Opteka Excursion Series C700 Camera Bag – $45

This bag is rugged, durable canvas, with pockets everywhere. The hardware is extremely high quality, made of brass. The zippers are also heavy duty. The bag comes with a weatherproof cover, and extremely well padded shoulder attachment.

The bag comfortably holds an SLR camera body, 2 or 3 additional lenses, a flash unit and lots of miscellaneous goodies. At $45 this bag performs just as well as much more expensive options and the classic look isn’t hurting anything either.

Canon or Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Prime Lens - $106 and $124 (respectively)

That last little number you see at the end of a lens’ name (in this case, 50mm f/1.8) is the Aperture of the lens. It is in part responsible for allowing light into the camera. The smaller that number, the more light it will let in. Practically speaking, a lens such as this one allows a photographer to shoot in lower light conditions, without needing to use a flash. With this lens, shooting around a dinner table, in a dim restaurant, the children’s bedroom or at the tail end of dusk, is within reach.

These lenses are highly rated for their price and quality. These aren’t the nicest lenses you can buy. In fact, they’re quite cheap. But the image quality is excellent and that’s what counts.

These are prime lenses, which means they do not zoom.

Lenspen – $10

The Lenspen is a lens cleaning tool. It’s compact, quick and works in the studio and in the field. The results are top notch.

One end of the pen is a retractable brush for removing debris like dust, while the other end is the carbon pen which is used to quickly polish off smudges on the glass. The carbon on the tip is quickly replenished inside the cap.

This is a tool that every photographer should have in his or her bag.

Coco Ring Flash Adapter – $50

This one is a little quirky. They will need to already own a good flash unit from Canon or Nikon.

This adapter fits over the end of the flash unit and extends the light down around the lens, creating a high end fashion photography look to the light. This is a cheap knock off of a much more expensive unit. But, at a quarter the price, it performs nearly identically to the official product.

This might be the perfect gift for the budding fashion photographer.

Think Tank Memory Card Wallet – $19

Photographers are always juggling memory cards. Professionals often have dozens, if not hundreds of them. Keeping track of them can be challenging and finding a memory card holder that keeps lots of cards in one place, while still being compact enough to throw in the camera bag, can be challenging.

Think Tank’s offering is durable, but lightweight, and comfortably holds 10 Compact Flash Cards—or probably a lot more SDHC cards.

iTunes Gift Cards – $15, $25, $50, $100

The iPod Touch, the iPhone and the iPad have proven themselves to be indispensible tools for photographers. Apps for photographers are overflowing from the Apple App Store. You can find apps for calculating the suns position, calculating exposure settings, learning new photography styles, even learn and design studio lighting set ups on the fly.

If the photographer in your life is an Apple user, the iTunes gift card might be the most versatile gift you could give them (without just cheating and giving them cash).

It seems like it took no time at all for my iPhone to become my best friend in the photography business. With about a gazillion productivity, lifestyle and travel applications, it seems like its usefulness is just about never-ending.

Considering today what a boon the iPhone is to a professional photographer, I thought I would take the time to share the applications that help keep Petruzzo Photography running smooth.

Appearing in no particular order, iPhone apps for photography business.

Handi 5D
Everyone is bound to forget some little function of their camera at some time. The Handi series of apps are simple reference guides for different camera models. It’s more convenient than a paperback guide since it can stay in your pocket all the time.

CheapGas
Takes your current location and finds the cheapest gas around. When we’re close to home, we usually know where to go to find the best price. But when we’re out in the field, CheapGas can help save the pocket change for more important things.

WifiTrak
When you’re out in the field and need to hop online for on reason or another, WifiTrak can help. WifiTrak extends the range of the wifi scanner in the iPhone to find open networks on the fly. Of course, it’s always preferable to drop into a Panera, but in a pinch, WifiTrak has the answer.

ProCamera
No one is shooting weddings with an iPhone. At least, I hope not. But when I’m out in the field, I love to keep Facebook fans and friends updated with pictures and text about what’s going on. The ProCamera app adds some much needed features to the iPhone, such as anti-shake and built-in level, so that it can be used even in low-light.

