOUR success depends on YOUR drive, motivation and desire to get where you want to go. No amount of "newbies" can destroy that.

I was blessed to find a community of photographers who feel the same. Their passion is for encouragement, teaching and sharing information to lift the industry up instead of trying to tear each other down. While a lot of these amazing PEOPLE who also happen to be photographers have shared how they do this in a variety of ways, Natalie Franke wrote a post a while back and incorporated a hashtag which I totally love.

#communityovercompetition

That really what it is all about. Sharing and learning together, enjoying each others success and lifting each other up when struggles come (and they always will) is just so much of who I am as a person that knowing there are SO MANY other photographers and successful business owners who feel this way is empowering.

Recently I have been blessed with a little in-person community as opposed to the online community I consider myself a part of. I met Ashley in the craziest way online about six months ago and we have been chatting ever since. She saw me post a photo in a FB group and she knew the couple IN the photo and mentioned it in the comments. Then we figured out that we only live about an hour and a half away from each other. We have been chatting all things photography since then and have gotten together a couple of times.

A while back we planned a little shoot together so we could learn from each other and just do what we love!! My stepson and his girlfriend were willing models and Paul came along to assist. We had SO MUCH FUN hanging out and trying different things in different locations. She watched me work and I watched her work and we just had a blast.

I took some behind the scenes shots (I just love BTS shots, they are some of my favorites!) and then also some headshots of the gorgeous miss Ashely. Isn't she beautiful?!

I don't know about you but I would much rather be in community than competition with someone. If you are feeling discouraged or alone in this industry, my best advice is to BE an encourager. Build others up. Help if you get questions. If you don't find a community, sometimes you have to build your own. I promise you will be blessed!