Inside My Camera Bag | Jarred Eid

Hi, my name is Jarred Eid. I have been shooting weddings for over 10 years now, shooting all over Australia whilst being based in Sydney.

I have always been drawn to a photojournalistic approach for the wedding day. For me, capturing the moments that unravel before us on the wedding day is my greatest source of energy as a photographer.

As the years started to roll by, I developed an interest in capturing innovative location photos initially because of my frustration with the overused locations inundated by photographers every weekend in Sydney.

This pursuit led me to seek out rooftop car parks and art galleries, hiring boats to take us to remote locations or searching the streets of Sydney for buildings that hadn’t ever been considered for photo shoots.

These images, in the form of print, have brought great enjoyment in fulfilling my couples’ hopes for a unique image for the home.

From a technical point of view, I shoot fast, mostly in natural light, and I am always more interested in the story that is unfolding and searching for each unique connection between the couple and among the guests.

Often these moments go beyond laughter and tears. It’s these moments that unfold before us at such a fast pace that has meant I need my gear to be mobile, unobtrusive and reliable in all lighting situations.

With a growing interest in greater dynamic range and low light capabilities I decided to give the Sony camera system a go and I haven’t looked back since.

Here’s my current gear list.

SONY A7RIII (x2)
Having the extra resolution is fantastic for a photojournalistic approach, being able to crop as needed in post-production. I also find the sensor crop feature a major bonus, still producing a 17mp image when I’m in a tight situation.

SONY 24-70mm f/2.8
This is a must-have in my camera bag. This lens is so sharp, I love it. The range allows me to be very selective when capturing moments.

SONY 85mm f/1.8
This lens is the perfect weight and unbelievably sharp at f/1.8. My favorite portrait lens.

SONY 16-35mm f/2.8
I find this to be an important lens for anyone shooting a large number of wedding guests for the dance floor and room shots. Depending on the style of the wedding I’ll also use this as my main candid lens for capturing moments with a lot of depth.

SONY 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
This doesn’t always come out on a wedding day unless there is something interesting I am trying to achieve on the location shoot. This is mainly for a bit of surf photography.

SONY HVLF32M External Flash
This is a small mobile flash. It’s not super powerful and only runs off two AA batteries but it’s the perfect size for the Sony cameras and enough for what I use it for.

GODOX X1T-S TTL Wireless flash triggers
I tend to use these for room photos and sometimes for the bridal waltz.

Small pocket LED light
This is nice to have handy if you need a pop of light for little details.

LightPro DN-30F
I use this on a stand for room photos and for the bridal waltz for in really toughly lit receptions.

Canon AV-1 Film Camera w. 50mm f/1.8
Manual Focus lens I use with an adapter on the Sony.
Kimunor 135mm f/2.8
Vivitar 50mm f/1.4

Polaroid Sprit 600
Although I don’t really use this at weddings, it was a gift from my great grandma, and I love shooting landscapes with it.

COLOURSPACE UDMA 2 Downloader
This is perfect for a first backup of my images on the night of the wedding.

Downloaded card case
This is just a small plastic box with a tough seal that I keep my downloaded and backed up SD cards in.

SD Cards
I use SANDISK 128GB 300MBs for shooting raws and SANDISK 64GB for shooting a medium resolution jpg as a backup. The jpgs get downloaded onto my laptop and uploaded into a cloud at night.

The SD cards are then kept in labelled cases and left in separate places before being taken to the studio. Then I download onto the server and back up onto another server, then onto Sony tapes stored onsite and offsite.

Peak Design Leash straps – Medium size (x2)

On top of this gear there are a few more things always handy in my camera bag.

Nature’s Own – Focus and perform multivitamins
This could just be a placebo, but I am convinced they really help for the long days.

Voost Magnesium
I use the Voost when I get to the reception and normally have one before bed to help with recovery for the next day.

“The Base Collective” Magnesium oil in spray (Not pictured)
I spray this on any sore muscles before bed and when I wake up – I swear by it.

Berocca Performance Fizzy Melts Chewable Tab (Not pictured)
Perfect for bridal parties feeling a bit dusty from the night before.

Aesop moisturizer and sunscreen
Sunscreen because we always shoot backlit – meaning my face is in the sun all day.
I usually moisturise before bed because its 2019 and I’m a modern man but also to help with the dehydration.

Celsius Stainless Insulated 650ml Water Bottle
Keeps water cold all day.

Insulated coffee cup
I usually get my barista to make me a cold brew that I’ll usually have around 3pm to keep me going all reception.

WACACO NANOPRESSO
Best espressos when travelling on the road to rural areas.

iPhone 7
The torch can be used if you get really caught out for light on a location night shoot but also this camera has been a weapon of choice for personal work. You can view my collection of my wife’s journey fighting cancer photographed on the phone on my blog..

www.narrativefineart.com