20 Essentials Every Photographers Should Always Keep in Their Bags

 

Gear Bag 

First of all you are going to need a really strong flexible camera bag to protect your expensive gear and there’s one thing you’ll figure out while building up your gear, and that is you’ll never settle on the first camera bag you buy. I’ve been through about 5 different camera bags over the years before finally settling on the one that I use now.
But here are some of our pics  

Extra Body

The center of a photographer’s universe is their camera bag and its contents. Your cameras and lenses are the tools of your trade. You noticed that we, refer to both of them in plural that is because just as you wouldn’t Sky dive out of an airplane without your backup parachute.

It’s the same way you shouldn’t attempt to photograph a highly emotional, non-repeatable event where you only have one shot to get it right, armed with only one camera and one lens.

There's many aspects that comprise shooting weddings portraits, the ceremony, dimly lit venue, tight, crowded quarters and bright outdoor settings—can push both the creative and practical limitations of the most experienced photographers.
choosing an extra body depends totally on your preference and work flow, but here are a few of what we believe deliver some of the best image quality.

Protective All Weather Gear

We all know meteorologists can get it wrong sometimes and you never know when you will get stuck in the rain with your cameras and not all cameras are weather sealed, but even if they are you still don't risk getting your equipment wet. Stick some type of rain cover in your bag. 

Having the right type of rain cover for you and your gear in your bag could mean the difference between, getting the shot or sending your camera in for repair. Here are a few suggestions

Camera Strap

You’ll want a camera strap that is made to last and one which will be comfortable even after hours of photographing.  It should not only hold your camera securely, but it should be highly functional.  

There are many straps from which to choose, but we suggest that you take a look at Black Rapid’s camera straps with their “Built for Speed” - Grab, Glide, Click features.

GorillaPod

This is a great little addition to your full-sized tripod. It’s a mini tripod that is light weight, sturdy and literally ultra-versatile its perfect when you need a steady base for the camera but don’t want to carry a full tripod with you

LED Flashlight

LED flashlights are blindingly bright, shock proof, small, pocket-sized flashlights that are essential for retrieving small accessories that inevitably find their way into hard-to-find creases in the corners of your camera bag especially in the bottom of a black bag when the lights are low

Which is always that case at many weddings and reception. Make sure everyone assisting you has a flashlight with them in easy reach. LED flashlights are extremely bright for their size and they used less power than most other types of lights so the batteries last very long.

Memory Cards

You can never have enough memory cards, wait let me say that again differently “in the photographer/videographers world memory cards can never be too much!”

And the faster the read/write speed, the better Hi-speed memory cards keep shrinking in price while growing in capacity.

If the read/write speeds of the newest cards are faster than the read/write speed of your current camera, this only means it will be an ideal match for your next camera which will undoubtedly exceed the processing speed of you currently camera.

Extra memory cards are important to keep on hand. Memory cards have a tendency to flake out at the worst possible moment. Keep a lot of spares in your bags to make sure that you don’t have to make an emergency trip to the store during a photo session.

Backup Storage Devices

Memory cards are extremely important but another thing that is equally important are backup storage drive, To safe guard against memory cards that may flake out at the worst possible times you need to be vigilant in backing up your files and it is comforting to know that your back is covered if anything should happen to your memory cards during or after the ceremony and reception.

There are several viable options you can chose from we have list a few but it all depends on your work flow.

Extra Camera Battery

The last thing you’ll ever want to have happen to you in the middle of an important shoot is to have your battery deplete on you so having extra batteries are very high on the list of must haves. 

Note: If you are traveling out of town, don’t forget your battery charger and then make charging your battery a nightly habit.
Extra Camera Battery

Pocket Knife

One with a two-and-a-half-inch blade: big enough for most jobs, small enough not to weigh you down.

Gaffer Tape

Sometimes a simple strip of gaffer tape can make the difference between a minor hiccup and a total disaster.

Available in a number of widths and colors Gaffer tape can be used for taping cables securely along the floor, quick repairs of gear, securing cases for shipping and any number of other uses.

 Gaffer tape in colors can also be used to identify your gear quickly in terms of where it goes when packing up, or in the case of shooting with multi-channel lighting systems, color-coding individual channels and related gear for syncing purposes. Gaffer tape is a thinking photographer’s solution.

Lens/Sensor Cleaning Kits

The most important guidelines of proper camera maintenance involve keeping your camera’s lenses, imaging sensor and LCD smudge, dust and particle free.

All of which involves checking your gear before, during and after every assignment.

There are many, products on the market, and you'll want the best tool to clean both your lenses and your camera’s sensor. So here is a good place to start.

Microfiber Cloths
listen to this advice from the voice of wisdom Stop using your shirt to clean off your lens. I know what it is like to be in the flow of a good shoot and see some smudge or dust on your lens you just want to quickly clean it off and continue, but using your abrasive clothing is the fastest way to kill a beautiful lens. Why not take a microfiber cloth and keep it in your pocket that way you always have it at hand.

Continuous light

Continuous lights are rapidly making a comeback and many photographers are giving them a second chance. With the old technology of continuous lights most photographers avoided them, due to the heat the lights produced and the uncontrollable power and temperature of light.

Now with modern technology and the phenomena of LED, most continuous light now emits almost no heat use less power and are capable of delivering the most accurate color temperature on your subject, but one of the biggest benefit of using continuous lights is you are able to see exactly where your light falls giving you a better advantage on manipulating your composition 

White Balance Card

Your camera’s Automatic White Balance setting generally does a pretty good job of capturing colours correctly in most lighting conditions, but it’s not infallible and this is why you may need a whit balance card

For precise colours, you’ll need to take control and create a ‘custom’ white balance setting for the light you’re shooting in. There are a number of white balance aids available to help you do this – such as the JJC White Balance Lens Cap, but all you really need is a piece of white or grey card or a sheet of white paper.

Light Reflector

One of the tools that will make the biggest difference in your photography is a reflector.

If you are new at purchasing a reflector the options that you find once you start looking might be overwhelming, there are large and small reflectors. There are round, rectangular and triangular reflectors. There are white, gold and silver reflectors, as well as combinations of these three colors with names like Sunfire, SoftSilver, Zebra and Sparkling Sun all of these are just tool to give you a creative advantage.

Memory Card reader

You’re going to need a super-fast card reader, here are a few great options.

Memory Card Protective Case

You’re also going to need a strong secure storage for your memory cards, after all they are one of your most valuable asset, because that’s where your clients work live until you deliver it to them and get paid.

Flash Diffuser

For softer, more natural-looking light, you need to add a diffuser to your flashgun

Remote shutter releases

There are many reasons why you might want to trigger your camera's shutter remotely, and there are a range of wired and wireless remote releases that enable you to do this, but which ever one you choose you want to avoid camera shake in order to produce the best results.

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