I know y’all are mostly here for the knitting and there’s some of that in this post, but since I share a lot of my photography, I figure some folks might be interested in the nerdier details of my gear. I personally love these kinds of posts because I’m always curious what other people are using and liking. I’m not going to include links, but I really encourage you to shop at your local camera store. Camera equipment is a big investment and I really appreciate getting to go and try out the gear before I decide, so I know supporting local means I’ll get the chance to do that. (Shoutout to my local camera shop where I’ve bought most of my gear, Kerrisdale Cameras.)

Andrea taking a mirror selfie with her camera. She’s wearing a pink sweater & pink patterned toque.

Here’s my artsy backlit mirror selfie with my beloved Fujifilm X-T2. Knit outfit details:

Seablush Sweater (cropped version) in Biches et Bûches Le Petit Lambswool, size 32”/82.5 cm
Dissent Toque in Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool and Metamorphic

Before I list out my specific gear, here’s a little about how I use it.

For my knitting and social media stuff, I mostly take photos at home with natural light only. I’ve got big windows and a balcony with lots of plants, so that usually works pretty well. I have a big sheet of white gauze that I always mean to hang up to get a nice filtered look, but in reality I rarely bother (and often struggle to manage the hard light in post-processing — good reminder to actually use my tools). I use plain white vinyl as a backdrop sometimes, particularly when I’m highlighting a specific yarn or doing a tutorial video. I have a smaller poster-sized piece and a big roll that’s maybe four feet by five feet/1.2 m by 1.5 m. I also sometimes just take pictures on my desk, which is a plain white Ikea thing.

I’ve been taking my actual pattern photos mostly at home too for the past year and a half (the pandemic.) I do expect to start working with models at nice locations again eventually, but I still plan to stick with natural light. I use a tripod and an app on my phone that makes it a remote. It has a timer, so most of the pictures I share of me are taken by pressing the shutter button on my phone which is set just out of the frame, and then spending the 2 seconds trying to get into the right pose. I take a lot of photos to get a few good ones.

For nature photography and birding, I like to just wander with my camera and an extra lens attached to my backpack. I haven’t tried using flash yet, though eventually I hope to learn how. I’m not a super patient photographer and while I’ll wait for a subject for a little while, I probably don’t get all the amazing shots I could because I get restless and want to move on.

Here’s a pretty typical view of me on a hike, taken by photographer James Holkko. This was before I got my long lens, which is what I usually have on my camera on outdoor adventures these days.

Andrea is pointing her camera up at the top of a tree. She’s got a floppy hat so you can’t see much of her face and she’s wearing a chambray button-up shirt.

Okay, here’s my gear list!

Camera: Fujifilm X-T2 mirrorless system. This is the camera I got to learn how to use a “real” camera. I haven’t tried others, so I really can’t compare, but I love it. It’s lightweight and compact and it fits my hand well. (I’ve never tried using a battery grip.) Most of the controls are on the outside, so I can adjust the stuff I change the most by feel or maybe by taking a quick glance to be sure I moved the dial how I thought. These days I most often shoot with autofocus and auto ISO, adjusting shutter speed and F-stops depending on the situation.
Lens I use most for knitting stuff: Fujinon XF 60mm F2.4 R Macro Lens. This lens is really great for pattern photography, beauty shots of yarn, portraits, and up-close stuff like plants and insects.
Lens I use most for bird and nature photography: FUJINON XF 100-400mm F 4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens. Compared to my other lenses, this one is huge. I was nervous about buying it because I like to hike and walk around while taking pictures and I wanted to be able to hand-hold it, not have to use a tripod. But even though it is heavier than my other gear, I’ve been using it on hikes and walks a whole lot and not finding it too cumbersome at all. I love that I can get nice shots of wildlife while staying far enough not to bother them. If I’m outside, I probably have this lens on my camera and the 60mm with me as backup in case I see an amazing tiny flower or bug. I do sometimes find myself wishing I had a wide lens to capture landscapes, but bringing three lenses on a hike that’s just for fun seems excessive.
My first lens, which I still love and is great for knitting pattern photos so I can shoot from closer in: FUJINON XF 35mm F2.0 R WR. I use this one for knitting pattern photos mostly. It’s great for full-body shots.
A few other important things I use all the time:
- Peak Capture Clip — I attach this to my backpack strap and use it to carry my camera hands-free. It’s fantastic for distributing the weight of my big lens through my backpack straps and makes it easy to clamber up rocks and enjoy uneven terrain. The lock-in mechanism plate is attached to my lens collar, not the camera itself when I’m carrying the 100-400mm lens.
- Manfrotto 190 tripod with ball head — I use this for taking pictures of myself and taking videos. I like that it has the levers to adjust the legs, rather than twist locks. I guess that’s personal preference, but I feel pretty strongly about it. It also has the horizontal column, which is great for taking video of my own hands.
- Adobe Lightroom — I use Adobe software for everything else, so it was pretty obvious for me to use Lightroom for editing.

That’s basically it! Like I said, I don’t use flash or other lighting equipment, though I do hope to learn that stuff some day. Got any thoughts on camera equipment? A favourite Fuji lens I should try? An opinion on whether it’s time to upgrade my camera body? Tell me in the comments!

Check out my two Instagram accounts to see my photography:

Knitting Content: @AndreaRangelKnits
Nature Photography: @AndreaRangelOutside

Gear Post: My Camera & Lenses

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