Join Ben Long for an in-depth discussion in this video Minimizing camera baggage, part of The Practicing Photographer.
- Hi, my name is Ben Long and I'm a bag-aholic, I have a real problem with camera bags, I got lots of camera bags. If you watch my gear and workflow course, you can just see me wallowing in camera bags. I've always believed that there is no perfect camera bag so you need to buy all of them and I have to say through no actual conscious decision or force of will, over the last few months, I've turned a new leaf. I have been on the road for about three months and that's included some workshops and another Lynda shoot and so a complex kind of photographic situation, and I've done it without carrying a camera bag of any kind.
I think I've cured my camera bag addiction. We'll see when I get back home and step into my closet full of bags, but I want to show you what I've come up with because I think this is a solution that I'm going to continue to use even if I fall off the wagon and buy a couple more bags at some point. In gear and workflow, I talked about the kind of puzzle of if you're traveling, you very often take more gear than you will need on any one particular shoot but you want to have it with you anyway so you've got the problem of, you've got to get your gear to the site, but then when you're at the site, you want to be able to have a camera bag to carry around and shoot with.
So I've found I think a solution that's really working for me. I have been keeping my camera and lenses in special neoprene sleeves so here's my camera. This is the Fuji X-T1, it's a mirrorless camera, but you can get the same sort of thing for any SLR, it's just a wrap-around neoprene camera-shaped bag, and what's good about it is it protects my camera no matter what I put it in. So I've been carrying it in my motorcycle panniers or in the top bag, and I know that I can throw this in there in any bag that I want and it will be okay.
So that's how I'm carrying my camera, just as a way of getting it to the location that I'm going to and then for my lenses, I've just got these lens sleeves. I got these at a camera store. They're just a generic brand, a lot of different people making these, nice, padded neoprene, drawstring on the top and so I can stick a lens in here and know that no matter where I throw the lens, it's got a reasonable amount of padding. So this is a really nice, flexible way. I can stick, spread lenses around. I can carry them however I want, and then when I get to where I'm going, I've got this thing, I love this.
This is from REI, this is actually a little collapsible day pack that compresses in on itself into this nice little bag. It expands, this is like the James Bond backpack, I love this, it pulls out and now I have this very lightweight, you might call it a little flimsy but I've actually found it to be very sturdy, this nice little day pack, so it's a backpack which personally I think is great because I can no longer use a single shoulder camera bag. I've just messed up my shoulder too much by having a weight on one shoulder.
I really recommend being careful and trying to always use a backpack rather than a single sided bag because it's just going to mess you up eventually unless you're just a lot sturdier than I am. What I like about this bag is it's got these side pockets here, so I can put a bunch of stuff inside but I can stick one lens over here, one lens over here, keep one lens on the camera, and now I've got quick access to three lenses, I can just sling it off of one shoulder to get one side, sling it off the other to get the other, and then when I'm all done, I put everything back in its sleeves, pack it wherever I want and this just compresses back into itself and goes into this really, really small space.
So this works as a means for traveling around by motorcycle bag, I can stuff all this into a suitcase, I can move around however I want. So I'm finding this to be a really, really flexible system for carrying a pretty reasonable amount of gear and without having to have one set of bags to get to the place and another set of bags to go shooting. So I don't know if I'll stay with this. Like I said, I don't know what it's going to be like when I actually get back home to my real camera bags but I've been using this for several months and I'm really pleased with it. So again, this is from REI, these neoprene bags, this is Optech, you can go to optechusa.com, or just check your local camera store.
You'll probably find generic versions of these. It's worth taking a look at these and see if maybe it resonates with you as a way of carrying your gear.
Author
Updated
4/2/2021Released
5/19/2013Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Q: Why can't I earn a Certificate of Completion for this course?
A: We publish a new tutorial or tutorials for this course on a regular basis. We are unable to offer a Certificate of Completion because it is an ever-evolving course that is not designed to be completed. Check back often for new movies.
