Steven Martine
Commercial | Last Updated: April 4, 2024
My name is Steven Martine, a lifestyle advertising and editorial travel photographer based in Florida. The majority of my income is from medium-sized advertising productions, working with crews that range from 5-20 people, and usually lifestyle themed advertising for real estate and resort clients.
When not on set in advertising production, I can be found shooting architecture, healthcare, celebrity, annual reports, executive portraits and magazine editorials.
I basically shoot great pictures for money.
As cliche as it sounds, I fell in love with photography early on, was the high school yearbook photographer, shot for the college newspaper and then for AP & a series of newspapers across the nation. I landed in Florida in 1998 working for Scripps News Service, but after five years, newspaper philosophy was changing, and I decided to pursue full-time freelance.
On the first day of “not having a job” my bride told me she was pregnant and I’d better get busy. It’s been a hustle ever since.
Over the past few decades, I’ve shot with most every type of camera available, rangefinder to digital medium format, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Leica, Contax, Hasselblad, etc.
I’ve learned, to the chagrin of my accountant, that good gear is important, but having the ability to use the gear, make it capture your vision, tell the story you are trying to convey, that is what is important. The camera is just the tool, without the vision, the idea, concept or story, and the ability to create that, the camera can’t do its best work. The camera does not make the photographer, it is merely a tool.
Today, my kit includes a mixture of Canon, Fuji and Sony cameras, Canon, Sigma, Sony and Tamron lenses, Profoto lights and Think Tank, ONA & Lightware bags.
The 5D Mark IV
— two of them — are my go-to’s for most everything I shoot. The cameras easily transmit to an iPad, so art directors can follow along while we work. The lens choice is simply determined by the look I want to create. If I want/need crazy shallow depth of field, the Sigma primes always deliver.
Profoto lights and modifiers have been incredible, the 7B
and 600 
have been workhorses, while the B1 
and recently the A1 
battery lights are perfect for travel work. They sit on Manfrotto light stands or C stands, depending on location and assignment.
Think Tank bags have been amazing, keeping everything organized and protected, while durable enough for long travel and compact enough to fit into airline overheads. An ONA Brixton
(pictured) is my should bag when I’m working. Lightware bags carry all my stands and modifiers. In the mix of gear, I also use a DJI drone
, a Sony a6500
in Ikelight underwater housing and a Fuji x100F
.
What isn’t pictured is a complete Fuji mirrorless kit, 3 bodies and 7 lenses … the cameras I use when shooting travel work. Small, light and unobtrusive, the camera system always delivers amazing images with great dynamic range.
Camera gear pictured:
Canon 5D Mark IV
(x2) with battery grip.
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L ii USM
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 (x2) L IS ii USM
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM art
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM art
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM art
Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8
Profoto B1
(x2)
Profoto A1
(x2)
Profoto transmitter
Profoto Batteries for the B1
(x4)
Canon 600 ex
flash (x3)
GoPro 6
Fuji x100F
DJI Phantom 4 pro
Ikelite housing
with a Sony a6500
inside
Tilta Cage & Baseplate with Control Handle
and a Sony a6500
and Sony 18-105mm f/4
(for my video work)
Apple iPad Pro
C-stands
Manfrotto light stands
Think Tank battery and card holders. ONA Brixton Messenger bag
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