In the past five years I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on gear refining my craft and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Below are all my personal recommendations on gear, apps and resources I use to run an award-winning photography business. Some of these are affiliate links which means I receive a small commission on purchases made through these links at no added cost to you. So thank you for your support! If you have any questions prior to purchasing feel free to slide into my DMs, I’m here for you.

honeybook

First up, the app that saves me from having to hire an assistant. It manages all my clients in various stages, allows me to share pricing, invoice, handle contracts, communicate, everything. It is the one app I use to manage my clients. Without this my business would not be where it is today. It costs $400 a year, but by using the link below you’ll get $200 off your first year and receive a free 30 minute mentor session from me. It will be the best $200 you’ll ever spend. Trust me. If you’re booking more than 5 paid gigs in a year, this is for you.

THE MOST RELIABLE PLACE TO BUY USED CAMERA GEAR

If I want to be 100% sure when I’m buying something used, I go to KEH. Their rating system on their gear is incredible. They are super modest with their ratings and completely trustworthy. I bought my most expensive used lens through them because I wanted to be sure it was in great condition. Their prices are fair and they stand behind what they sell. I would definitely recommend shopping here for any used camera gear.

MY FAVORITE BEGINNER FILM CAMERA

If you follow me, you probably know how I obsessed I am with film photography. It all started with this camera, my dad’s Canon Ae-1. I still use this camera today 40 years later. If you’re new to film photography, grab this camera and some rolls of Portra 400 and watch this video.

MY FAVORITE Color FILM

My all time favorite film is Portra. It comes in 160, 400 and 800 ISO. I typically shoot 400 but they all serve a purpose. 99% of any colored photos on my site are either Portra film or Portra Pushed preset from Mastin Labs.

MY FAVORITE LIGHT METER

A lot of film cameras have built in light meters but even still, it’s really good to have an external light meter. If you want to get better at exposing film and understanding light in variable conditions, I’d highly recommend picking one of these up. Specifically this one. To learn how to meter watch these two videos and you'll be set! Matt Day: How To Meter for Film Photography (Sekonic L-358) & Kyle Mcdougall: Using A Spot Meter for Film Photography (Sekonic L-558).

My favorite digital camera kit for weddings

I am absolutely loving the Canon R6, the RF50 1.2, the RF 70-200 2.8 and the Leica Q2. It’s been an insane kit to get all the best lenses made from 28 to 200mm.

MY Favorite Professional Film Cameras

I’ve had the opportunity to try lots of film cameras. These are all my all-time favorites, but unfortunately everyone else agrees, so the price is pretty high on these. The difference between paying a high price for a film camera though, is these retain their value. I’ve sold most of the higher-end film cameras I’ve bought for my money back or a profit over time, so don’t be too fearful, these are long-term investments. As for where to buy, I recommend KEH, eBay if it’s a reputable seller with returns, or a film camera shop. You don’t want to get stuck buying a brick.

Beginner Professional Camera Setup

Maybe beginner isn’t the right word. This is my favorite intro to professional photography setup. The Canon EOS R $1599, and the Canon RF 35mm 1.8 lens is $450. So for about $2K you have a setup that can help you take some professional looking photos. It is a fantastic setup. And in my opinion 35mm is the most usable lens with beautiful bokeh and the best price you’ll find.

THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL POINT & SHOOT

So you want a camera better than the one on your iPhone, but you’re not interested in getting a bunch of lenses or shooting on manual – then this little guy is for you. Hands-down the best point and shoot on the market. I mean it’s over $1K but so is your phone. I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants to take better photos but isn’t ready or willing to learn manual just yet. I traveled around with the first version of this camera for years and took some incredible photos with it.

BUYING YOUR FIRST MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERA

Eventually after falling in love with 35mm film, you’ll get your eyes set on a medium format camera. The difference between medium format and 35mm and full frame digital is pretty drastic. The amount of detail you get in the image and the ability to get a super shallow depth of field is pretty amazing. If you’re looking to buy your first “affordable” medium format camera, I’d highly recommend checking out this video.

My Favorite Photography Gear

My favorite photography gear for weddings, youtube, digital & film is a bit ever-changing. The best place to see all my favorite gear is in my Amazon shop which I update weekly. If you ever have any questions on products, slide into my DMs @tonywodarck.

Random Wedding Gear

When you’ve shot a few years of weddings you start to collect stuff. Things that are crucial and beneficial to have to make the day go better. Things like speakers for the awkward quiet room to loosen up as they get ready, a command hook to hang up the dress anywhere you’d like, an external battery to charge your phone that’s dying, a clear umbrella for the unexpected rain. All that and a lot more can be found through the link below.

