Traveling With Camera Gear - Whats In My Camera Bag? - YouTube

If you're like me - gosh - I hope you're not like me - my sympathies if you are like me

- anyway - when I pack camera gear for a trip, I'm a habitual over packer.

If I could fit the kitchen sink in a suitcase - believe me I would do it.

In this video I am going to share some hard learned tips and tricks for making air travel

with photography gear a little bit easier.

Traveling with photo equipment on airplanes is a pain in the ass.

Heck, travel in general is a pain but it's worth it to be able to visit and photograph

new and exciting locations.

As an Olympus Visionary and Photo Educator I travel frequently and that travel generally

requires flying with camera gear and computers and lighting.

I am frequently asked about the cases I use and what gear I take with me, so let’s dig

in and I'll show you.

Be sure to stay tuned until the end and I'll share my top 15 hard learned tips to ease

the pain of air travel with camera equipment.

Ok, let me get this out of the way before I get too far into this video…

I have a bag problem.

For some people the problem is shoes, some it's hats, for me - it’s bags.

I have a bag for just about any and every shooting situation that you could ever imagine.

Backpacks, wheeled cases, shoulder bags, sling bags, side load, top load, even vests that

carry as much as a bag, belt systems…. but when it comes to flying….

backpacks are the way to go for your camera gear.

Traveling with cameras in a backpack allows you to keep your hands free to manage your

checked luggage cases and the important stuff like boarding passes and even more important

- snacks!

My air travel backpacks of choice are made by Think Tank Photo.

My three go-to bags are the Think Tank Photo Urban Approach 15, the slightly larger Think

Tank Photo Airport Commuter Backpack, and my biggest, the Think Tank StreetWalker HardDrive

V2.0.

All three fit easily in the overhead bins of full size jets as well as the smaller commuter

jets.

The Urban Approach 15 and the Airport Commuter Backpack both fit comfortably under the seats

of both small and large planes.

I’ll show you how I pack my bags in just a minute.

My lighting gear travels as checked luggage in a hard sided Pelican #1560 Case.

This case allows me to carry a four light studio with stands, modifiers and transmitters

and fully loaded it comes in at about 42lbs which is well below the 50lb maximum that

most airlines stipulate for checked luggage.

I’ll show you everything that gets packed in the lighting case right after I show you

what’s packed in my camera backpack.

Last but not least for air travel, I also use a Samsonite Hard Sided 24” Spinner Case.

This case will hold my clothing and toiletries as well as a tripod, led light wands and some

additional modifiers and props for my Fashion Portrait demos and workshops.

For a detailed item-by-item listing of what goes in my cases... be sure to visit my website.

You can click here - or also in the description below the video.

Let’s start with the camera gear.

It is extremely important to be organized.

Create a system.

Know where things go - everything should have a place and everything should be in its place

unless you are actively using it.

Invest a few dollars in organizers and pouches to help you accomplish this workflow.

There are a few things that go with me regardless of which of the three backpacks I am traveling

with…

I carry one pouch with Power banks and charging cords for recharging phones on long days when

I haven’t been able to plug-in.

A second larger pouch has all of my computer accessories - Power cords, dongles - thank

you Apple, SD Card Readers for both my phone and computer, HDMI and VGA connectors for

projectors and presentation remote controls.

A third bag has all of my camera cleaning supplies.

I also have pouches for spare camera batteries and spare AA batteries and memory cards that

allows me to organize them so that I can tell which ones are used and which ones are not

- in a glance.

I keep all of these accessories in pouches so that I can easily move them from one bag

to the next without forgetting something important.

And when I am in the field, the pouches make it very easy to identify the pieces of gear

that I am looking for.

If I am traveling light or for a short trip, I prefer the Think Tank Photo Urban Approach

15.

Generally the gear included will be two camera bodies - in my case the Olympus OM-D E-M1

Mark II’s and also the little Olympus ToughTG5 - which is great for a quick snap or some

4K b-roll or vlogging footage for my videos.

