What Gear Does Skateboard & Lifestyle Photographer Leo Rosas Have in His Bag?
Leo Rosas is a photographer of all trades. His main experience and influence are urban sports and young lifestyle.
Originally published April 18, 2018, by Jennifer Berube. Updated October 16, 2026, by PHLEARN Staff: Leo’s skateboard photography gear is now a What’s in the Bag summary with kit cards, a numbers strip and a new photo layout, and we added his Liberty Bridge story from a separate 2018 behind-the-shot article; the words are unchanged.
He also shoots portrait, commercial advertisement, product, street, lifestyle, studio, and much more. Leo strives to learn something new every day and keep his mind open to new challenges. Let’s see what’s in his bag.
For me, it depends on the “purpose and style of shooting.” If it is for personal work then there needs to be a balance between goal and comfort, meaning that if I am shooting on my own I cannot carry much equipment all the time. And if it is for an assignment, there will be a higher emphasis on the purpose of the shoot.
The more you understand the basics of how the many different tools work, the easier it will be to decide what is needed to achieve the results you want. I am not someone who will try to push the use of lots of gear if it is really not necessary or helpful to the goal of a shoot.
The more you understand the basics of how the many different tools work, the easier it will be to decide what is needed to achieve the results you want.
Leo Rosas
- Main cameraNikon D810
- Pocket cameraRicoh GR
- LightsBroncolor Move 1200 and Siros L
15
years using Nikon speedlights
4
years and more working mainly with Broncolor
16
megapixel APS-C sensor in his pocket camera
Cameras for Skateboard Photography
Camera
36.3 MP FX-format CMOS sensor, 51-point AF system
Leo: I use a Nikon D810 at the moment. It’s perfect for what I shoot most of the time; even for action shots because I prefer to click once instead of shooting in continuous mode and leaving it up to luck to get the right frame and high frame rate.
16.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor, Ricoh GR f/2.8 Fixed Lens
Leo: I also really like my Ricoh GR camera. It is basically an APS-C 16 megapixel sensor that fits in my pocket and works perfectly. The only downside is its poor low light performance, but I can live with that.
Lenses
Lenses
Aperture Range: f/4 to f/32, Three Extra-Low Dispersion Elements, Silent Wave Motor AF System
Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16, Silent Wave Motor AF System
Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22, 3 FLD, 3 SLD, and 3 Aspherical Elements
Leo: I also like wide-angle lenses and I am really looking forward to Sigma’s 14-24 mm, which is supposed to have minimal distortion!
50mm 1.4 and 70-200mm 2.8. I think these two lenses are great and have allowed me to do many of my portfolio pictures, so I love them!
Lighting
Lighting
Compatible with Nikon i-TTL, Tilts from -7° to 90°
Move 1200 L Battery-Powered Pack, Weatherproof Power Pack Soft Case
For about 15 years, I have used Nikon speedlights and I love them. Around 2011, I started to work with Broncolor flashes and it was a completely new experience which allowed me to dig deeper into the control of light in studio and on location. For over four years, I have been using primarily Broncolor Move 1200 and Siros L. They are great tools that are worth their weight in quality and they can be heavy 🙂 The quality and reliability of these flashes are outstanding and they are always an option for most of my shoots.
Bag and Extras
Bag
I use Tamrac and Lowepro most of the time and I like them quite a bit, but I am looking into new options to compare. At the moment, brands like F-Stop, Cullmann and Pelican look appealing to me.
Miscellaneous Items
Skateboard, Wacom tablet, memory cards, external drives, gaffer tape, pocket wizards, laptop, card reader, extra batteries, smartphone, light meter, shoelaces (so useful!)
I am not someone who will try to push the use of lots of gear if it is really not necessary or helpful to the goal of a shoot.
Leo Rosas
The Liberty Bridge Shot
When I have the opportunity to travel somewhere, I try to contact people, to connect with the locals using social media or try to find somebody who knows somebody. This skater, this was the first time I met him. His name is Lajos Petranyi, a super nice guy who is always eager to talk to tourists in English, help visiting photographers and skateboarders find great locations, and help produce content no matter what time.
The image on the bridge was taken in Budapest about three years ago. We went skating and this photo was taken on one of the main bridges of Budapest, the Liberty Bridge, if I’m not mistaken. I saw that there was this space where he was able to roll up a little bit. The space was hardly anything, barely any space. Lajos probably wouldn’t have tried to do a trick there if I hadn’t asked him because it’s not really a place to go and skate.
Lajos probably wouldn’t have tried to do a trick there if I hadn’t asked him because it’s not really a place to go and skate.
Leo Rosas
The traffic was non-stop, and thankfully, he’s a good skater, so that was not much of an issue. He was scared the first couple tries, but I said, “Hey, look what it could be.” I took a picture without him in it and showed him, “This is what we can do and you can be in this position.” So, he said he would give it a try, but he didn’t think it would work because it was such a small area. He tried once and didn’t make it, but when I showed him the shot and how it could look, he got super excited and tried harder until he made it. It took a few tries getting comfortable because of the noise of the cars and the sketchy spot, but then he did it!
- CameraNikon D810
- Lens50mm Nikkor
- Settings1/640, f/5.6, ISO 100
I used a Nikon D810 with a 50mm Nikkor. The settings were 1/640 shutter speed, f/5.6 aperture, ISO 100.
What’s funny is that while none of the drivers stopped or complained, there was one guy walking by who stopped Lajos and said he was an undercover cop. He said that if Lajos didn’t stop he’d take him to jail. I was behind the camera and didn’t really hear it, but when I went over, Lajos told me the guy had shown him his badge. That happened after only the first try at getting the shot. After that, we walked to the other side of the bridge and kept shooting.
No one else stopped us or complained about it; we spent maybe 10 minutes doing it. On the other side of the beam, there’s a walk path, so it was fine. It was safe. But, it was a bit scary for us because he could have slid into a car, so that’s definitely not something that I would tell people to go and do; it’s not very responsible.
Skateboarding, in general, is kind of a risky sport.
You can see more of Leo’s work on his website and Instagram. Also, be sure to check out our full interview with him, where we talk about the inspiration behind his images and what he prefers more: agency or personal work.
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