How to Get Started – Photographer’s Toolkit 2016

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by Olaf von VossApril 5^th, 2016

Are you interested in getting a little more serious with your video business? Not sure where to start? Perhaps the Photographer’s Toolkit 2016 could point you in the right direction! Of course, before telling people to take a look, I had to take a look for myself.

Photographer’s Toolkit 2016 Overview

Jeremy Cowart, a renowned photographer from Nashville, has recently published the Photographer’s Toolkit 2016. As a single frame expert, he focuses on equipment which is designed and built for single frame shooting. Like many parts of the industry, however, the two worlds overlap.

So, I went through the guide and picked out the sections relevant for the film and video world. Here’s what I found!

Cameras & Lenses

In the Photographer’s Toolkit 2016, Jeremy puts a lot of focus on Canon cameras and glass. Not a bad thing, by any stretch of the imagination, but there are definitely other camera bodies and lenses worth considering. The glory days of the 5DmkII are all but over, and there are other manufacturers with impressive portfolios that are worth a look. As a cinema5D reader, I am sure you know what I mean.

I found the sample snaps for each lens, and some of the fun examples of lenses at the end of this section, to be an interesting addition. Some are a lot of fun to play around with, especially the Lensbaby Composer Pro!

Lighting

Within the lighting section, keep an eye out for the Westcott products, these are useful tools for filmic applications. Personally, I like the Westcott Ice Light 2 a lot! Same goes with the Westcott Flex, really convenient pieces of gear! The other products in that section are more for photographic works, in all honesty. The Omega Reflector seems rather neat, though, and it works for both film and photo!

Studio & storage

You can’t go wrong with these things. Gaff tape: check! Sandbags: check! Apple boxes: check! Music on set: well, maybe you should leave that one to the photographers.

Regarding storage, Jeremy lists a lot of G-Tech products. As a filmmaker, you’ll need a lot of storage, and these G-Technology drives are decent products, for sure. There are others, of course, like Sonnet RAID systems or LaCie 5big thunderbolt units.

Apps & Software

There are a lot of apps mentioned, but the list could be endless. Check out our list of useful filmmaker apps.

You’ll have to submit your email address to download the toolkit guide, but I think it’s worth it to get a brief overview of some of the most important aspects of both, filmmaking and photography. This is only to get started, of course. At the very least, it provides you with a helpful list of really useful gear.