How many memory cards for photography should I have?

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I recommend Transcend memory cards. I have used them exclusively in my DSLRs for over 4 years.HOW MANY MEMORY CARDS SHOULD I HAVE FOR MY DSLR CAMERA?

The answer to this question is simple, but it requires a bit of counting.  This is my formula for the minimum number of memory cards you should have: 

  • # of cameras + # of camera bags = total number of memory cards

I have two DSLRs and two camera bags.  Therefore, if I followed my own rule, I should have at least four memory cards.  I do, I have five.  Why match the number of memory cards to both the number of cameras you have and the number of bags?  This is to avoid ever being stuck without a memory card.  For example, you took the memory card out of your camera and left it on your desk.  You put your camera back in your bag and go out to shoot the next day, but the memory card is still at home on your desk!  If you had a memory card stashed in your bag, you are saved.  

Why do I recommend this?  Well, because it has happened to me!  I left a memory card on my desk, went out to shoot, boom, no memory card.  That feeling is a rather terrible one let me tell you!  So I then made sure I always had a spare memory card in each camera bag so if I ever forgot to put a memory card back in my camera, I am not out in the field stuck not being able to make photographs.  

Memory cards are extremely cheap, so there is no excuse not to follow my memory card formula!  If you think memory cards are not cheap today, then let me tell you that in 2001 when I got my first digital camera, a beloved Olympus 2040 (2 megapixel camera!), I paid over $250 for a 500mb (yes, megabyte) card.  All of my photos from the greatest trip of my life, 10 days in Cambodia, all but four of those photos are at 640x480 because I had to converve space on my memory card!  

New Year's Eve 2012 Fireworks St. Petersburg Florida

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Fireworks on New Year's Eve 2012 St. Petersburg Florida waterfront - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 18.8 sec tripod mounted cable release locked covering the lens with a cardSt. Petersburg Florida celebrated the new year 2013 with a fireworks display on New Year's Eve.  I have photographed various fireworks displays in this area and am always looking for a new spot to shoot from without knowing exactly ahead of time where the fireworks will go off from.  For this New Year's Eve I chose a more northern vantage point allowing some of the city skyscrapers to be in the shot too.  

I detailed my fireworks shooting process in this blog post.

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Children Kids Portraits with Rivera Family

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Family Portrait in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame leftI received e-mail from Carlos, a returning client about having a portrait session with his expanding family at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa Florida. I knew the park and liked it a lot, but had not had any chances to shoot there yet so I was excited for the opportunity, and was also looking forward to see his family again.  I first photographed his family back in November of 2009 for his daughter's birthday party.

Two sisters and their brother in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame rightNow he has another daughter, a Christmas baby no less!  The sun was strong at the time of the shoot, but using my 43" brolly I was able to manage some strobist shots into the sun.  The biggest challenge, really, was keeping all three kids in the frame and kind of looking in my direction!

Brother & Sister jumping in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Tampa Florida portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brollyHere you can see the difference in jumping ability between sister and brother!  In the background are some of the downtown Tampa skyscrapers.  I used a single speedlight for this shoot as two speedlights would have been too much to manage in the busy & windy park without an assistant.

Baby girl running in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida kids portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame rightChristmas baby Juliet on a scamper across the riverwalk area of Curtis Hixon Park.  I got low for this shot to offer a different view of the baby than most adults see of her from their much taller perspectives.  

Siblings in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida kids portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/400th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly next to cameraThe University of Tampa is engulfed by the sun in the background of this portrait of sister and brother from one of the unusual platforms in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.  I chose black & white processing as the sun was washing out much of the color in the shot anyway.

I really liked the park as a shooting location and was glad to have a chance to make more photographs of Carlos and his family!

First Sunrise of 2013 Snell Isle Smacks Bayou St. Petersburg Florida New Years

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The first glimpse of the first sunrise in 2013 over Smacks Bayou in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/60th tripod mounted with cable releaseI once again woke up early to photograph the first sunrise of the new year, which is somehow already 2013.  Last year was a little more spectacular as I made the big effort to drive out to Ft. Desoto and use the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as a background.  This year I just took a few steps off my back patio to make these images of the sun rising over Smacks Bayou in the Snell Isle area of St. Petersburg, Florida.

The first sunrise of 2013 reflecting on Smacks Bayou Snell Isle Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th tripod mounted with cable releaseThough there was a ripple across Smacks Bayou this morning, a decent reflection from the rising sun could still be seen.  There were only a few low clouds in the sky, so in this case I found the water to be more interesting and made the foreground dominant in the framing of this shot.

A quiet and beautiful first morning of 2013 in Snell Isle Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th tripod mounted with cable releaseIt is always worth it to wake up early and photograph the sunrise.  Did you get up and see the first sunrise of 2013?  Did you have your camera with you (I hope!!)?  Share your first sunrise photos in the comments below.

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Nikon D7000 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida at The Pier with Mari

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Mari photographing a pelican during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaI had not seen Mari (as a photography student, though I see her every week at the dog park) since Halloween so today we just got our fourth of four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons in before Christmas.  We started the lesson answering a lot of her questions she accumulated since we last met, especially about shooting around dawn.  In particular there were issues with getting a focus lock in such low light and also being able to get enough exposure given that she handholds these shots.  The focus tips I gave her should remedy those issues and I reminded her how to gradually increase the ISO as needed to be able to handhold shots even in very low light.

After this we once again headed out to The Pier to photograph somoe of our favorite subjects, pelicans!  The sun was blazing even on this afternoon just two days from winter, but we made best use of the harsh light as we could by positioning ourselves in at least side lit conditions.  We got as close to the pelicans as we dared, who were mostly obliging though one did snap at me a bit.  I cannot blame him though.

I look forward to seeing how Mari puts together all we have learned as she continues to photograph the beauty of St. Petersburg, Florida.

1-on-1 Canon 7D 50mm DSLR Photography Lesson with Julianna in St. Petersburg Florida

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Showing Julianna how a 50mm lens is good for shallow DoF portraits with natural light during our 2nd photography lesson in St. Petersburg, FloridaI met Julianna this morning for our second of four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.  Our first lesson last week was a general overview of how to use her Canon 7D with 18-55mm lens in manual mode and which settings needed to be changed when.  Today we swapped lenses and used her 50mm f/1.8 lens the whole morning.

I am a big fan of 50mm lenses and how they can "create something out of nothing" because of their great ability to make very shallow DoF shots.  When you can make the entire background become bokeh with ease, you can be very selective in how you portray your subject in frame.  In the above shot Julianna modeled for a demonstration of using natural light and shallow DoF to make a fun portrait right on a plain city sidewalk.  

Julianna also learned to be careful when creating such shallow DoF shots and that framing the shot first and then moving the single focus point on to the subject is safer than the usual set the focus point in the center on your subject, then recompose.  

St. Petersburg Florida Silhouette Dusk Twilight Fine Art Landscape Cityscape Waterfront

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The downtown St. Petersburg Florida waterfront in Silhouette at vivd dusk - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/200th handheld

This was an image I made quickly while taking Kiki for an extended walk around the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront on a recent Saturday evening.  I was traveling light, just my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens on my Nikon D300, but even with that lens on was still looking for a possible landscape shot.  With Kiki always in constant motion and having no tripod, I knew my best bet of getting a usable shot was to go for a silhouette of the skyline, which is done by using a fast shutter speed I could easily handhold, even with Kiki always trying to sniff something just out of reach.  The fast shutter speed exposed the bright sky well, but put the foreground buildings and boat into silhouette.