GEAR ARSENAL

INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Many people often ask what type of gear I use so I decided to make this insider peek into the behind the scenes of
my gear arsenal. At the end of the day, its more about what you put into the frame than the technology. If you
know what youre doing, you can make amazing photos with a basic point and shoot camera, or iPhone, or Canon
Rebel, or a 1920s film camera. Gear is the baseline and the entry. Sure, having good gear helps which is why Ive
outlined here what I use.
This isnt THE only guide for photographers, but its equipment that I use to portray the lens of which I see the
world. Take it, find things you like and apply them to your own arsenal. It comes down to your own preferences
and likes. Keep in mind, I dont go into extreme geekville of everything, just a very simple what it is and what I
use it for. If you want the super deep details, theres a world of internets to do the research, but at the very least
its a start for you.
I also included the gear I use for my podcast, which has become a big part of my brand and a fun passion project.
Podcasting has been a way to bring another dimension to my 2 dimensional art. Inspiring conversations are a
passion of mine, and I love sharing them with the masses and bringing that inspiration to other people. I love
interviewing successful creative entrepreneurs on how they make a living with their art and how they got there,
as I'm sure other people aspiring to those careers want to hear too. If you havent had a listen, you can check it
out here: shoptalkradio.com
Lastly, if you enjoy this free book or learn something from it, would you mind helping me spread the word? Tell
your friends, family, and followers to go download it at nickonken.me/free. That would be much appreciated. If I
were with you in person right now, Id give you a big high five.

www.nickonken.com

BIOGRAPHY

Biography
Nick Onken is a photographer, podcast
host, and creative entrepreneur devoted
to inspiring the world to create their
moments and create their life. A former
graphic designer hailing from the soggy
city of Seattle, now residing in the
concrete jungle of New York, Nick has
captured personalities such as Justin
Bieber, Usher, and Jessica Alba. He has
photographed print campaigns for
international brands such as Nike, Coca
Cola and Adidas and his work has been
published in magazines such as Conde
Nast Traveler, Cosmopolitan, and Marie
Claire. On his podcast, hes interviewed
celebrities such as Usher, Scooter Braun,
and others. He photographs for the
charity, Pencils of Promise, as he
believes that education is the root
problem solver of our world.

www.nickonken.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cameras
Lenses
Film
Memory Cards
Lighting
Studio
Digi Tech - On Location
Workspace Computing
Storage
Bags
Podcasting
Sound Systems
Photo Software & Apps
Tech Software & Apps
Productivity Apps
Social Media
Blogging
Recommended Reading
Favorite Blogs & Podcasts
www.nickonken.com

4
11
15
17
18
19
20
22
24
25
26
28
29
30
31
33
34
35
37
3

CAMERAS

Canon 1DX

Buy It Here

This is now my new primary camera I use for

commercial and editorial jobs. It shoots 12 frames
per second, has a 30 frame RAW buffer, and the
high ISO options are the key features why I use it.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

Canon 6D

Buy It Here

We use this camera for behind the scenes

video and snaps on photo shoots, and Ill
also use it when I travel and want a light
camera to take around if I'm not set out
with the purpose of taking pictures.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

Canon 1DS Mark III

This camera used to be my primary commercial
camera until I replaced it with the 1Dx. Now I use
it when I'm shooting travel work with the sole
purpose of shooting. The 9 point auto focus circle
selection is quick on the draw to change when I
see things I need to shoot fast. Being able to catch
the moments is essential in these situations.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

Canon G15

Buy It Here

Great for evening party shots with the rear

shutter sync. You can trail the ambient light
with the pop of the flash. Its light and easy to
carry around.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

Hasselblad 503CW
The depth of this camera and the texture of film is amazing for
portraits. I typically shoot this camera on my own personal
shoots.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

Contax G2
I typically use this for my own personal work that I
want to shoot in a looser style. Its a range finder, so
you only see roughly what youll get.