Lenses will depend on the assignment or event, but almost always include the M.Zuiko 45mm

F1.2 PRO lens, the 12-100mm F4 PRO Lens, the 7-14mm F2.8 PRO Lens as well as the 60mm F2.8

Macro Lens.

For you full frame folks - that means that I am covered from 14mm - 200mm including Macro.

If it's an extended trip or depending on what I am shooting or teaching if I need a bit

more room - the Airport Commuter Backpack is the next choice.

All three of my bags have a computer pouch that easily handles my 13” MacBook Pro,

a mouse and an external solid state drive.

For lighting gear, I have my Pelican 1560 case outfitted with pre-cut diced foam that

makes it very easy to organize my lighting equipment.

This Pelican case has two wheels and a retractable handle making it easy to navigate with.

4 - Godox AD200 Pocket Flashes with the fresnel heads attached stand upright in this case

with ample padding top and bottom.

I also pack two of the bare bulb heads with bulbs and 4 LumoPro 7 and a half foot tall

compact light stands.

Two spare battery chargers with duck heads, and four mini ball heads as well as two umbrella

stand adapters for mounting the AD200’s.

The case also holds two Wescott 43-Inch Optical White Satin Collapsible Umbrellas.

I also pack my Godox XPro Trigger and if I am teaching a workshop, I pack 5 additional

triggers so that attendees with any brand camera can shoot using my lighting.

A few MagMod accessories round out the kit.

I'm able to get all of this in the Pelican case and still come in under the 50lb weight

limit for checked luggage!

Remember you can see a detailed item-by-item listing of what goes in my cases... by visiting

my website.

Click here - or in the description below the video.

Most of the major airlines have a credit card program that comes with travel perks.

I fly with American Airlines whenever possible and with my American Airlines MasterCard,

I get my first bag checked for free and I get priority boarding which insures that I

will have overhead space if I need it.

If you travel frequently enough - don’t forget to sign up for the frequent flyer mileage.

Even if you don’t fly enough to earn free flights - many of the airlines allow you to

use the points as shopping credits or for magazine subscriptions.

TSA Pre✓ gets you expedited security screening benefits for flights departing from U.S. Airports.

If you are traveling abroad, Global Entry provides the TSA Pre✓ benefit plus expedited

US customs screening when entering the United States.

TSA Pre✓ is good for 5 years, costs just $85 and you can speed through security without

the need to remove your: shoes, laptops, liquids, belts or light jackets.

I've included a link to more info in the description below the video.

First and foremost - don’t be a jerk - don’t have an attitude and don’t act like you

are the only person in the world who is suffering through the inconvenience of extra security

measures.

The TSA agents are just doing their job and because they are doing that job, air travel

still remains the safest form of transportation.

If the X-ray screener flags your bag for further inspection, don’t try to pick up your own

bag to move it to the inspection area.

Just calmly tell the agent that the bag contains expensive camera equipment and you would appreciate

their care in handling the bag.

As the agent is unzipping the bag calmly ask them if you could at least explain to them

how to handle the pieces that they want to remove so that they don’t touch or scratch

any sensitive surfaces.

Now, if you pack your bag properly, they will generally only take a peak and do an explosives

swab on the bag.

The agents who monitor the x-ray machines have only seconds to look at and identify

potential threats in a bag.

If you have everything packed one layer deep - it makes it much easier for the agent to

identify the bags contents and much less likely that they'll flag your bag for a hand inspection.

Obviously when we are out shooting we want a camera ready to go at a moments notice.

But for air travel - it is more space efficient to pack cameras and lens separately and if

you tend to overpack - it also limits the potential for damage being done to your lens

mount if the bag takes a hit.

For that same reason - I always load my camera bodies with the LCD in - never out.

Never check your camera gear or computers.

Clothing, toiletries, accessories and props, they can be replaced easily and inexpensively.

Camera gear cannot.

If you are traveling to do a job and your checked case with your cameras gets lost - you

are out of luck.

