Location Shooting – Gear You Should Take With You

After many people read my articles on planning location shoots; traveling to the location and packing and security for your location shoots I got a lot of questions and I thought I should answer some of them now.

Here are the things you need to know that I may have failed to mention previously. I think the biggest question I’d been getting has been regarding travel days and scheduling shoots on travel days.

Shooting On Travel Days

My suggestion is to absolutely avoid shooting on travel days if you can. Sometimes it can’t be avoided. I’ve flown across the Atlantic; touched down and headed straight to the studio to shoot. But this is you scheduling your own shoots.

This is especially advisable when traveling with a team of people. I have found through trial and error that it really is best to give people time to settle in and recover from your and their travel.

You might also be tempted to shoot a long day at a location you’d not ever been to before. I admonish you to resist the urge. I’ve been down that road before and I will tell you; by the time the day is up tempers are usually short and the creative juices run very low. That of course is totally counter productive.

Not to mention the day you leave for home you’re going to want to have time to rest up and double check to make sure you’ve packed everything you need and double check all of your gear. You know; so that you don’t end up leaving behind a $1,000.00 flash and triggers or a camera. Yeah I’ve done that stupidity before.

The other big question I got was one of what gear I tend to take with me when I travel for shoots.

Equipment

Traveling with your gear isn’t always going to be easy unless you’re maybe driving. If you’re traveling by train or plane you’re in for some added difficulty. When flying let me say most TSA agents are clueless and will cause you to end up having you go through an additional physical check.

When I travel I’ve been lucky to have a light kit case that can fit one of my smaller soft boxes once I’ve broken it down. I’ve pretty much resigned myself to carrying my shoot through Softbox Studio Umbrella and my two 43″ Softbox umbrellas which take up very little space in my case.

As mentioned; I try to travel light when I can and here is what I usually have with me when I fly both domestic and international.

• 1 or 2 Strobes with batteries. Preferably built in batteries. I don’t really use speedlights and I imagine those work too.
• Lightstands which are stable but collapsible.
• Don’t forget your sandbags. Something that may be difficult to fly with so you may need to find a substitute on location.
• Remember that Softbox Studio Umbrella? It’s an Octabox that has a plate that goes inside to make it work like a beauty dish.
• 5-in-1 Reflectors. I have a 4’x7′ and can fit a medium and a couple small 5-in-1 reflectors in it’s bag. 😉 This way you not only have reflectors you have scrims too.
• Don’t forget your triggers (Wireless Transmitters) to set your strobes off.

I know it’s really simple but with that you can still create magic. The above image was shot with a reflector and one single light to fill the shadows in the background of the image to show the detail of the wonderful set behind the model.

PRO-TIP: MEDIA RATE

A pro-tip for you. When traveling with equipment ask the airline you’re traveling on if they have a media rate for your luggage.

The media rate is one of the greatest assets to a photographer who travels commercially with their gear. I can of course rent on location but I tend to like having all my gear with me. I know it. I can work with it and it’s just easier for me when I can.

The most basic way to explain it is the media rate is a flat baggage rate for photographers, and of course members of the various media outlets, and no; you don’t have to work for CBS, or CNN or Paramount or anything like that.

The media rate cost varies from airline to airline but can range from $50 – $100 for a bag up to 99 pounds. The airlines I typically fly commercially allow me up to 20 bags at this rate. You will need to check with your preferred airline to find their rates.

On most airlines you have to either present a business card or business credit card or some form of press/media credential. Some airlines are more strict about the credentials than others so come prepared. Also know in smaller markets like some podunk airport the staff may not even know about the media rate since they probably don’t usually deal with a lot of media or press.

Insurance

One of the things that’s rarely if ever spoken of is insurance. If you’re traveling with your gear you are really going to want to have insurance. Hell; you should have insurance anyway. But many photographers have had their entire gear bag stolen or somehow lost. It’s a lot cheaper to carry insurance for full coverage than to try and replace all your equipment.

Many are the stories of gear that falls into the ocean while trying to get off of a ferry; or that rogue wave that ends up being bigger than you thought and it takes out your camera. Digital tech doesn’t recover well from water. Nor do lenses.

So make sure that you have a great full coverage insurance plan before leaving on your photographic journey.

I hope this information helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below.