www.nickonken.com

CAMERAS

iPhone 6
iPhone is the best because its always with me. Works
great in natural daylight. Its my new point & shoot and
has been for the last few years.

www.nickonken.com

10

LENSES

Canon 20mm f/2.8

Buy It Here

Love this lens for landscapes and close up

documentary style images.

www.nickonken.com

11

LENSES

Canon 35mm f/1.4

Buy It Here

Great for group lifestyle images, other action

scenes, or tight indoor locations.

www.nickonken.com

12

LENSES

Canon 50mm f/1.2

Buy It Here

I use this for portraits and lifestyle images

with 1-2 people in them.

www.nickonken.com

13

LENSES

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8

Buy It Here

I love this lens for travel scenes that are far

away and I like to stay incognito. Its also great
for tighter portraits.

www.nickonken.com

14

FILM

Portra 400

Buy It Here

My favorite color film stock.

www.nickonken.com

15

FILM

Ilford Delta 3200

Buy It Here

My favorite black and white film stock. I love

the contrast and the grain.

www.nickonken.com

16

MEMORY CARDS

Sandisk Cards

Buy It Here

Fast and durable. These get the job done... especially

with the 1DX 12fps. They also download fast to the
computer.

www.nickonken.com

17

LIGHTING

Profoto Lights
It's not often that I use off camera
lighting, but when I do, I prefer Profoto.
The consistency in light tone is great and
the refresh rate is super fast.

Canon Speedlite 270EX II

This is my all-time favorite on-camera
flash. What makes it so great is how close
the light source is to the lens. I use it on
fashion jobs and event photography. Buy It Here

PocketWizard PLUS II
I prefer pocket wizards to sync any
off-camera lighting on set. Buy It Here

www.nickonken.com

18

STUDIO

Gaff Tape

Buy It Here

Sticky enough to hold things down but not

leave any residue. Its great for using
on-location to hold anything loose in place.

Apple Boxes

Buy It Here

These are key on set. I use them to stand on, sit on, prop things
up on, etc. They come in handy on every job.

Soundcast Outcast Jr.

Buy It Here

This system pumps, but I only use it on big sets when I have
multiple assistants and PAs to move it from location to location.
Great for on set dance parties.

www.nickonken.com

Cinefoil
Cinefoil is great for shaping light in ways that modifiers dont come.

19

DIGI TECH - ON LOCATION

Mac book Pro Buy It Here

Digi Shade

The Macbook pro 15'' is used for just about everything

when I'm not on my Mac Pro. It is my on-set computer
and my daily out-of-office machine.

Buy It Here

The digi shade has a magnetic top that connects to

the laptop on set. It provides good shade on location
and folds up easily for transport in our kit.

Manfrotto 190CXPRO4
I use this to mount the digi plate to on set
when we're not using a Magliner. Buy It Here

DigiPlate

Buy It Here

One of the best designed digi devices out there. While

I'm shooting on set, it holds my computer, hard drives,
and cables. The modular design gives you the flexibility
to set it up however you like.

www.nickonken.com

20

DIGI TECH - ON LOCATION

Tether Tools Jerk Stopper

Gtech 1TB Mobile Thunderbolt
I used two of these on-set for secondary and tertiary
storage for jobs. Buy It Here

Hyperjuice Battery

Buy It Here

More often than not, I'm shooting on location rather

than in studio where there is a power source. The
Hyperjuice Battery gives me an additional charge on
my laptop for these shoots.

www.nickonken.com

Another one from Tether Tools, their jerk

stopper is simple, but super effective for
keeping the tether cable in place on my
camera. Buy It Here

Tether Tools Cable

Buy It Here

It's very important to have a reliable cable when

shooting tethered on-set. I recommend the tether
tools cables. The bright orange makes them way
harder to trip over.

21

WORKSPACE COMPUTING

Mac Pro

iMac

Buy It Here

My assistants use iMacs in office. Both the

21" and 27" versions have proven to be great
machines for editing, processing, designing,
and any other tasks.