Things
Things is a task management app that runs in conjunction with the Mac desktop application by the same name. Things syncs over Wifi and keeps track of everything that needs to be done. With the iPhone app, all your daily tasks stay in your pocket and can be updated as needed. Things comes complete with tagging features, searching, project management and more.

PhotoCalc
Helps calculate various things such as flash compensation, depth of field, and when exactly the sun will be setting or rising. Clean and simple—you may not use it often, but when you do you’ll be glad you had it!

Helios
Helios uses your location, or a location you choose, and calculates where the sun will be in the sky at a given time. This is excellent for deciphering where precisely shadows will fall during a shoot that’s still a month out. It removes much of the guesswork out of sunlight.

Credit Card Terminal
Does exactly what the name suggests. With the help of Authorize.net, the iPhone becomes a credit card terminal running with the best of them. Using the iPhone’s touch screen, customers can sign their name directly on the terminal. And, receipts can be automatically emailed.

(At a glance: Two Canon 5D camera bodies, Canon 16-35mm 4/2.8L, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, Two Canon 580EXII Speedlights, a collection of Alienbees strobes.)

My Cameras

I shoot on two Canon 5D bodies. Before buying all of my lenses and accessories and such, I had to select my platform. Although there are lots of choices, at the end of the day the question really comes down to Canon or Nikon. Both companies make truly formidable hardware and both companies are endorsed by some really excellent photographers. But, for my taste, I strongly prefer Canon over Nikon so that is what I chose.

All of Canon’s professional cameras (Beginning with the 30D/40D/50D models) share roughly the same interface. Two wheels—one by your thumb to control aperture, and one by your index finger to control shutter speed. All of your basic settings can be rapidly adjusted without taking your eye out of the viewfinder, and without having to navigate some kind of digital menu.

Another personal appreciation of I have for the 5D is that I find it easier to mimic the effects of true film, without so many steps in Photoshop. Of course, this has a great deal to do with visual style, but it is among the reasons I have not updated to the new Canon 5D MkII.

My Lenses

I shoot on four standard lenses which cover my whole focal range. From widest to longest:

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L – This lens is absolutely indispensible for wedding and real estate photography. It’s wide, but not fisheye so it’s great for getting a lot of information into a picture, without a lot of space to do it.

Canon 50mm f/1.4 – This is my only non ‘L’ lens, but it’s probably my favorite. At an aperture of 1.4, the depth of field is almost paper thin. A portrait can have the subjects eyes in sharp focus, but her eyelashes well out of focus. It’s also extremely lightweight and portable. Not to mention, you need significantly less light to expose a photograph properly.

Canon 28-70mm f/2.8L – This lens is sort of the catch-all in my kit. It’s excellent for photographs during a wedding’s ceremony and really any situation where you can be close but not that close. This lens was later replaced with the almost identical Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L. It’s also a formidable lens, but with the 28-70mm about $400 less expensive on the used market, I didn’t find it worth the extra expense.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L – Portraits are rarely as flattering as they are from very long focal lengths. That’s why the Canon 70-200L is my favorite portrait lens—that is, when I have the space to use it. I also use this lens during weddings, perched in the back with an assistant. It’s sure to catch a clear, detailed view of that all-important first kiss.

My Light

While it might seem like the camera body or the lens takes the cake, light is really a photographers most important tool. In every stage of the photographic experience—from shooting, to viewing images—light is that absolute unchanging necessity. So, like any photographer, I use light as a tool. Whether it’s modifying light that’s already present, or bringing my own light. Here are some of my tools in that:

Canon 580EXII Speedlights – I use two of these. Partially for redundancy and partially to achieve different effects. With the help of a set of PocketWizards, I am able to have one 580EX mounted on my camera, while a second rests on a discreet stand across the dance floor. The light from multiple angles adds drama and a three-dimensional effect to event photography. Also with the help of the PocketWizards, these lights act as great fill lights in outdoor portrait photography.

AlienBees – For bigger and more demanding portrait work, I use the surprisingly affordable AlienBees strobes. They’re durable and produce a lot of light. They’re also inexpensive enough that additional strobes can be added on a whim as the needs of studio work change.