Inside My Event Camera Bag

(What I actually use. And why.)

If you’re here, chances are you’ve felt this before.

You walk into an event buzzing.

Camera ready.

Ideas flowing.

And then the reality hits.

The light’s awful.

The room changes colour every five minutes.

People don’t stop moving.

The schedule’s already slipped.

And you’re being pulled in three directions at once.

This kit list isn’t about gear flexing.

It’s about control.

Because when your setup is solid and familiar, you stop firefighting…

and start doing what you’re actually there to do.

See. Anticipate. Tell the story.

My Event Kit (Kept Simple on Purpose)

I keep my event kit deliberately tight.

Two bodies.

One lens on each.

A long lens in the bag.

One flash.

That's it.

The goal is speed, confidence, and zero hesitation.

Camera Bodies

Two young girls sitting in a group, wearing blue shirts, one with long braids and the other with short twisted hair, in an indoor sporting event.

Canon R5

The R5 is my main workhorse.

Low light performance is unreal and the autofocus is so good it honestly feels like cheating.

Canon 5D Mark IV

The 5D Mark IV is still rock solid. Reliable, predictable, and brilliant to keep the wide or the long zoom on.

Lenses

(Canon L-Series Only)

  • 28–70mm f/2

    The 28–70mm f/2 lives on my R5. Hands down the best lens I've ever owned. Fast, sharp, flexible. It lets me work instinctively without second-guessing.

  • 16–35mm f/2.8

    The 16–35mm f/2.8 stays on the 5D Mark IV. Perfect for getting right in amongst the action on dance floors, crowded rooms, and for wide establishing shots that show scale and atmosphere.

  • 70–200mm f/2.8

    The 70–200mm f/2.8 stays in the bag until I need it. Keynotes, panels, reactions across the room, moments where getting physically closer just isn't possible.

Zoom lenses mean I don’t miss moments changing lenses.

I stay in the story, not in my bag.

Flash

Profoto A10

A man wearing dark sunglasses and a colorful, patterned blazer standing in front of a barbershop sign that says 'Gentlemen Barbers'.

This is the only flashgun I trust for events.

When things are moving fast, consistency matters more than cleverness.

Clean, reliable light means I can balance ambient, lift faces, and keep the atmosphere intact.

Bad flash ruins images just as fast as bad focus.

This keeps things calm and predictable.

Memory Cards

(Don’t Skimp Here)

SanDisk Extreme Pro (fastest write speeds I can get my hands on)

I always shoot to two cards.

Always.

One corrupted card shouldn’t end your career.

Harness

Harness

PGYTECH camera harness

A young man with dreadlocks wearing a bright pink shirt and a silver chain, standing near a light-colored wall and looking to the side.

Both cameras attached.

Quick release.

No fumbling.

If your cameras aren’t secure, you move slower.

And slow kills moments.

Why This Matters

A woman and a man sitting outdoors, smiling and raising glasses of wine for a toast. The woman is wearing a pink dress with floral patterns, and the man is dressed in a white shirt with small animal prints. They appear to be enjoying a cheerful moment together in a lush green setting.

Most event photography stress doesn’t come from lack of talent.

It comes from:

  • Settings that aren’t second nature

  • Gear you don’t fully trust

  • Too many decisions under pressure

This setup removes friction.

It lets you be proactive, not reactive.

Calm instead of panicked.

Present instead of scrambling.

You’ve already got the eye.

This is about making sure your kit backs you up when it matters.

If this helped, stick around.

I share the stuff that actually makes a difference on real jobs, the things I learned the long way, so you don’t have to.