Like I said in the beginning of the video - I would pack the kitchen sink if I could.

You can never be too prepared.

Unfortunately that is just not practical when you are flying with camera gear.

Zoom lens are very helpful to limit the amount of gear that you need.

The same theory applies to clothing as well.

I have lots of shirts, and underwear and socks that can be easily washed in a hotel sink

and air dried overnight.

Remember that the airlines have weight limits on both carry-on and checked luggage.

Be sure to check your airline's website for the most up-to-date info but it is generally

50lbs for checked baggage and 40lbs for carry-on.

Trust me though - you don’t want a carry-on bag that weighs 40lbs It is worth purchasing

an inexpensive travel scale like this one so that you don’t find yourself having to

re-pack and possibly leave something valuable behind once you are at the airport.

I learned that one the hard way on a recent trip to St. Louis in early November.

It was in the mid 50’s when I left Philadelphia and the entire weekend I was in St. Louis

the temperature never topped 35 degrees.

And wouldn’t you know it - I was scheduled to do 2 demos outside.

Since then I've purchased a packable down jacket that folds up incredibly small so that

I can hang it on the outside of my backpack or pack it in my suitcase without having it

taking up a lot of space.

Don’t take new shoes on a trip and don’t worry so much about style.

When you are traveling, you are probably in for long days on your feet and you are not

going to do your best work if your feet are sore or suffering from blisters.

This goes along with the ‘be organized” philosophy of packing.

I use an app called TripIt to keep all of my flight, hotel and car reservations organized

so that I have access to everything right on my phone at any time.

TripIt also allows me to check-in for my flight and then I can store my boarding pass in my

Apple Wallet.

I also keep the airline apps and hotel apps on my phone to allow easy communication and

check in along the way.

Don’t forget the Uber and Lyft apps for transportation and of course Apple or Google

Maps for those times that you're renting a car.

If you do a lot of driving away from home - I highly recommend the Waze app which uses

crowdsourcing to help you avoid construction and delays and ultimately saves you a lot

of driving time.

I should also remind you about the importance of planning your shoot so don’t forget the

apps that I mentioned in this video for help with that.

I use these bright orange luggage tags that I found on Amazon and my Pelican case has

this bright red electrical tape that I've outlined it with.

My bluish gray suitcase is not the most popular color and combined with the orange luggage

tag - it makes it easy to find on a loaded luggage carousel.

It is important to lock your checked luggage.

Be sure to use approved TSA locks so that the agents can access the bag if it's flagged

for a security check.

If you use a non TSA approved lock - they have the legal right to simply cut the lock

open.

Hopefully this is something you have already done long before you think about flying.

If you are serious about your photography and don’t have insurance yet… consider

joining PPA - Professional Photographers of America.

The annual membership includes $15,000 of equipment insurance, which is worth the cost

of membership and PPA has excellent learning resources available to all of its members.

TSA regulations require that spare lithium batteries must be packed in your carry-on

luggage.

It is ok to leave the batteries in the gear in the cases that you are checking.

Just make sure your extras are in your carry-on.

This should be a no-brainer.

At the end of each day I transfer my files to my laptop and then from there make a copy

to a portable SSD drive and then to the cloud.

Depending on how long I'm traveling and how much I'm shooting I'll wait until I return

home to format my cards, but if I need to re-use the cards on a trip - once the images

exist in three locations, I have no problem reformatting the cards.

So There you have it - my travel gear and tips.

I hope this gives you some ideas to help you with your air travel with photography gear.

If you have some tips on air travel with camera gear, please share them in the comments below.

Until next time, Please hit that thumbs up and subscribe so that you don’t miss any

videos.

And please don’t keep all this cool stuff to yourself - share it with your photography

friends.

Remember - photography is not a competition - it's a passion to be shared.

Now go pick up that camera and shoot something because your BEST shot - it’s your NEXT

shot, so keep learning, keep thinking, keep shooting.

Adios!