Related Courses
-
Photography Foundations: Composition
with Ben Long5h 29m Intermediate -
The DIY Photographer
with Joseph "PhotoJoseph" Linaschke2h 39m Intermediate -
Photo Tools Weekly
with Chris Orwig26h 18m Intermediate
-
The Practicing Photographer - New This Week
-
Introduction
-
Previous Episodes
-
Choosing a camera5m 27s
-
Let your lens reshape you7m 26s
-
Working with reflections1m 26s
-
Exploring mirrorless cameras7m 25s
-
Using a tripod3m 33s
-
Wildlife and staying present5m 58s
-
Why Shoot Polaroid11m 12s
-
Seizing an opportunity4m 4s
-
Shooting wildlife7m 24s
-
Using a lens hood4m 48s
-
Working with themes2m 48s
-
Setting up an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Processing an HDR time lapse7m 55s
-
Scanning Photos5m 37s
-
Jpeg iPad import process3m 17s
-
Warming up3m 26s
-
Taking a panning action shot10m 17s
-
Shooting a silhouette3m 9s
-
Using Lightroom on the road6m 28s
-
Shooting level2m 42s
-
Photoshop and Automator8m 54s
-
Softboxes vs. umbrellas2m 55s
-
Working with hair in post3m 28s
-
Exploring how to use Bokeh5m 38s
-
Shooting stills from a drone6m 57s
-
Working with models2m 40s
-
Tips for shooting panoramas7m 16s
-
Dry sensor cleaning6m 23s
-
Composing in the center2m 48s
-
Vignetting9m 56s
-
Inspire3m 29s
-
Minimizing camera baggage4m 24s
-
Working without a tripod4m 11s
-
Printer options6m 51s
-
Exploring lo-fi printing options11m 58s
-
IOS macro photography gear12m 25s
-
IR Conversion Part 27m 27s
-
Raw editing in Lightroom mobile10m 35s
-
Shooting a macro insect shot13m 5s
-
A brief history of photography12m 19s
-
Shooting with a Petzval lens9m 49s
-
What is a low-pass filter?4m 35s
-
Teleconverters and lenses5m 12s
-
Media card care7m 19s
-
Dual slot4m 2s
-
Exploring smart previews9m 12s
-
Flying and photo batteries5m 41s
-
Partial vignettes on photos8m 38s
-
360 image editing plugins6m 59s
-
Using a gimbal with an SLR8m 13s
-
Choosing a lens6m 27s
-
Switching camera systems7m 42s
-
Using 360 drones5m 41s
-
VR gimbals4m 16s
-
Working with a photo subject14m 26s
-
Posing a photo subject12m 53s
-
Framing and safety7m 7s
-
RAW converter options3m 59s
-
Drone flight7m 19s
-
Basic abstract photography8m 51s
-
Aspect ratio3m 40s
-
Focus lock on your camera2m 11s
-
Using the Astropad app6m 33s
-
Working with dim sunlight6m 33s
-
Configuring dual cards2m 52s
-
Long lens options4m 45s
-
Moving images from catalogs7m 47s
-
Photography education11m 7s
-
In-camera focus stacking9m 52s
-
Exposure isn't everything4m 17s
-
Why shoot film?8m 55s
-
Culling4m
-
Choosing a film camera8m 38s
-
Analog workflow9m 9s
-
Easily produce giant prints10m 15s
-
Luna Display4m 19s
-
Choosing film7m 50s
-
Photo fads4m 46s
-
Portrait lighting techniques8m 32s
-
Diopter control2m 56s
-
Loupedeck for Lightroom6m 48s
-
Printing small3m 37s
-
Lens flare removal6m 28s
-
Paper choice for prints7m 39s
-
Aspect ratio for portraits2m 33s
-
When in doubt2m 24s
-
Looking vs. seeing2m 44s
-
Do you need a carnet?5m 23s
-
Scan large items6m 17s
-
Create an honest portrait5m 34s
-
A portrait assignment3m 23s
-
Am I good?5m 59s
-
Boredom4m 13s
-
Clichés4m 29s
-
Finding inspiration5m 42s
-
An everyday project5m 47s
-
Learning from students4m 56s
-
Life as a project5m 27s
-
Why take a workshop?4m 33s
-
Photographic honesty2m 52s
-
Up to interpretation3m 27s
-
Photographic style3m 40s
-
Photography drills6m 31s
-
Digital chores4m 23s
-
Photos and words4m 11s
-
Stay-at-home exercises3m 45s
-
Understanding your medium2m 28s
-
Darkroom for iOS5m 15s
-
iOS image editing extensions2m 58s
-
On set: Simplicity4m 5s
-
On set: Corners2m 19s
-
On set: The build4m 30s
-
On set: Same pieces, new set3m 18s
-
Choose a price first3m 20s
-
Rewind: Choosing a camera5m 41s
-
On time and in tune3m 3s
-
Avalanche for aperture4m 8s
-
Evaluating a wide-angle lens6m 14s
-
Auction catalogs4m 56s
-
Get out and shoot (safely)3m 45s
-
Do ruts exist?2m 24s
-
16-bit in Photoshop6m 23s
-
The artist's statement2m 42s
-
Constraints4m 55s
-
Check your goal2m 11s
-
Two kinds of seeing4m 18s
-
Photographers to consider1m 50s
-
- Mark as unwatched
- Mark all as unwatched
Are you sure you want to mark all the videos in this course as unwatched?
This will not affect your course history, your reports, or your certificates of completion for this course.
CancelTake notes with your new membership!
Type in the entry box, then click Enter to save your note.
1:30Press on any video thumbnail to jump immediately to the timecode shown.
Notes are saved with you account but can also be exported as plain text, MS Word, PDF, Google Doc, or Evernote.
Share this video
Embed this video
Video: Minimizing camera baggage