weddings : gear carrying

alexkidd

alexkidd

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How do you carry yours? :)

Remembering someone in irc getting kitted out with a belt and various pouches looking a bit A-team ish and others just throwing everything in a billingham and plonking it in a corner somewhere the questions is how do you carry yours? :)

Do you end up leaving your kit by your feet or are you a little less responsible and find yourself wandering a few metres away from it? Is it always on your shoulder even when you're shooting?

What's the furthest you've been away from it and then have you had a "oh ****!" moment? :)
 
You have to remember at a wedding you are incredibly vulnerable because you have a lot of expensive kit and your wedding party may not be the only people using the venue. So you need to keep things with you as much as possible.

I wear a shootsac across my body to carry the things I can't carry in my hands and then I have a camera on one shoulder and a camera in my hand. Find a way to minimise what you need to carry and avoid going over the top. Just because you own it doesn't mean you have to take it with you to the wedding.

But as you're a D.O.N.K.E.Y. you can carry it all on your back ;)

:)
 
It depends on the venue :)

It's a lot of kit to cart around and I do keep mine in a rolling case. I also have a crumpler that I take out with me that I can pop kit into. My lighting gear goes in a Lowepro.

Bridal prep will usually see me take one body and a couple of lenses out the case into the crumpler. The case is then left in the car while I shoot the bridal prep.

During the ceremony I have the case with me with everything at hand just in case.

For the couple leaving the Church it's one camera in hand and once they are on their way I grab the rest and get a shift on!

At one venue last year I took one body, two lenses and a flash out and locked the rest away at reception. I didn't trust the place enough to leave the case in the corner while I worked. Too many exits and people wandering all over the place.

The one concession I do make towards looking like a SWAT team is a little bum bag with spare batteries and a card wallet full of CF cards. :)

Might get away with it as a bloke but I figure on a female tog it just looks bad!
lol
:)
 
I've just upgraded my main bag to a Thinktank Airport International, this allows me to lock it up to something should I not be able to leave it behind reception. I use a shootsac to carry the essentials as Zoe does but I only carry one body ( the one I'm shooting with ) with the backup in the main bag. I used to carry two bodies but found it restricted me too much and it was always bashing into things so I've gone with just one now. But that's all down to personal preference.

Pete
 
i'd agree with you on the two bodies thing, every time i've found myself doing that i've been so aware of bashing them together it's put me off the shooting

first time i've heard of this shootsac though *ponders uk stockists* :)
 
alexkidd said:
i'd agree with you on the two bodies thing, every time i've found myself doing that i've been so aware of bashing them together it's put me off the shooting

first time i've heard of this shootsac though *ponders uk stockists* :)
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There isn't a UK stockist yet, best bet is to import from Adorama. It's not cheap though just to warn you. Couldn't be without mine now though.
 
aye, for now i think i'll just stick the lenses in the tenba and then carry the body :)

with another bag in the car for other stuff :)
 
My chiropractor actually assessed what I was doing after I broke a bone in my neck last year. The carrying one on your shoulder while shooting with the other is actually very bad for your neck and back. You end up raising one shoulder to keep the camera from slipping off. The uneven distribution of weight is also very bad for your posture.

So whatever method you do employ bear in mind the effect it might have on your poor body :)
 
BouncyMelons said:
My chiropractor actually assessed what I was doing after I broke a bone in my neck last year. The carrying one on your shoulder while shooting with the other is actually very bad for your neck and back. You end up raising one shoulder to keep the camera from slipping off. The uneven distribution of weight is also very bad for your posture.

So whatever method you do employ bear in mind the effect it might have on your poor body :)
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They do look ghey, but a decent vest with the bodies attached by small carabiners will sort that and help spread the weight.
There are some out there that don't make you look like a Mercenary off to fight in Angola...
 
I use the black rapid double strap so can carry and shoot with two cameras pretty easily. I have one 5dii with 24-70 and 30d with 70-200 both with flashes. I then have a shoulder bag with batteries, memory cards etc anything else is left in the car until I need it.
 
I'm waiting for the new girly one to come out, Richard! It's shaped to go around our boobies :D
 
It's a difficult question to answer 'cos there are so many variables. ;)

Generally speaking, I've got one camera in hand with the other over one shoulder or in my Flipside 200 along with additional lenses, a spare flash and a cleaning cloth. There's a spare CF card on the camera strap and one in my pocket just in case. The rest of my gear lives in a Tamrac Pro 12 at the back of the venue next to my assistant (and usually hidden under a pew or a chair.

Reception venues take a bit of extra care because of all the unknown people but if it's in a hotel, I'll sometimes ask the manager if I can leave stuff in his/her office.

Si
 
interesting really that even though there are similarities most people carry stuff differently :)
 
toph101 said:
Wow! the guy skiing is using that clip without a safety strap!! :eek: I don't think I'd be that brave.
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I guess it is a positive sign when the guy has sufficient confidence in his product to risk $000s of gear, although I hardly think any risk was involved there. Plus it was worth it, I'm sure, for the marketing message. No doubt the gear was insured.

