Nov 11, 2014

How To Travel With Your Camera

How To Travel With Your Camera

My camera goes everywhere with me and I’ve been asked a few times what my tips are for traveling with a nice camera, so I’m sharing some of my best with you today.

Travel Light
I only bring what I need when I travel. I bring my camera, extra memory cards, an extra battery, charger, a wireless remote, a 35mm lens, and a 135mm lens. It saves me excess weight, and extra gear to worry about. For some trips where I know I might not be in the best of areas, I pack my 40mm pancake lens to make my camera appear a little smaller.

Organize
I don’t use a camera bag because they are bulky and draw attention, but I do love this neoprene sleeve so I can keep my camera safe no matter what bag it’s in (or to keep from bumping while on my shoulder), and use a baggu zip pouch to hold all of my camera accessories/electronics. This makes it safe and easy for my camera and accessories if I need to take them out for security as well.

Be Comfortable
I never use the strap that comes with my camera, I don’t find it comfortable. I use one I purchased on Etsy. I also don’t suggest using the default strap because it can draw unwelcome attention to what kind of camera you have.

Backup
We usually bring a small hard drive to dump our photos on if we know we will be on a long trip. I also have an Eyefi card that sends low-res JPG versions to my phone for social media or quick edits. If I am traveling alone I don’t usually bring a laptop, so my iPad serves as my backup device when needed.

Watch Out
Be safe when you travel with any equipment that looks expensive. I alway wear my camera cross-body when I’m taking a lot of photos, keeping one hand on the strap or camera, and tuck it safe away in my bag if I’m not. I never check any of my gear at the airport, or let it out of my sight while on the move. When in a hotel I lock it in the safe if it stays in the room and we always dismiss daily housekeeping.

Insurance
As a professional photographer, I am insured for my equipment if it is lost or stolen, but if you are not you should check into travel insurance. It is a nice piece of mind in case something happens while you are on the go.

I hope these tips are helpful for you, if you have any favorites, please feel free to add them below!

SHARE THIS STORY
Comments
Expand Comments

Hi! Love the neoprene sleeve suggestion – I’ve been thinking of carrying my 5dm3 in my purse rather than in a dedicated bag my poor husband has to carry 😛

Also, what wireless remote do you use?

Wow this is such a useful post…i shall keep these points in mind when ill be travelling (which infact is due within two weeks i guess) 😀

You are so right about the camera strap, I need to start looking for a more comfortable one!

love all the pictures you took.. so many wonderful ones, I actually took the picture you had taken the one with the boats in the icy water and kept it as my desktop, love it 🙂 thanks

These are fab tips. While I was in Morocco last week my DSLR brought me so much unwanted attention and was hard to be subtle! I definitely need to change the camera strap!

Katie <3

I just use my iPhone hehe but when I DO invest in a pro camera I will for sure get it insured and take great care of it!

I wish i would have had these tips a few months ago! We went to Europe but left our good camera at home so that it didn’t get lost or stolen or damaged. These are great tips and looking back I wish we would have brought it. Now I know for next time! Thank you for sharing!

Great tips! Especially the insurance – that totally slipped my mind!

Great post! I’ll be traveling in the summer and need to think of the camera i’ll be using. Do you recommend a go pro?

These are great tips – so many I didn’t even think of! I’m in the market for my first “real” camera right now. I need to bookmark your blog for more tips!

Great tips! Our last couple of trips I relied heavily on my camera phone and am regretting it!

These are definitely some great tips. Lugging that big lens around can be quite the nuisance.

These are all very helpful tips 🙂 I haven’t traveled yet with my camera but with the holidays coming up I will bring my camera along with me everywhere!

These are some great tips!

Great tips, especially backing up your images! Thanks for the tips. 🙂

Great tips! Important to remember!

Great tips! I find it hard to travel light and this is a great reminder that it is the best way to go!

I love this post! Whenever I have my DSLR camera out I always make sure to keep one hand on it at all times! It’s also important to pack light, I always bring my camera bag/shoulder bag <3

You know, I could have used this when we went to Disney World a couple months ago, but better late than never, right?! <3 Thanks for posting this! 🙂

I hate traveling with my camera, but that’s what I have it for, right?! This is a great and helpful list! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.

These are some great tips! I haven’t heard of that sleeve before, but I’m definitely going to have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂

GREAT article! Thanks for the tips! Could you tell me, what is the best lens to bring on a trip to Iceland where most photos will be of landscape etc and the light will be, well, let’s say fleeting, to say the least? Thanks so much! Have a great day! 🙂

I’d def. bring a mini tripod to take longer exposure shots in the low light. As far as a lens, if you only want to bring one I would almost suggest a 70-200 range zoom. Then you could take wider shots for landscape and use the zoom for any sort of wildlife or details you’d like to capture.

I need to get a camera bag. Scott always gets mad when I wrap up my camera in a t-shirt lol. I hate all camera bags though.

Good tips. I’ll definitely keep these in mind when I travel with my camera. Right now all I have is my phone and iPad.

How do I travel with a camera? I bring my iPhone in my pocket. 🙂 Hey, you said travel light, right??

Add a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.