friday five

1. I am so so so excited to have upgraded my Canon T2i to the 70D this week! While this may be the highlight of my week for weeks to come, I wanted to take time this week to share some of my must have photography tools.
2. Big things happened this month as Scott Kelby announced the merge of Kelby Training and the NAPP. The result was Kelbyone.com, an incredible resource of photography educational videos, forums, discounts, etc.  I’ve been trying to allot at least half an hour a day to continue to learn new techniques.
3. I spent ages looking for the perfect camera bag and although I have found one that I love, it is not always necessary to carry around all of my equipment. This Zing neoprene sleeve has been a lifesaver. Whether I’m using my camera bag or throwing my camera into my purse, it is always in my Zing when not in use. This is probably the least bulky standalone protection that I have found and I immediately ordered a size up to accommodate my new 70D.
4. As soon as I convinced myself that sharper pictures are totally worth the extra hassle of using a tripod my photography took a drastic turn for the better. Because I primarily focus on small details of subjects that do not move (food), using a tripod has infinitely improved my macro and still photography. My two favorites are the more traditional Canon Deluxe Tripod and the compact GorillaPod for when I’m on the go or shooting in tight spaces.
5. I cannot emphasize enough the convenience of staging photos on vinyl. You can get as messy as you like (intentionally or unintentionally) and it just wipes clean. Swanky Prints offers a large selection of gorgeous backdrops at the lowest price anywhere on the web.

What can’t you live without in your photography toolkit? I’d love to learn about your behind the scenes must haves!