The Ever-Changing Gear of Commercial & Advertising Photographer Christian Rudman
When people ask me what kind of photography I do, I always say commercial and advertising. I believe that is the quickest way to describe it. If it looks like they are willing to put up with nerding about exactly what the work is that I produce, I dive into a diatribe about the way I operate as more of a creative director than a photographer. My father is a painter and owned a sign shop for 30 years, so I grew up around art and graphic design. It feeds a lot into how I approach photography and the pieces I like to create, so I make a lot of mixed media/art/conceptual images.
Sometimes I mix up studio composite work, sometimes it’s all location with some heavy post production, sometimes it’s not. My bag changes a lot based on exactly what I am shooting. The bag here is my full gear kit and, like Evan Spiler, I freaking love my Peak Design bag. I’m a new dad too, so it often doubles as my diaper bag; I’ve recommended them to many friends regardless of if they are a photographer or not. It’s just a well designed and thought out bag that kills it on versatility and looks. The origami-inspired dividers are freaking genius.
If I am just hitting the office for the day, I condense all my carry down to the essentials like notebooks, computer, water, and my X100T. If I am packing for travel, the rest of the bag gets filled up with snacks, entertainment stuff, spare pair of skivvies, etc. If I’m packing for a shoot, all that gear you see goes in there. I had to borrow another camera just to take this photo.
CAMERA:
Fuji FIlm X-T1 IR
16.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS II Sensor, Full HD 1080p Video Recording
Fujifilm X100F
24.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS III Sensor, Hybrid Optical and Electronic Viewfinder, Full HD 1080p Video Recording
Fuji XT-1 & Fuji X100T. Most portable dual camera rig I can run with and still have my Fuji color and glass, kills it on portrait and deep dark tones.
LENSES:
Fuji XF 56mm F/1.2 R
Aperture Range: f/1.2 to f/16, Two Extra-Low Dispersion Elements, High Speed AF
Fuji XF 35mm f/2 R
Aperture Range: f/2 to f/16, Internal Focusing AF System, Weather-Sealed Construction
Fujifilm XF 14mm f/2.8 R
Aperture Range: f/2.8-22, Fast, Ultra Wide-Angle Prime Lens
Fuji XF 56/1.2, XF 35/2, XF 14/2.8; Fuji X100T 23/2. Fuji glass is just sexy as hell and even shooting on a crop sensor, both of these systems resolve so damn well.
LIGHTING:
PCB Einsteins (2x), Alien Bee 800, PCB PLMs. It was an excellent and cheap entry to studio lighting. As Zack Arias says, it’s like the Toyota Corolla of lighting.
BAG:
Peak Design Everyday Messenger 15. It truly is my every-day carry, it holds all I need for my regular day-to-day work and then accommodates everything well for when I am working or traveling.
MISC. ITEMS:
Plenty of analog film gear too.
