Let me start this post by saying I started my business with a $600 camera and a $50 lens.

As a disclaimer, you do not need the fanciest equipment to be successful in your craft.

But, you need to know how to use your equipment and use it to your advantage.

However, nicer equipment can lend to higher quality images and faster camera response time, so as you continue to grow and expand, it’s great if you want to upgrade especially if you offer artwork to clients.

Throughout this post, we are going to talk about the current equipment I use for my outdoor, natural light pet photography in 2026 and the things I’ve upgraded to (and why!).

Mainly, we are going to talk about:

The tool I use for perfect White Balance in all of my images
My preferred camera body
My favorite lenses for Pet Photography
An extra tool to have in your kit for low light situations

So, if you want to get the skinny on what I use to photograph both my client and pro-bono work, let’s dig in.

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WHITE BALANCE TOOL: EXPO DISC

The first thing I use as an outdoor Pet Photographer is my Expo Disc. An Expo Disc is a very inexpensive tool to have on hand to ensure that the White Balance of your images is always accurate!

White Balance, if you aren’t familiar, is the color temperature of your images; either how cool or how warm your images are.

It’s also especially important for pets, because the wrong color temperature on your pet can mean a black dog that looks blue or magenta or a white dog that looks yellow.

The Expo Disc makes sure that no matter the scene, the subject, or the light, your White Balance is correct every single time, which will make a huge impact on the quality and feel of your images.

I use my Expo Disc for every single session —client, rescue, or otherwise—and it really saves me so much time in post processing having to adjust and correct the White Balance of my images!

If you’d like to pick up one for yourself, you can do so here.

Need to learn how to use your ExpoDisc? Check out my favorite tutorial here!

CAMERA BODY: CANON R6

One of the most common questions I get from my audience and other photographers is: What camera body do I shoot with? Why did I choose the Canon R6 specifically for Pet Photography?

Well, for quite a few reasons actually:

After talking to a lot of other photographers in various disciplines and doing some additional research, everyone recommended moving into the mirrorless space given that’s the direction that the world and technology are going and improving; I didn’t want to buy a DSLR camera that was going to become obsolete quickly.
Secondly, price! A Canon DSLR with similar features was double the price of the comparable Mirrorless option, so that certainly played a factor.

Animal eye detection that is essential for working with fast moving subjects like pets.
Up to 20 FPS depending on the shutter; given that I do photograph a lot of action, I need to make sure I capture that quick burst of action to ensure a high hit rate and a great series of action images for my clients to choose from.
The R6 is Full Frame, which is especially important as an artwork based photographer as I design custom artwork for my clients, so the option for better detail, more light, and working well in low light situations is instrumental for my business model.
The 20MP sensor, which means lots of detail to work with in my images and the option to print them very large for wall art collections, large format prints, etc, to ensure they look the best quality.

Unfortunately, the Canon R6 has been discontinued, but that doesn’t mean that camera model hasn’t been improved.

Now, you can get the Canon R6 Mark ii, which has a 24.2 MP, 40 FPS, and Animal Eye Detection for about $2K, which honestly is a freakin’ steal!

But, if you want the best and brightest, Canon also just released the Canon R6 Mark iii, which has a 32.5 MP sensor with up to 40 FPS, Animal Eye Detection, and more for a cool $2700.

So, depending on your budget and where you are at in your photography journey, the Mark ii will honestly be more than sufficient as a Pet or Animal Photographer unless you just want those additional megapixels for the quality of your images and artwork that you produce.

LENSES

Let’s now get into my favorite part: lenses! While there are a lot of options out there to choose from, I’m dishing my absolute favorite and preferred lenses for all of my client and rescue sessions and why I use them!

If by chance you are in a place in your business where you aren’t able to invest in new lenses yet, I highly recommend renting them. In fact, I rented lenses many times before purchasing them both when I needed them for a special event and/or just to try them out before buying.

Lensrentals.com is the company I’ve always used and had great experiences with. If you decide to rent, use my code to get $25 off your first rental!

CANON EF 35MM f/2

My favorite lens of all time is the Canon EF 35mm f/2 (yes, EF not RF. I purchase this lens prior to upgrading my camera, so I use this lens with an adapter). You can get the RF version instead here.

It’s a slightly wider angle lens with such a gorgeous vibrance of color and low light capability, being able to shoot all the way down to an f/2 when I really need to, which is often given where I live.

But, I also love this lens because it allows me to work really closely with my four legged subjects for portraits, treat catching, peanut lick shots, or wider angle shots with the environment all around them.

I feel like it allows me to get a close up view of their world and I can reward them with treats at the same time.

I use this lens all the freaking time when creating more variety in my session giving me a wider perspective, more contrast, brighter images, and a vibrance of color.

One thing I will note about this lens is that not all dogs like you to be this close in their space, so use your discretion with this lens especially if you have to be super close to your subjects. Make sure the dog is comfortable and okay with you being in their face while using this lens!

CANON RF 70-200MM f/2.8

I mentioned a bit ago that I love photographing dogs in action!

So, the best lens that I have found for this that is wicked fast in terms of focus (yes, much faster than the 35mm) is the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8.

This lens is what I like to call the workhorse of Pet Photography, because you can do so much with this lens given the variability of focal length and not losing loss of quality from zooming in and out.

This lens is my preferred action lens, but it is also my favorite lens for working with shy, anxious, or reactive dogs, because I can maintain my distance and still get some great shots of them without crowding their space.

The 70mm end is beautiful for portraits while I really love the 200mm focal length for honing in on action and blurring everything out around my subject giving the dog the focus to shine.

While this lens is a heftier price point than the 35mm, you will use this lens for every single session you photograph. Highly recommend you add this to your arsenal when you are able!

Don’t forget, you can also rent lenses to try them out before you buy. Click here to get $25 off your first LensRentals rental.

CANON RF 24-70MM f/2.8

The last lens I use primarily for my client and rescue work is the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8.

While I generally flip flop between the 35mm and 70-200mm as my preferred lenses for client sessions, I do like to have the 24-70mm on hand when I need just a bit wider of a focal length for scenic shots or even those silly bobblehead photos of dogs that people love so much given the little bit of distortion you get with the 24mm.

It’s also great that I have the 50mm option, which is most true to what the eye sees and is a great focal length for portraits.

Lastly, the 24-70mm is great for events, branding clients, pop up photobooths, when I need to be able to quickly switch between a very wide focal length to a more compressed option while still working relatively close to my subjects.

While, we aren’t talking about studio today, but where this lens really shines for me is my studio work staying at the 24mm focal length to be able to capture the subject full in frame while being close up with them, too.

GODOX TUBE LIGHT

Now, if you work in a lot of low light situations, like I do in North Carolina, and you can’t quite afford a Speedlight or strobe just yet, but you need a little bit of light to help you out, I highly recommend getting yourself a Tube or Ice Light.

This one that I have from Godox is great when I need just a really light pop of light to illuminate the subject and maintain color or detail in the background.

You can change color temperature, brightness, and even the color of the light itself that can create some interesting visuals in your images.

It can be held in your hand while you are shooting or even added to a tripod in the event you need free hands. It’s relatively light, so an assistant or client can even be on hand to help hold it as well.

Like I said, you may not use this all of the time, but it certainly can make an impact when you just need a little bit of light to illuminate a subjects face especially in lower light situations.

Well, there you have it, friends! I’ve just revealed all of the things I use to create beautiful, captivating Pet Photography work for my clients and rescue dogs.

Anything you purchase from this post helps to support our rescue photography and our mission to help shelter dogs be seen through the medium of beautiful imagery! Thanks so much for your support!