There is a huge thread over on POTN about the Cotton Carrier System - http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=726545. I have one and really like it. It is way more comfortable than straps and the absence of swinging gear is a great bonus too. It's no problem to tie up your laces or rummage in a bag for gear when the camera stays out of your way.
 
again is the cotton carrier one of those things you have to import from america? :(
 
alexkidd said:
again is the cotton carrier one of those things you have to import from america? :(
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Canada. With duty etc. it cost around £120 to import. It was my xmas present :)

It may seem expensive, but compared to the price of some bags, which are nowhere near as convenient for quick access for weddings and PJ, for example - maybe not so bad. I've seen competing products as well. Not sure on the pricing or sourcing of those. Here's one example of a holster type design....

http://www.spiderholster.com/

There are others I've seen but I don't recall where. I expect the POTN thread has more links.
 
treeman said:
Looks interesting, but this is why I wouldn't want one... HERE :)
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haha that's great, take the shot of the terrorist, shoot the terrorist then take the shot of the dead terrorist :lol::lol:

carrier systems look very good though :thumbs:
 
Perhaps I should be the first to admit I leave my kit all over tha place with little regard to safety :(

Generally I know WHERE it is but I tend to have a lot of kit with me and keeping it all close by is impossible. I usually look for somewhere safe at the venue but as soon as the action gets going I tend to put stuff down and forget about it.

Last year a passer by walked through the church and asked one of the wedding guests if "anyone owned that camera lying by a grave stone". It was only my D700 with grip and 70-200 attached. :$

Must try harder............
 
I like to carry my kit in a Think Tank Belt Kit. I know it can look a daft but everything is available all the time, I don't put my kit down on the floor and keep looking to see if it is still there. It's a lot comfier to carry for long periods. I think it is the best bit of kit I own to be honest. Used a bag for the first time in ages the other week and realised how heavy my kit is, I had not notice using the Think Tank stuff.
 
I'm another Black Rapid Double Strap user and it's fantastic, 2 cameras secured and I don't have to worry about them slipping off my shoulder and in the most part its hidden under my suit jacket. (I'm sure that when Zo-Zo gets her Boobie friendly she'll love it too, will Bouncing Mellons be getting one I wonder ;) :lol: ). The only slight downside I have noticed is it's a little more time consuming to take the cameras off the strap when getting in the car to drive. I tried taking the whole strap off but I found then the cameras bounce about on each other during the process which I don't like.

Other than that I have a 3 pouches on my belt (2 flash and 1 light meter) and the cards, go in my trouser pockets in a case (in a specific orientation to show used vs unused status). The majority of extra stuff (spare bodies, spare lenses, spare flash, studio flash kit, stobist flash kit, step ladders etc) stay in the car for when I need it. I'm glad I have an estate!!!
 
2 bodies and I carry them both. One with a 24-70/2.8 and one with a 50/1.4. That's what I use for 95% of my weddings.

I keep the rest of my kit in a LowePro Stealth Reporter bag and just haul it with me when I change areas/rooms. Compared to many wedding togs I suspect I travel fairly light.

Where I am determines how careful I am with the kit.
 
I use SimonTalm. He has all the kit .. the bulletproof vest thing, the straps, the estate car - so I just let him carry all my stuff!!!

Other than that it's usually one camera (generally the 24-70) used for shooting which is round the neck, the other (70-200) nearby for longer shots. Flash, cards, batteries etc in the LowePro Trekker - always nearby!!

I 'try' not to wander too far away from the kit - but sometimes become a bit too trusting and do leave it unattended!!!! Touch wood, not had any bad moments yet, but I do remember reading a story on here recently about a lad having some stuff nicked at a wedding ??

Anth.
 
Hope the OP doesn`t mind me widening the thread a little, with a related (sort of) question.

What do the wedding togs wear?

Many years ago I seem to remember it was always a suit. The last wedding I attended the official female tog was dressed very casually indeed. It was a hot day but flip-flops !!!

I know that some togs dress down so as to show they are working and not a guest and some wear sweat tops with name/logo etc.

Would be interesting to hear what others think.
 
D700 with a 24-70 and SB900 is the main camera and sits around my neck with a Lowepro Voyager strap as it gives a little and sometimes a monopod. I also carry a Lowepro zoom holster bag as it's quite small with second D700 and 135mm prime, just swap flash on when I need to swap cameras. Bumbag holds the cards / batteries etc. When being transported it all sits in a huge Tamrac rucksack that sits in the boot.
Generally wear a suit, shirt, tie and sometimes a button hole (false one). Suit jacket spends more time off than one though!
 
For the majority of weddings I wear a suit so as to blend in on others photos.

HOWEVER, the last couple of weddings I've done, it's been a short sleeve white shirt, linen pants and a pair of Crocs - and boy did I feel more comfortable!!!!

Suppose it depends on the B & G really and what their expectations are. Always ask!

Anth.
 
gheesom said:
I agree it doesn't look very booby friendly.....looks pretty uncomfortable....even for man-boobs ;)
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I find it a whole lot more comfortable than two normal straps, although you have to have cameras on both sides to balance the weight (although you can split it in to two parts and get a normal R-Strap).

If anyone in North Cheshire (Stockport) area fancies actually trying it please let me know more than happy to meet up!
 
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