Buy It Here

The Mac Pro is my work horse. It's lightning

fast and can handle my heavy day-to-day use.
(I have 10,000 tabs open at once)

Airport Extreme

Buy It Here

The new extreme tower wifi base station

seems to have much more reach and
consistency.

www.nickonken.com

22

WORKSPACE COMPUTING
Office Computer Infrastructure
Here are a few things to note about the diagram:
1. Everything in the office is ethernet hard wired for faster
connection and transfer speeds.
2. The 4TB Western Digital books are actually 8TB, we just
mirror the 4TB drives for redundant backup. Always having
two copies incase one drive fails.
3. The Mac Mini is a dedicated server to host the G-Speed
Studio XL 64TB archive storage.
4. The G-Speed Studio XL is divided into 4 x 8TB drives that
are mirrored to a redundant back up. Each A drive backs up
to a B drive so we have 2 copies.
5. All the working and archive drives are connected through
Thunderbolt for optimum speed.
6. When we shoot a job on the 15 Retina Macbook Pro, we
dump the job onto the digital processing Production Drive.
7. Once the job is finished with selects, meta-data, and
ready for Archive state, we move it to the G-Speed
Archive and delete it from the Production drive.
8. We use Media Pro to catalog all of the selects across the
entire archive drive for easy access in pulling images for
portfolio, or anything else.

www.nickonken.com

23

STORAGE

Gtech Gspeed 64TB

Buy It Here

This is used as our primary archive storage. The

thunderbolt connectivity is unbelievably fast.
(and really big)

Western Digital MyBook 8TB

We use two of these drives in the office to work
directly off of. We RAID1 the two 4TB drives.
Once we're done with a job on production, we
move it to the big 64TB. Buy It Here

www.nickonken.com

24

BAGS

Thinktank Airport Roller 2.0

The roller is my primary carry-on bag. Everything is
super accessible and the wheels make it so that I
don't have to lug a big bag around an airport for
hours. Its important not to check your essential
gear. Buy It Here

Ona Brixton Bag

Buy It Here

This is a great bag to use with a camera body and

two lenses. The leather works nicely when
dressed up in a suit or something more formal.
Buy it Here

Oakley Backpack

Bellstaff Messenger Bag

When I travel, the oakley backpack holds my

computer and personal things like clothes. Its
great for 2-3 day trips without checked luggage.
I also use it to tote around the digi plate for
on-location jobs.

Still in search for the perfect shoot bag. This one

does a sufficient job. It fits 2 lenses that I can
switch back and forth when I'm shooting, and it
doesnt look like a camera bag. It packs right into
the top of the ThinkTank roller carry-on.

www.nickonken.com

25

PODCASTING

Macbook Pro 15

Audacity
Buy It Here

You can use any Mac. Which depending on where

I'm recording, Ill typically use my MacBook Pro 15
Retina.

Heil PR40

Buy It Here

The high end mics we use in the studio. After

they are EQd they sound like youre on the radio.

Freedom Podcasting

FocusRite Scarlett 2i2

I use Freedom Podcasting to produce all my

podcasts. They EQ the vocals, and splice
music in.

The USB device that lets you plug in two channels

of audio input. It has regular mic inputs.

www.nickonken.com

Buy It Here

Download Here

The super RAW, basic, and free recording software.

No bells and whistles. My podcast producer needs the
raw audio. Garage Band seems to add weird filters
and is harder to use so I stopped using it.

Griffin Headphone Splitter

There is only one audio output on the Scarlett, so we
use a splitter for two sets of headphones. Buy It Here

26

PODCASTING

Heil Sound PL-2T Overhead Broadcast Boom

Heil Sound Windscreen

Buy It Here

These mic stands are great because they clip on to different tables. Buy It Here

To soften the pop sounds when talking into the mic.

