I've had several photographers ask me what is ideal to take to a destination wedding. Alot of it depends on your shooting style. Tomorrow, I'll be headed to Hawaii for a destination wedding for five days. If you are a photographer, eventually you will have the opportunity to shoot a wedding at an exotic island. Once that opportunity knocks, make sure you are ready photographically and mentally. I put more emphasis on my camera gear than I do with what I'm actually wearing. The bottom line is you can always buy more clothes but you cannot always buy your photographic essentials. Most brides spend a bundle on a destination wedding, so the photographer as the ultimate challenge to document their "dream" wedding. Here are just a few recommendation that will make your job as a destination photographer stress free!!
My camera vest allows me to carry multiple lenses and other handy gadgets. Photographers, if you don't have one, I recommend that you get one. This is a "must have".
My Lowepro backpack allows me to fit all of my equipment as well as my laptop. The wheels allow me to move around effortlessly in the airport. The size barely meets carry on requirements.
I bring along my Macbook Pro with two extra batteries to enjoy movies on the 8 hr flight and download images as a safety precaution.
I shoot everything in raw mode. 50 gigs is plenty considering I will have my
Macbook Pro with an external harddrive.
I like to bring portable studio lights for breath-taking portraits. I pack my lights with my check in luggage. It's always to a good idea to bring extra lights to create cool effects
You can never have enough battery power while you are on the road.
In a nutshell, this is all of the equipment that I bring. As you can see, I
have the 16-35L 2.8, 24L 1.4, 24-70L 2.8, 50 1.4, 85 1.8, 100mm macro, 135L 2.0, 70-200L 2.8IS, two Canon 5D bodies w/ battery grips, turbo 2x2 batteries, chargers, cleaning kit, wireless network card, portable q-flash on a monopod, pocketwizard transceivers, etc.
Don't be afraid to take risks. Get them in the water and have fun!!
Posing with my lovely couple Stacey & Trey Decker
in Harbour Islands, Bahamas
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Keith's Destination Survival Kit
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10 comments:
Have a great trip and shoot! Thanks for the gear info. Looks a lot like my setup except for the 8GB cards. 500 pics on one card. Yipes!
Thanks Scott for checking in. I will be shooting on my 4 gig cards. B&H had a sale on the 8 gigers so I decided to pick up of few. Best wishes in 2008!
You even take great shots of your camera equipment! Looks like you have one heck of a time getting through airport security! haha Hope you had fun!
Laura
Thanks for the kudos. I took them with my point and shoot. I had no problems at all with my camera gear. Pretty tired after being 11 hrs. on a plane. Let me know when I can post those "lovely" bridal portraits. Can't wait for your big day!!
Keith, have a great time in Hawaii I know you're gonna rock it, can't wait to see the pics.
Marco
Thanks Marco. You will be on the next destination wedding. Get ready to rock in 2008!!
Keith
The amount of equipment that you travel with is crazy. But all your pics are amazing.
Kimon, thanks for stopping by. When you photograph a destination wedding, you must have all of the essentials to get the job done. I bring everything I need to deliver a superior product. You have to treat a destination wedding as business and remember that this paradise gala, when everything is said and done, rests on the shoulders of the photographer. The ultimate challenge!!
Keith
Loved your story. One of my colleagues sent it to me!! I have some of the same equipment as you do.. I also have a Mark III..
Kudos to you...
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