10 things I keep in my camera bag, and why they should be in yours!
When it comes to photography, I am not a huge gear head. I like to keep my camera bag as light and portable as possible, but there are some things that I always have in my bag, no matter how light I am trying to travel. These are the essential pieces of photography gear that can make or break a trip out to shoot.
The list below are items that I take with me everywhere, and are pieces of gear that I think are essential to my photography.
- Tripod
- Cable Release
- Hot Shoe Spirit Level
- Circular Polarizer
- Graduated Neutral Density Filter
- Flashlight and spare batteries
- Spare Memory Card
- Spare Battery
- Lens Cleaning Cloth
- Rubber Band
It might seem like a strange list, with items that range in cost from pennies to hundreds of dollars, but each item is selected for a very good reason. I feel that without them a fun photography trip can turn into a frustrating experience in a hurry. Here is why I choose each item on my list!
Tripod
While this might not necessarily fit in your bag, I consider my tripod to be my single more important accessory. It holds my camera rock steady, and is used in well over 90% of my photography. Nighttime, daytime and the times in between I will use my tripod whenever possible.
Cable Release
-A cable release is an invaluable tool for long exposures, and is essential to create tack sharp photographs. Not only is it necessary for creating exposures longer then 30 seconds, it allows you to ckick the shutter without touching the camera. This goes a long way towards keeping the camera still to help create photographts that are as sharp as possible
Hot Shoe Spirit Level
This little gadget is small and simple. A small cube of plastic that slips into the hot shoe on your camera and lets you get your camera absolutely level in the blink of an eye. Many cameras have built in levels and they work just fine, I simply find it much easier and quicker to simply look at the level on the top of the camera then to fiddle with the camera menus to bring it up. I know I can fix it later in Photoshop, by why not get it right in the camera? For under $15 you simply can’t go wrong!
Circular Polarizer
The Circular Polarizer is the one filter that CANNOT be reproduced in photoshop! It will saturate your colors and it will remove glare from shiny objects like water, glass, chrome and even foliage!
Graduated Neutral Density Filter
While the graduated filter can be added during post processing, you will often be better off using one on the camera! This filter is dark at the top, and clear at the bottom with a gradual transition from clear to dark. This filter will allow you to properly expose the foreground, and tame the sky. Using the filter on the camera allows you to capture the details in the bright areas of the sky. If you don’t use the filter on the camera, you run the risk of blowing the highlights completely, and no amount of post processing will recover that lost data!
Flashlight and spare batteries
There is nothing worse then shooting a beautiful sunset only to find that you scattered your gear all over the ground and can’t find it in the dark. I always carry at least one flashlight often as many as 3 with me at all times. A small headlamp flashlight is great to keep the handfree, another mini flash light that is great for reading manuals, rummaging through the bag and one full size flashlight for the sometimes long walk in and out of my location. Spare batteries are a must!
Spare Memory Card
No need to say it – there is NOTHING worse then getting out to your location, getting all setup, picking the perfect composition and realizing that your memory card is still back home safe and sound in the card reader on your desk. I admit it, I have done it. Now I carry at least one spare memory card in the camera bag. I might not forget to bring one again, but they do fail – and they never fail when you don’t need them!
Spare Battery
Just like the memory card, a spare battery is a must have! Its simple – no battery = no camera = no photos
Lens Cleaning Cloth
I do a lot of photography along the ocean, and the amount of mist and water drops that get on the lens can be pretty shocking. A small microfiber cloth does not take up much space in the bag, and can really save your butt on a trip!
Rubber Band
A rubber band? Yup, a simple, ordinary rubber band. If you ever use any kind of screw on filter there will come a day when it will get stuck on your lens. And once you have a filter stuck, it can be just about impossible to unscrew it. However, put a simple runner band around the filter and you will be amazed at how easy that filter unscrews!