Wedding Detail Styling Kit

Let me start by saying I SUCKED at flat lays. That is, until I did a mentor session with Mallory Dawn. I realized a lot of it is giving details the time they need and deserve and the other part is having a kit of goodies to help stylize these items. A lot of my favorite items and a link to Mallory’s kit is below. Bonus tip: reach out to the florist ahead of time and coordinate your schedules the day-of to make sure you have some extra flowers and foliage for styling.

FLASHES & LIGHTING

I’ve tried quite a few flashes Yongnuo (great for the price, slow recharge), Canon (overpriced), and finally the Godox V860II. It’s super fast recharging, meaning you can fire off a lot of flashes quickly, the battery is rechargeable and it’s easy to use. That flash paired with a Madmod Sphere kit is a perfect match. The Magmod sphere magnets on to the top of your flash to take on and off quickly and helps diffuse the light so it’s not so harsh. Make sure you get the flash that matches your camera brand, for me that’s Canon.

STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL

In 2019 I decided to start a Youtube channel. I feared and hated being on camera but I knew I had a lot of info I wanted to share and video was a good format to do it. I forced myself to get started by buying the gear I needed – making it so I had no excuses other than to turn on the camera and get going. One of the first videos I made now has over 25K views and my channel as of June 2020 has 1.5K subscribers. Pretty stoked on the growth and community I’ve grown there. Anyways, most important for a youtube is good audio, then another important thing is good light. Here are some of my favorite products I use.

Heirloom Layflat Albums & Prints

For the past few years I’ve been using WHCC as my go-to printer for fine art prints and albums. The quality, price, customer service ant turnaround time is amazing. I made it so all the galleries I deliver online are linked to WHCC as well so my clients can order prints directly through them and I receive whatever commission I choose on top of the COGS. Watch this video where I explain my whole album process.

Goodman Film Lab

With film photography, a good lab is almost just as important as taking the photo. How they develop, how they scan and services they offer are so important. I have been using Goodman Film Lab for the past couple years after trying a few different labs. The things I love about them, they’re in Irvine so I can physically drive and drop off my rolls, their customer service is amazing, their prices are fair and the quality of the scans they deliver are amazing. I typically do basic scans and have to do very little editing to get them perfect for my taste. They also offer premium scans where they can make edits to your profile/taste. Highly recommend them.

Location

18025 Sky Park Circle, Suite E
Irvine, CA 92614

MAKE YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS LOOK LIKE FILM

If you’re new to photography you’ve probably already fallen victim to the chase for the perfect preset. Let me spoil it for you, it doesn’t exist. What do exist though are Mastin Labs. They are presets made to emulate film. You apply the preset, adjust exposure, adjust white balance and 9 times out of 10 you’re done. I’ve been using the Portra Pushed preset on all my work for the past few years. I LOVE it and it matches the film I shoot almost perfectly.

Recently, I tried out The Archetype Process which is a color profile rather than a preset. You choose your film stock as a color profile in Lightroom and it changes all your colors to match the film, but leaves your sliders at zero. I’ve actually been liking it better. Give them both a look.

All The Programs I Use

Honeybook (Client Management, Contracts, Payments)
The best thing for my business ever. Here's a link for 50% off: http://share.honeybook.com/h2RQc. Also, bonus, I'll give you a free 30 minute Skype mentor session upon signing up. Why? Because Honeybook kicks me back $200, and cause I love you!

Pixieset (Photo delivery)

Jpeg Mini (reduces file size. Use promo code: TONYW for 20% off.)

SmartAlbums (design and proof albums)

Lightroom (The best app to edit lots of photos)

Squarespace (The best looking, simplest website design software to use)

iphone apps

These three are my most used iPhone apps for photography. First is sun seeker, it’s $9.99, ouch, but it’s worth so much more. You can see an overlay augmented reality on your screen that shows the path of the sun with times. Meaning you can see where the sun will be at what time anywhere. It’s sooo helpful when I’m scouting locations. Check this video is you want to see how I scout. Next is UNUM which allows me to see how my insta feed will look before I post. Last is Unfold which allows me to make nicer looking stories. I use these for almost all the stories I make on Instagram.

HITCHING POST CREATIVE - web design & branding

Two of my favorite humans from the wedding world, Courtney Tibbets and Matt Phipps, have launched a web design, branding, copywriting and marketing service. If you need a new site and want to step up your digital presence, this is it.

INSURANCE & CONTRACTS

As Laurken Kendall says, the first rule of business: Protect Your Ass! First, I up I use Hill & Usher to insure all my photography gear, and to use for my liability and errors & omissions insurance. They’re not the cheapest, they’re also not the most expensive but they are super good. They typically get you a COI for a venue within about 48 hours. Next up, you need a good contract for any type of session you shoot. Check out Laurken’s.

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