Inside My Camera Bag | Ekta Rekhi

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Hey, I am Ekta and I live in Mumbai, India with my husband, Sam and our dog, Crusoe. We are wedding photographers and filmmakers at ‘Sam & Ekta’.

I got introduced to a camera by Sam around five years ago and it was love at first sight.

I love people and their emotions and started my journey with street photography. The idea of freezing a moment that may never repeat itself fascinated me, and for me, nothing is better than being a part of people’s most special days and making memories for them that will last forever.

I believe your camera is a tool to tell a story that you can see unfolding in front of your eyes. With respect to street and wedding photography, my view is to keep it light and simple so that I am agile at all times.

At weddings, I mostly have two camera bodies with one lens on each.

Cameras

Canon 5D Mark IV: Since I started with Canon, I am very comfortable with the system and know it inside out. I also love the colour tones of Canon. The system is fast and easy to manoeuver between settings.

Canon 6D Mark II: This is my second camera body, purely because of the tilt screen. It helps me a lot in situations where there is space crunch as I like to be closer to the action (which happens a lot in weddings).

Lenses

Canon 50mm f/1.2: I love this lens for making portraits and for more emotional moments.

Sigma 24mm f/1.4: This lens really helps me to capture the scene as a whole and also on the dance floor at weddings.

Canon 135mm f/2: I use this lens when I can not be close to my subjects and sometimes when I would like a shallower depth of field.

Lensbaby composer pro 50mm: This allows me to create something different, but I don’t use this lens too often.

Lights/Triggers

Godox V860 II with the XT-1 trigger: I love the high-speed Godox flashes. They come with Lithium rechargeable batteries, and I am super comfortable with them. I use it both off-camera, set up with my Godox XT-1 trigger, and on-camera depending on what kind of feel I want to create with the light.

Magmod Light modifiers – diffuser & grid: To use in situations where I want to diffuse or channel light respectively.

Ikan OYB120 LED photo/video light: It is a small continuous lighting source with variable temperature, and it allows me flexibility in low light situations when I want to make moody portraits.

Bags/Straps

Strap – Peak Design Slide: I love this because it is sturdy and easy to use. The strap is soft, comfortable on my shoulders and doesn’t pinch the skin.

Hardware & Software

iMac 27 inch / Macbook Pro 15 inch based on whether I am editing in the studio or while travelling.

Photo Mechanic for culling, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for editing.

We’ve custom made our own presets using the DVLOP & VSCO presets we purchased.

Try to feel what your subjects are feeling or create a story in your head so that you always have an end vision for the photograph you are going to make.

Keep your camera and lenses clean.

www.samandekta.com | @sam_and_ekta