I started taking photos when I was just a kid, using any camera I could get my hands on. One of the most important aspects of travel photography & videography is that you don’t let the craving for high quality, expensive camera gear get in the way of capturing your perspective now.
Some of my earliest iPhone photos have ended up being some of the most meaningful photos I’ve ever taken.
That being said, when I decided to turn my passion for travel into a career, I invested in my business by upgrading to a mirrorless digital camera. I don’t have an educational background in photography so I don’t use all the correct terms to describe exactly why I chose to use the gear that I have.
Nonetheless, I have taught myself everything I needed know about creating content to tell stories, capture experiences and build a brand.
Pro Photo Tip for Beginners: Start shooting RAW even if you don’t understand why, you’ll thank yourself later. Trust me.
Shooting with Fujifilm
The Fujifilm XT2 was my go-to camera for travel photography for 3+ years. The majority of the photos I’ve ever taken on my travels and for my business has been with the XT2 and I was very happy with it for years.
I highly recommend this camera because it’s very light weight, durable and weather resistant (I definitely tested that!) and it’s very intuitively designed making it ideal for beginner photographers.
Here’s the lenses I had in my kit:
This was the lens I used every single day and most of my photos have been shot on this lens.
Why I Switched to the Sony A7R iii
The main reason why I decided to switch from my Fujifilm XT2 was because the video stabilization wasn’t great in comparison to other cameras.
Personally, it felt that the XT2 was geared more towards photography than videography and the video quality I was shooting with my XT2 wasn’t the quality that I was looking for to start creating videos for Youtube.
Source: Apotelyt
I fell in love with the Sony Alpha series, especially the Sony A7R iii for so many reasons.
This camera shoots fantastic high resolution photos as well as incredibly stable, 4K video- even in low light!
This basically makes the camera the best of both worlds (photo and video). It’s light weight enough to film vlog style videos while holding it in one hand and it’s small enough to pass as a discrete, somewhat casual camera which goes a long way when trying to film unique travel experiences in social environments.
The price difference between the Sony A7Riii and the Fujifilm XT2 is significant but I found it to be worth the difference in higher quality content for my business.
I’m now shooting the Sony FE 16-35 mm f/2.8 GM lens which is a perfect wide angle lens for vlogging.
I also upgraded my microphone to the Rode VideoMic Pro because it’s definitely the most durable of the microphone extensions that I have tested out.
Thank you so much to B&H Photo for my dream camera set up & for empowering women around the world to create stories and capture beautiful experiences!
