Before I really go too far with gushing about how excited I am to own my very own 5D Mark II, I just want to pay a little homage to the camera I built my business with…the Canon 50D! Even though this camera will be on backup status now, it will always have a special place in my heart because it taught me some really important lessons early on into my photography career. When I first started out, I was overwhelmed by all of the different camera bodies out on the market and how each of the photographers I really admired had tens of thousands of dollars of equipment in their bags. I felt discouraged, like there was no way I could ever carve a place for myself in the photography industry without dropping over 10k to start my business. How could my images ever come anywhere close to theirs when I wasn’t shooting full frame? Why would people hire someone who didn’t own all of the best equipment? Was I really a “professional” photographer without all that stuff?

The answer is this: you (and me, too) are MORE than the gear that we shoot with.

You are more than the lenses and camera bodies you choose to use. Yeah, shooting with better gear definitely isn’t going to hurt you, but in the long run what’s matters the most is what’s inside of you…how you work whatever camera you have, whether it be your iPhone, a holga, or a 5d Mark III, or even the top of the line camera body at the time. Your camera gear doesn’t choose the best light to shoot in….you do. Your camera body doesn’t even really know the right settings for a situation unless you tell it! One of the most inspiring (and humbling!) moments from Elizabeth Messina’s class at WPPI was when she showed us pictures she shot on HER IPHONE. Those pictures were so pretty I joked (I’m half serious) that they are prettier than my actual professional photography work! It reminded me how true it is that the photographer is more important than the gear.

My 50D taught me that whatever you shoot with, you should be using it to the best of your ability. People shouldn’t look at your images and say “Oh you shot this with a rebel or a 50d.”. They should look at your image and say “Wow! That’s an awesome image!”. This lesson was so important for me to learn because for so long, I felt that people were looking down on me for my choice of camera. I became determined to prove people wrong, but in the end I realized that the only person who was looking down on me, was me. Okay, maybe there are/were some people judging me, but haters gonna hate, know what I’m saying? The important thing for me to learn was that you can’t let your gear define you. You can’t let a camera that isn’t the top of the line, best of the best body be an excuse to not produce amazing images. You can’t let owning the best camera on the market make you complacent. Photography is about the skill and vision of the photographer. That’s why it’s not called cameraography. (haha)

All of that being said, I’m so excited to introduce you guys to my new child…the 5D Mark II!

I’m soooo excited to finally own a Mark II, because when I first started my photography journey, the photographers I really looked up to shot with Mark IIs, so that was basically my dream, to own one and feel like a legitimate photographer! I know there’s a newer version of this camera out right now, BUT I really believe in the 5D Mark II. I also have a very specific plan for my business finances and it worked out better for me to purchase a Mark II this year instead of a Mark III! I’m also not 100 percent convinced I like how digital the Mark III images look, so who knows what I’ll end up purchasing in 2014!

The pros of my new camera are: better image quality at high ISOs (meaning better for those dark churches and receptions), it’s full frame, so I won’t have to back up into the street as much when I’m shooting (there have been a couple times when I almost got run over by cars…), full frame also means the image quality will be better, and it takes video! I’m really excited to play with the video part because I LOVE making videos. Maybe I can make an all cat Vimeo page…haha!!!!

I just wanted to close out this post by sharing a virtual toast with all of you guys reading this who have ever felt like you weren’t good enough because of the gear that you own…that’s so not true, so stop telling yourself that!