Inside My Camera Bag | Valerie Millett

Hello Everyone! I’m Valerie Millett. I’m a freelance photographer based in the American Southwest. I live right in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, in Phoenix, Arizona.

I started photographing in 2011, and I’ve traveled throughout the Southwest region of the US documenting the beautiful geology and landscapes that make this part of the world so exceptional.

While I’ve been traditionally a landscape photographer, I’ve recently expanded my portfolio to include, Lifestyle, Editorial and Real Estate images. I’ve found that the more I get out of my comfort zone, the more I learn, grow and truly appreciate the full scope of being a photographer.

My first REAL camera was the Canon Rebel that I paired with Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 lens because it was all I could afford. I had no idea how it worked or how to shoot. I kept it in the box for over a year. Eventually, I taught myself how to use it. I read everything I could about photography, watched tutorial videos and picked the brains of some of the world’s finest landscape photographers.

In 2012, I bought a used Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens, it was like getting new glasses, suddenly the world looked so different and exciting. I learned how to edit with Lightroom and Photoshop and I still to this day, practice editing at least 2-3 hours a day.

I had my first published image in a magazine in 2014, Arizona Highways Magazine and I’ve been published every year since then. In 2019, I was published National Geographic Magazine (Book Division) for the Beautiful Landscapes Calendar and in the same year, I was interviewed by PhotoPlus, The Canon Magazine in the U.K.

Before I became a photographer, I was a professional Watercolor Artist and I simply transferred my sense of composition and color into my photography work. I believe it was my background in Fine Art that propelled my work in photography to the level it’s at today.

In the field for landscapes, I use mainly my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 and my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4. I use my Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 for special landscapes areas like Death Valley National Park, where the effects of the long lens can be very artistic.

For Editorial work, I love the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 as well. The images are always so sharp and the range is perfect.

For my Real Estate photography (see guide) or Architectural work, I use my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8. It’s a high-end ultra-zoom and has exceptional sharpness of the edges of the image. The maximum f/4 aperture enables me to shoot under a variety of lighting conditions. The other huge benefit is that it’s compatible with Canon full frame as well as the APS-C sensor.

My kit works well for my lifestyle, not pictured but I also have 3 different camera bags by LowePro ready to accommodate whatever I’ll be shooting.

Camera:

Canon 5D Mark IV

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon SL1

Lens:

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6

Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3

Rokinon 12mm f/2.8