Taron Breen

Still Life & Macro | Last Updated: April 10, 2021

Hi there! I’m Taron Breen and I’m a photographer based in Hamilton, New Zealand. I started photography in high school many years ago, where I won an award and a trusty Olympus TRIP 100 35mm point and shoot camera… back in 1993!

That camera was used so much to the point of no longer functioning, but not for a career in photography. After high school, I went in a different direction, where life happened and other decisions were made.

After working in an industry that I no longer enjoyed, my original passion for photography started to reignite about 20 years later.

Five years ago my wife got me a Nikon D3200 camera for my birthday and from there I played around with different techniques and even did an online photography course part-time while working full time…where I graduated, started my own photography business, created my own website and marketing that goes along with starting your own business in 2018.

I love all areas and genres in this exciting and ever-changing industry, especially black and white photography. However, I’ve always been drawn to Macro and Still Life which flows into doing product photography and it’s this genre that I want to focus on in the future.

Wedding and portrait photographers love to capture feelings and emotions in their shots, where I love to capture the fine detail close up that is not always seen. This form of photography also translates well into product photography with ease.

Camera

Five years on and I’m still using my Nikon D3200 camera. This is an entry-level camera, but it has been doing the job for me so far and due to its lightweight and versatility, I take it everywhere.

I’m a strong believer that you don’t need the latest and greatest equipment to get the job done, however, if the job requires a different camera or gear, then I’ll upgrade when I need to…you can be sure of that lol.

Lenses

My number one go-to lens is the Nikon 40mm f/2.8G, which has been perfect for what I need it for and it really gets in close and finishes off with soft depth of field. The detail that this lens picks up is amazing and is awesome for high resolution images.

My next go-to lens is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G. It does a great job for still life and macro. I find this lens great for doing long exposure, portrait and landscape shot and also works well for low light shooting.

Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II – This is the kit lens that came with Nikon D3200 body and I use this for my wide angle shots. It’s a great lens for handheld shooting with minimal blur due to the vibration reduction.

When I need a telephoto zoom lens, I get out my trusty Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, which has been great to get in close to those hard to get to subjects.

Tripod

When it comes to using a tripod, a Stitz CV-300D Tripod has worked well for me and is very light and sturdy.

Lighting

Viltrox Speedlite JY680A – I try to use natural light as much as possible, but this speedlite works well.

Remote Trigger

With some macro work, a remote trigger/release comes in handy a lot and I use Viltrox Remote Switch SR-N3. I also use this when I’m doing long exposure shots as well and it has never failed me.

Bag/Strap

At this stage, I just use a Nikon strap which is supplied with the camera. I use two bags, one backpack from INDEPMAN shockproof and waterproof camera pack, which fits everything that I need at any one time and is nice and light.

The second bag that I use is a smaller compact bag for smaller shoots, the Lowepro Adventura SH 160 II.

Software & Hardware

SanDisk SD Cards – Can’t go wrong with these and have never had any issues with them.

I use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Camera RAW to process and edit all of my photos. I enjoy using these software options due to their capabilities. Lightroom is software that I plan on learning in the future.

Misc.

Like most photographers, I will have water and sunscreen as standard staples on hand. I also have a Kathmandu Head Torch One LED (for moving through the night) and food which usually consists of fruit and/or muesli bars to keep up the energy.

I definitely have two batteries and a charger plus a camera body and a lens cleaning kit.

100% of the time I will have my Apple iPhone SE with me and when I can, my MacBook Pro 13” is on hand as well for some editing.

www.taronbreenphotography.co.nz | @taronbreenphotography