What’s in Brooke Shaden’s Bag?

Ever since I started photography I’ve been asked this simple question: “Why don’t you use lights?” To which I have this simple answer: “I don’t work well with equipment.” 

Brooke Shaden with the things she needs most on a shoot. Photo © Brooke Shaden

• Canon 5D Mark II
• 50mm Zeiss lens (prime/manual focus)
• 3-legged Thing tripod (Brian model)
• Canon RC-6 remote
• 10-second timer
• Inspiration notebook

I take the minimalist approach to photography because, truth be told, I am not in love with the photography process. I don’t particularly enjoy setting up equipment and spending my time that way; instead, I love focusing on imagination and moving more quickly to the end product. That is not to say I don’t love the equipment I have, but rather that I have a real passion for simplicity in all forms.

Focusing mostly on self-portraiture, a tripod and remote are essential for my kit, though I lose my remote more often than I have it packed, in which case, we should add “10-second timer” to the list. The last thing I take with me everywhere I go is my special inspiration notebook, which is decorated like the TARDIS from Doctor Who. I love writing down pieces of inspiration to use at a later time.

Brooke Shaden is a fine-art photographer living and working in Arizona. She began creating self-portraits for ease and to have full control over the images, and has since grown into a self-portrait artist. She enjoys placing herself within worlds she wishes we could live in, where secrets float out in the open and where the impossible becomes possible. Catch up with her at WPPI in Las Vegas during either her Photo Walk on Monday, March 2, at 8:30 a.m., or in her seminar, “Set Design—From Blank Space to Beautiful Images,” Tuesday, March 3, at 4 p.m.

Related Links

What’s in Hunter McRae’s Bag?

It’s in the Bag: The Most Practical Camera Toters Out There

What’s in Your Bag? Chapter 2 (of an Ongoing Series)