Whats is my kit bag

What’s in my kit bag really depends on the shoot, and how far away from base I am, how remote the location is.

At times the amount of equipment needed to do a job can be a bit of a headache; it’s not just what you need but also the backup systems you need just incase a piece of kit goes down.

Some situations you can work around, battery packs playing up, always carry a back up but some will kill the shoot, your day and worse if it goes wrong. A client of mine told me of one unfortunate photographer who leant out a helicopter to take an important image only to realise he hadnt fitted the lens correctly ... it fell off. The lens cost £4,500. How do you replace that in a conflict zone?

You can’t afford to get caught out in the middle of a shoot.

I have been the worlds worst for backups, taking sometimes too much equipment with me, something that my assistants have moaned about and my therapist is working on.

A day long location shoot can be exhausting, loading up, unloading, set up maybe tweaks, take down, load up and unload in the same day..... I feel exhausted thinking about it !!!

A list of equipment will give you an idea what a professional photographer needs, and my kit is by no means excessive.

I am a Canon shooter 2x (full frame) bodies
Lenses 70-200 2.8L, 16-35 2.8L, 24-105 4L, 50 1.4
Small strobe 3 x 580EX MK2
3 x Justin Clamps great invention for clamping small strobes pretty much anywhere.
Light meter although I don’t use it that often
Studio lighting 4 x 500w Bowens, 2 x 400w Bowens, 1 x 200w Bowens all run off mains supply or 2 x battery pack
1 x ST E2 Transmitter
1 x off camera cord (modified)
2 x battery pack & 2 x 8m leads
1 petrol generator 2.5kva
5 x pulsar radio transmitter
2 x portable booms max height probably about 9ft, and the boom arm extends about the same, flexible working but not for the novice or clumsy
3 x century stands 100"
2 x portable backdrop supports, hold 2.72 rolls
Various umbrella and strip soft box
On back lights I tend to run maxilite reflectors and barn doors x 2
Heaps of reflectors
2 x Lastolite skylite panel kits (1.1meter) 1.25 and .75 stop white scrims
heaps of extension leads

In addition to the above I have had an electronics geek make some custom kit which will be explained in another equipment post, at a later date.

That’s the basics there will be items omitted for sure; in addition you need a high power laptop and the latest Photoshop software for post production.

Daunting isn't it, More to come >>>