the contents of a camera bag laid out on a bed.

a woman in a white dress Standing in the dark.

a woman in a dress is walking by a train.

a group of people standing in front of a building.

a person in a field with mountains in the background.

a woman with long hair wearing ear buds.

a woman sitting on a counter in a kitchen.

a woman in a white dress holding her hands up.

a woman in a white dress running in a field.

Amanda Kuo

Travel | Last Updated: June 20, 2023

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Hi everyone! I’m Amanda from Toronto, Canada.

I specialize in portrait, travel, and wedding photography. I’ve been doing photography professionally for six years now, but the journey started all the way back in middle school. I would bring a point-and-shoot to school every day just to capture the memories.

That was when I fell in love with the superpower of making a moment last forever, so I’ve been doing it ever since.

The main gear I use is a Canon EOS R6 body, a Canon 24-70mm EF f/2.8 lens, a Yongnuo Flash with different colour gels, an Aputure MC Light, the Zhiyun 100W Pocket Cob Light, and a reflector.

Sometimes I will bring along the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens as well, but usually, the Canon 24-70mm EF f/2.8 does the trick!

I’d say my camera gear is pretty minimal compared to what most photographers would carry around, just because I don’t drive and usually will have to travel to different places via public transport for photoshoots.

I’ve learned that it is better for me to have a lighter gear pack, although I wish one day to switch to all prime lenses.

I think there are a lot of expectations when it comes to professionalism as a photographer, one being the quality of gear you use and the amount of gear you carry. I believe it’s more important to have gear that works best for YOU and your shooting style.

Canon EOS R6 – I upgraded to this camera body when the first Canon mirrorless series came out. I knew I wanted to switch to mirrorless, and the Canon EOS R6 was on the more affordable spectrum compared to the Canon EOS R5.

I’ve been super happy with my purchase because it is lightweight, easy to navigate, has a touch screen and produces high-quality, crisp images!

I must admit that I have been a Canon girl since I was eleven years old.

Canon 24-70mm EF f/2.8 – I bought this lens four years ago and have been using it every day since. As much as I wanted to spend thousands on good prime lenses, I decided to buy this zoom lens instead.

The biggest reason was simply that I did not have enough savings for multiple lenses. But even now that I can afford other prime lenses, I’m choosing to stick with the 24-70mm because of its versatility.

I travel a lot, and it is amazing to only bring one lens instead of multiple. This lens has been through thick and thin with me, and I just love it!

Yongnuo Flash – I love shooting portraits with flash during sunset and into the night as you can get very creative with it using different colour gels.

Aputure MC Light – I love a portable RGB light, and this one is great because it actually allows you to have full control over hue, saturation and intensity to get any colour you desire.

Zhiyun 100W Pocket COB Light – another portable light I love. This one is particularly useful because of its fantastic power. Even though it is not RGB, it can light up a subject in broad daylight!

I use Lightroom to edit all my photos and very rarely Photoshop. I love the user interface of Lightroom so much. It can allow me to paint different worlds and create any vibe I desire.

I create and use my own presets for consistency, and editing is one of my favourite things to do!

Learn more about Lightroom Presets.

I often use a Reflector as always great for sunny days, and of course, a water bottle keeps me hydrated during shoots!

Photography can be intimidating to start with because you think you need to drop thousands on gear to be able to get ahead, but it’s so much more than the gear photographers use.

You can be a bad photographer with the most expensive camera gear. What matters the most is how you use the gear, what your style is and most importantly, practice.

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