Packing For A Photo Shoot

Today's Photo Tip – Packing For A Photo Shoot: Preparing your camera bag, backpack, etc., for a photo shoot requires a little more consideration than just driving to the desert and mountains to take pictures with a camera. You need to be a lot more cautious and prepare for potential shooting opportunities and problems. Obviously, what you pack for a photo shoot depends upon where you are going, what kind of pictures you will be taking, and how you will be getting to your destination. In my case, almost all of my photo shoots occur on daily hiking forays into the Nevada mountains and surrounding desert. This means that I need to consider two major elements; items needed for hiking and climbing safely in a high temperature desert environment and the photographic accessories that might be needed for my picture taking interests.    Though a lot of people use a backpack to carry everything, I dislike them for the following reasons. When you need something you have to stop, take it off, look for the needed item, and then put it back on before you can continue on. I prefer to have things accessible within easy reach as I hike, with as little effort as possible. Large camera bags are bulky and difficult to carry when hiking and scrambling in rocky mountainous areas. Therefore I utilize the following: a well ventilated vest with 15 pockets, a separate belt for carrying what I consider the most essential ‘stuff’, a small camera bag (usually left in the car once I reach my destination) and a pair of cargo pants with eight pockets. Regardless of your destination, or what you use for carrying your equipment, you should have a checklist that will help prevent you from forgetting that one item that you might need. Here are the 50-odd items that I pack and carry on my person for daily hiking trips into the desert.

Equipment Belt: I use an army-green military belt with a slip buckle. On the left-side of this belt I carry (1) a lens bag with my 45-200mm Lens, (2) a Lens Hood, (3) ULV & (4) CPL filters attached,; (5) a Lens Shade for my 18-45mm Lens; (6) a small case with my Remote Shutter Release; and on the right-side I carry (7) my 2nd camera, a 14.1 megapixel Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS19, (8) a small case with a spare tripod adapter and (9) a spare camera battery; (10) a spare cell phone battery, (11) a Camera Belt Holder; (12) a whistle (for signaling others in an emergency), (13) a Camera Rain Cover and (14) a bottle of frozen water.

Photo Vest: I actually use a fishing vest that I found at Bass Pro Shops. Not only was it cheaper than any camera vest I found, it has more storage pockets and an open mesh back that makes it much cooler when hiking in the desert. In the outside pockets I carry (1) a set of Lens Multipliers C+1, C+2, C+4, C+10, (2) a Magnifying Glass, (3) a spare Rear Lens Cap, (4) a Neck Lens Wipe, (5) Close-up Extenders, (6) Spare FLD Lens Filters, (7) a small spray bottle filled with water, (8) a small bottle filled with Glycerine and an Eyedropper (for placing water or glycerin droplets precisely where you want them on flowers stems, twigs, etc. for macro close-ups) , (9) a waterproof capsule with my spare pills, (10) a butane Lighter, (11) a Flashlight, (12) a Lens Cleaning Pen, (13) a Winchester Multiple Tool, (14) a small knife and Scissors, (15) Miniature Wallet w/Credit Cards, ID, and Cash, (16) my Cell Phone, (17) a spare Camera Rain Cover, and (18) a small collapsible Table-top Tripod.

Cargo Pants: To keep from getting cuts and scratches, I also wear long pants when hiking and climbing. I have found that a pair of light cotton cargo pants with multiple pockets works quite well. In these pockets I store plastic zip bags with (1) a homemade trail mix, (2) mixed nuts, (3) power bars, (4) a Sweat Bandana, (5) sun screen, (6) a tube of Chapstick, (7) Toilet Paper, (8) Handkerchief and comb, and (9) two 12x14 background cloths (one black and one green for isolating close-ups).

Camera Bag: Though I usually take a small camera bag when going out, I usually leave it in the car before I head out hiking. In this bag I carry (1) my 12.1 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC G2 camera with (2) a 18-45MM Lens, (3) with ULV and CPL filters attached, (4) a Hoodloupe and Hoodcrane system, (5) Pencil & Paper, (6) Spare Neck Straps, (7) spare Lens Cloth, (8) spare SD Card.

Miscellaneous Gear: In addition to the above forty-odd items, I also take along a hat to protect myself from the searing sun, a full size tripod, a pair of binoculars, a small umbrella (for softening light on close-up shots), and a walking stick. Depending upon the difficulty of where I’m hiking and the outside temperatures, I sometimes “repack” some of these items and leave my vest behind.