On this page, I list the equipment and software I use for shooting, processing, and printing photographs. I have listed this information to show my customers the quality of equipment I will be using in order to give them the best possible service and results. Additionally, I would like to show the amount of thought and consideration that has gone into selecting the best equipment available for my work. You will find the same degree of thought and consideration when I shoot and edit photographs.
Camera body: Canon EOS 5D
I use a Canon camera body because of the Canon L-series lenses. Canon L-series lenses are, in many peoples' opinions, the finest available for Digital SLR use. In addition, the EOS 5D is one of the few camera bodies today that uses a "full frame" sensor. This means that the sensor in the digital camera is the same size as a 35mm film negative. All but a few digital SLR camera bodies on the market use a digital sensor that is smaller than a 35mm film negative. The benefit on a full-frame sensor is that the larger sensor can capture more detail than the smaller sensors.
Lenses: 24-105mm L-series; 100-400 L-series
I only use genuine Canon lenses. In addition, I only use L-series lenses. L-series lenses are more expensive than most others, but they are made with a higher quality glass. The detail and color reproduction of L-series lenses compared to others is significant and noticable.
Monitor: Eizo CG222W
I use a 22 inch Eizo ColorEdge monitor. This monitor costs four to five times what a normal LCD monitor costs, but it has many significant differences from the LCD monitors you will find at a retail store. The monitor's LCD display is built with a different method than that of the normal LCD monitors. This offers two benefits. One is that the color range the monitor can reproduce is far beyond that of regular monitors. It can fully reproduce any of the color spaces currently used in photo editing and graphic design. Another benefit is that the monitor has an extremely large viewing angle, so that when my eyes are positioned in front of the center of the monitor, none of the edges or corners suffer from any color, brightness, or contrast distortions.
In addition to the quality of the image, Eizo ColorEdge monitors come with a calibration ability that uses custom software and a USB connection to a PC. Instead of altering the video card's look up tables, the Eizo calibration software directly adjusts the monitor itself. Color calibration with this method is more accurate, simpler, easier, and allows for immediately and easily switching from one calibration to another. For example, I use different calibration settings for digital presentations than I do for printing. The color space, contrast, and brightness between monitors and printed paper are significantly different. Switching between the two allows me to reproduce pictures accurately for either digital display or printed format.
Tablet: Wacom Intuos 3
Wacom makes the finest tablets in the industry. I have tried other, less expensive tablets. None of them provided the performance and usability of the Wacom product line. The Intuos 3 is a large tablet, with the writing surface measuring 15 inches diagonally. Using a tablet instead of a mouse accomplishes two things. One, it allows for much more accurate and detailed work for any image editing. Compared to a mouse, it is much easier and more accurate to perform tasks such as fine-tuned blur mask adjustments, for digitally airbrushing skin while leaving features such as eyebrows, eyes, eyelashes, and lips untouched. Additionally, the work flow of using a tablet is much faster than using a mouse. Instead of having to constantly move the cursor all over the screen, the tablet allows me to pick the pen up in one place, put it down in another, and the cursor instantly jumps to that spot. It may sound like a minor detail, but when editing thousands of photos over a span of years, the time saved is significant.
Printer: Canon Pixma Pro 9500
This printer is made specifically for printing photographs. The quality of the image, both in detail and color reproduction, is far beyond that of a standard all-in-one printer. Additionally, the Pixma Pro 9500 can make prints up to 13" x 19", including borderless prints of this size. As will be discussed next, the printer is also color calibrated. By having both the monitor and the printer calibrated, I am able to print exactly what I see on the screen.
Colorimeter: XRite i1Pro
This is the industry standard colorimeter. Compared to devices such as Huey's and Spyders, which cost $100-$200, the most basic i1Pro package sells for nearly $1000. This extra cost is due to a number of factors. One is that the i1Pro is able to calibrate both monitors and printers. If one is going to be printing photographs, it does little good to calibrate the monitor if the printer is not also calibrated. Another benefit is the software. The Gretag McBeth Eye-One Match 3 software is of noticeably higher quality than the others, and also includes multiple options for calibrating printer color. I have paid the additional software licensing fee to obtain more advanced printer color calibration tests than come with the standard i1Pro package. Finally, the device itself is much more accurate and consistent than other, less expensive, devices.
Image editing and management: Adobe Lightroom 2.3 and Adobe Photoshop CS3
Adobe makes the industry standard image editing and management software. The majority of my work is done in Lightroom. Lightroom has a great work flow process, which significantly speeds the editing and photo management process compared to using Photoshop by itself. In addition, all work done in Lightroom is reversible. The original image is never modified, so it is always available for a different editing approach if desired. Photoshop is used on occasions when I must do more detailed work. For example, a partial blur mask for digitally airbrushing skin is done with Photoshop. Requests such as removing blemishes, stains, or parts of the photo, such as a distracting object in the background, are also done in Photoshop. With both products made by the same company, there is integration between the two that allows for easily including both applications in the work flow for the same photograph.
Image noise reduction: NoiseNinja 2
While both Lightroom and Photoshop include noise reduction technologies, they do not have the quality and flexibility found in a dedicated noise-reduction product such as NoiseNinja. It is the industry standard noise reduction software, and I have not found a product that does a better job. NoiseNinja comes with noise profiles for specific camera models, to help adjust specific noise reduction for the camera model and ISO speed used for that particular photograph. Although the EOS 5D produces some of the least noisy images in the industry, there is noticable noise when shooting at very fast ISO speeds, such as 1600 and 3200. The results I have achieved with NoiseNinja are not achievable by using only the noise reduction available in Lightroom and Photoshop. Most photos will not need this type of noise reduction. But in situations where I must shoot in low light, and must use a fast ISO speed, the use of NoiseNinja significantly increases the quality of the final product.