Beats by Dre Studio Headphones

We use these to plug into the Scarlett to listen as we

record. Buy It Here

www.nickonken.com

Samson Meteor USB Mic

Cheap, small, ambient mic. I use this if I need to do a
podcast on the road. Its not as ideal because it picks
up everything in the room and doesnt sound as
good, but works if I'm traveling. Buy It Here

27

SOUNDS SYSTEMS

Beats Pill by Dre

I love the beats pill when I'm doing shoots alone or
with one assistant. The portability makes it great for
guerilla style shoots. They now have a case you can
clip onto your bag with a carabiner. Buy It Here

www.nickonken.com

Sonos System
Ive recently outfitted my office and apartment with a
full Sonos system. I put the Playbar and sub woofer in
the office, as thats where I spend the most time. Read
this blog post for more info. Buy It Here

28

PHOTO SOFTWARE & APPS

Photo Mechanic 5

Buy It Here

This is essentially a slimmed down version of

Adobe Bridge. I use it to keyword, rename,
organize, and rate my photos before taking them
into Capture One

Capture One Pro 8

Buy It Here

I use Photoshop once I process files out of

Capture One to make any last tweaks, crop,
and save.

Media Pro

Illustrator CS6

Buy It Here

I use illustrator for all of my design needs.

Buy It Here

Media pro is my image library. I use it to

make high-res catalogues and web-res
catalogues of all my processed work. It makes
it super easy to search for a keyword and find
a file.

VSCO Cam

Buy It Here

Capture One 8 is one of the most important tools

in my aresenal. No other raw editor reads raw
data like it. Capture one gives me the color I'm
looking for in my photos.

www.nickonken.com

Photoshop CS6

Download Here

I use VSCO Cam on my iPhone to edit

photos. They have a huge variety of filters
to start with and a toolkit to tweak your
image exactly how you like it.

29

TECH SOFTWARE & APPS

G-Speed Studio Assistant

Specifically for the G-Speed 64TB system. We
use it to set up the J-Bod Mirror raids how we
want them.

Disk Utility
We use this all the time for formatting drives
and verifying disks to see if they are corrupted.

www.nickonken.com

Disk Warrior

Buy It Here

Even macs slow down after time, and it's important to keep them clean and running smooth
when your career depends on them. I use disk
warrior to essentially "defrag" the machines in
my office and get them working like new.

30

PRODUCTIVITY APPS

ToDoist
Google Drive
Google Drive is great for sharing working docs between
my crew internally, externally with outside vendors, or
my agents.

Download Here

We use ToDoist as a task manager in-office. I'm

able to assign tasks to my assistants and see
when they complete them. It also has comment
feature which is nice when I'm out of town and
we need to touch base on details of a project.

Google Apps Mail

Dropbox

I use Google apps to host my e-mail server. Its like

having a gmail account which you get all the
benefits from, but its your own custom addresses
for your domain. It also allows syncing of calendars
and documents within your organization.

Dropbox is awesome for syncing all in-house

documents over across different computers. We
created a Studio Share that we save everything
into. We all have access and everything updates
across all our computers when a file is changed or
updated.

www.nickonken.com

Buy It Here

31

PRODUCTIVITY APPS

Flight Track Pro

Download Here

This is my favorite app for travel. You

sign up for a tripit.com account, forward
your flight confirmations to an address,
and Flight Track Pro aggregates all the
flight info for your flights. It gives you
real time notifications of your flight
status and any changes starting 2 hours
prior to your flight. Its genius.

Uber

Pocket

Download Here

Love Uber for the ease of payment and ordering a car

to your doorstep instead of having to track down a
Taxi. Surge hours are a drag but the rest of the time
its better. Sometimes its also cheaper than taking a
taxi to and from the airports. In LA, Uber is a game
changer. Its so cheap it makes it feasible to go out and
not have to deal with the traffic yourself.

