My Complete List of Flash Equipment

Note that any of the amazon links are affiliate links – as an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I appreciate you using my affiliate links if you plan on purchasing!

• *Canon 600 EX-RT II (x 4)

  • Alternative options: Godox v860ii for Canon or Nikon; Yongnuo 600 EX-RT for Canon

• *Manfrotto 1004BAC Master Light Stands (x 2)

• Manfrotto LBAG 110 Light Stand bag

• Kupo Mini Light Stand

• Light Stand Weights

• *Eneloop Pro Rechargable batteries (32 total) – Note if you use Godox flashes they use lithium ion batteries instead of AA’s

• *Cold Shoe Adaptors

• MagMod Modifiers

  • Mag Mod Professional Kit

  • Mag Mod Starter Kit

  • Mag Mod Standard Gel Set

*Indicates the bare minimum equipment you need to operate with off camera lighting. Start with this stuff first!

Gear Tips

When selecting your gear consider the following

• Does it have enough power for what you need to do?

  • Cheaper flashes will not generate enough power when in a large room, like a reception hall with tall ceilings. The flashes I suggested above are all great for most weddings!

• What is the recycle time on the flash?

  • Recycle time refers to how long it takes for the flash to recharge between shots. You can’t fire a flash continuously – most flashes can only fire a certain number of times a minute. Cheaper flashes might overheat easily and then are unusable for 10 minutes at a time while they cool down. As a wedding photographer, this would be BAD! A fast recycle time is key to make sure you don’t miss those important moments.

• Can you grow with it and transition to off camera flash?

  • I always recommend starting with one flash on camera and bouncing it off the walls and ceilings. Once you’ve mastered that you can transition to using off camera lighting. In order for your off camera lights to fire at the same time, they need to be connected somehow. The flashes I suggested above have built-in radio transmitters so you can EASILY set them up for off camera lighting. If you flash doesn’t have a built in transmitter, then you will have to purchase extra triggers and receivers in order to make it work.

In other posts I’ll go through exactly how I use this gear – including how I use the MagMod modifiers.

Here are a few examples of what you can do with lighting. Once you master lighting you can control ANY situation to get your desired look. A common myth is that using flash makes photos look flashy – but as you can see, a couple of the photos below look very natural. Drop any question you have about flash in the comments!

Want to learn more? Join my facebook group for weekly tips on using flash!