Abrin Photography

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Which bag for me?

It seems from my recent reading that one of the ever present questions in photography is the ever present "which bag" question.

It seems like a silly question on its surface, but it carries a great deal of importance to a photographer. The right bag can make or break a shoot depending on what type of shooting you are doing.

For DSLR users a bag that will hold the lenses that you plan on using, your smaller gear such as speed lights, and a body or two is very important. The bag has to be able to hold what you need it to hold. If you're shooting wedding, you have to be able to get to your primary gear right away. You need a bag that projects the right image as well - a bag that looks like a pro bag inspires confidence in your clients, as a bag that screams amateur will not.

Vacation shooting means a point and shoot that will fit in a fanny pack or purse. For street shooting you have a different set of problems. You need immediate access to your camera and you need the bag to be unobtrusive and lightweight. Your gear might be different too. You might be shooting with rangefinders, meaning that you need a bag that doesn't look like a camera bag and again, a bag that will hold your gear. Stealth and convenience are considerations for street shooting.

Some photographers collect bags as part of their GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)which is a terribly expensive affliction. Others end up collecting bags in their never ending search for the "right" bag.

Whatever type of shooting you do there is a wide variety of bags out there to suit everyone's needs. You could purchase a foreign made knock off bag or a bag that costs a third as much as your camera. There are even purse style bags for female photographers so they can be stylish and color coordinated. There is a bright spot though - if a photog gathers up too many bags there is always an auction site where they can unload a few of their extras!