Weather Channel

Download Here

Pocket is amazing for when you come across articles

on the web that you want to read later. It saves them
in a more basic book style format that you can read
offline whenever you want. You can add Chrome,
Safari, and Firefox plugins to send to your pocket app
with the click of a button.

Download Here

This is my favorite weather app. It has sunrise and

sunset times, as well as hourly reports. The Pro
version is ad free which is nice. I have found it to be
the most accurate of the weather apps. Very helpful
for when youre on location shooting.

www.nickonken.com

32

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram
My favorite form of social media. As a photographer you
must have an IG. I use it to curate an overall idea of me
and my brand, as well as showcase my photography in
small dose edits.

www.nickonken.com

Facebook
I use Facebook for longer posts and sharing blog posts. I
typically share everything photography related on my
Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/nickonkenphoto,
then share that through my personal account to boost
the post.

Pinterest

Twitter

We use this to link articles and post brand

inspirations.

I dont use twitter as much these days, but I will

on occasion. Its a different audience. I use it to
push articles I write or find inspiring.

33

BLOGGING

Wordpress
Wordpress has the best back-end for blogging. You can
keep all your posts and change the shell front end if you
ever want to. My nickonken.me blog is all powered
through Wordpress.

Mailchimp
We use this for our newsletters. Its great for easy
design. A bit limited, but something my assistants can do
easily without knowing HTML or CSS.

Tumblr
Tumblr I use more for following other photo blogs and
finding inspiration.

www.nickonken.com

34

RECOMMENDED READING LIST

The Art of the Start

The 4-Hour Workweek

The Tipping Point

A world shifter on designing your life. This

book was hugely inspirational in the mind-set
of creating my own life. Buy It Here

One of my favorite classics on the statistics of

how ideas spread and where they become
world wide phenomenons.

Buy It Here

The Promise of a Pencil

Great read on starting up companies. The

hardest part is the start. Buy It Here

Buy It Here

Written by my friend, Adam Braun, about the story of

Pencils of Promise and the internal lessons he learned
building the organization. His main take away is
finding your purpose in life. Powerful read.

www.nickonken.com

35

RECOMMENDED READING LIST

The Brand Called You

The ins and outs of you as a brand. Learn more
about how everything you do represents your
brand. Buy It Here

The War of Art

Buy It Here

A great book on discovering the resistance

that holds you back from making art. Making
art and creating is a journey, which this dives
deeper into.

Outliers

CRUSH IT!

Buy It Here

A quick and easy read on using blogging

and social media to become an expert in
a certain area and taking it to the next
level.

Buy It Here

Another classic on different outliers - the people

that make waves in this world. The innovators and
creators and how they became who they are.

www.nickonken.com

36

FAVORITE BLOGS & PODCASTS

Lewis Howes : The School of Greatness

My buddy Lewis is crushing it. He interviewed me on his podcast
(click here to listen) and inspired me to do my own podcast
which is where Shoptalk radio was born. Listen Here

Michael Hyatt : This is Your Life

Great podcast on leadership and productivity.
Michael is the former CEO of Thomas Nelson
Publishing. Listen Here

SHOPTALK Radio

Listen Here

As cliche as it may sound, I actually love listening to my

own podcast because the guests I'm interviewing are all
very interesting (obviously why I picked them). Most of
the time, I have to listen to digest what theyre actually
saying.

www.nickonken.com

37

FAVORITE BLOGS & PODCASTS

Jordan Harbinger : The Art of Charm

The Tim Ferriss Show

Jordans podcast is widely popular. He interviews people about

personal development and social skills. Listen Here

The man who wrote The Four Hour Work week.

He interviews high level people on life hacking.

Listen Here

Jonathan Fields : The Good Life Project

Jonathan interviewed me a while back. He interviews people with
inspiring stories who are living the good life. Very inspirational.
Listen Here

www.nickonken.com

38

THANK YOU

THANK YOU
If you found this useful or inspiring, please share this link with your friends.
nickonken.me/free
You may also share it by tweeting.

www.nickonken.com

39