Monday, March 16th, 2009...9:00 am

What to Keep in Your Car: A Gear Guide For Wedding Photographers

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Wedding season for the majority of people will be in high gear within the next 30-60 days. The next few weeks I will be writing some useful articles to get you wedding photographers prepared and back into high gear.

Photo By Flickr User: Protectorrr

Regardless of whether or not you’ve had boy scout training you should know that you should always be prepared. Wedding photographers are always faced with high stakes situations and a quick solution must be made.

In this article, I will assume that all wedding photographers have cars. I know this is an unfortunate assumption. I know some photographers can travel by train, cab, or limo etc. I probably can safely assume that the majority of photographers need a reliable source of transportation. So if you’re one of these exceptions prove me wrong by leaving me a comment.

Now onto the guide:

Certainly, you might not be able to imagine all the possible emergency situations; we’re here to help and keep you stocked with handy car things to keep you ahead of the game and to more easily MacGuyver your way out of sticky situations. Here are the following things (some of which you’ve probably already thought of):

Basic Must-Haves

  1. A Backup Camera: You never know if a camera will break or die.
  2. Compact Flash Cards/Portable Media Cards: This is probably another obvious. I’ll admit this. But i’ve actually forgotten to bring my set of CF cards (once). It is by far the most embarrassing thing in the world
  3. GPS: If you’ve put off buying one this one is a no-brainer. This device is an instant headache & relationship saver. With this you can accurately predict how long it will take to get you to your destination, find your destination, and as well as save you from car accidents. Well, then again it can also cause car accidents too. I suggest you go with a Garmin or Tom Tom nowadays. Those two brands seem to be the most reliable nowadays for the best price.

Power Solutions

  1. Inverter: Inverters aren’t too expensive nowadays. Buy an inverter at your local electronics store of choice. If you own rechargeable batteries (most likely you do) this will definitely be a lifesaver if you were smart enough to bring your AA/Camera charging station.
  2. Surge Protector: Keep several surge protectors in the back in case you need to split your power into 3-5 different outlets.
  3. Extension Cord: Maybe you need this because your portable chargeable battery is dead. This can be a suitable replacement. Plug in your extra long power cord (I know it’s ghetto but it’s worth having. Takes up little space).

For Your Photography Subject

  1. Picnic Blanket: If you have a fastitidous bride who doesn’t want to get their dress or feet dirty you can remedy this by bringing a colored blanket of your choice. I suggest red to contrast the green grass. You can usually always find grass. With some creative styling you can even hide the blanket if her dress is “poofy” enough.
  2. Lint Roller: Save yourself some photoshop time. Make sure you get all the fuzzies out of their jacket so you don’t need to waste time with cloning 200-300 shots.
  3. Umbrella: Not the shoot-thru or reflective kind. Bring a black or white umbrella. Any colored umbrella is very bad because it effects the skin tones of your subject. It might not be a bad idea to have 2. One for you and one for your bride and groom. Hopefully, your assistant will remember to bring their own.

Lighting/Grip

  1. Lightstands: I would keep a couple extra lightstands around in case you break one. You never know. Make sure you have appropriate grip gear to attach your lighting equipment. An unmountable lightstand is a useful paperweight. If you have a pair. You can make a makeshift background stand with the blanket I mentioned before. Well if your blanket is big enough.
  2. Foamcore Board: Foamcore can be relatively inexpensive as well. A foamcore board can be excellent if you’re in the middle of nowhere and cannot find any shade: A beach, a open field, a desert, a tundra, etc. I wouldn’t advise using it under windy conditions. If you do attempt to use it make sure you bring an assistant. If your trunk is not big enough just fold it in half or cut it into the shape of your trunk.
  3. Gaffers/Ducttape: This is an excellent purchase. I’m not sure about its durability in extreme heat; since your car can reach temperatures of sometimes 120 degrees+. Having Gaffers/Duct tape around can solve nasty problems like not having a lightstand mount, loose clothing, loose cords.
  4. 3/8″ mount/adapter: Keep a mount adapter around so that you can add your favorite light to your lightstand. They can be easily lost or misplaced.
  5. Bungee Cords: This is a strobist favorite to keep around. This is very useful for keeping your pocketwizard attached to your flash or whatever crazy ideas you may have: hair ties, etc.
  6. Plastic Bags: Keep several plastic bags around. You can always make a cheap sandbag out of 5-6 different plastic bags, that ducttape and your excellent tying skills. On a windy day, A sandbag will be great on a winday day. It’ll save you your gear from falling and breaking as well as injuries from falling gear.

Miscellaneous

  1. A cooler: A cooler can be an excellent addition to your macrophotography lightbox. Shooting straight into it will allow you an almost perfect seamless background after a couple tries. Additionally, this can be great if you keep it stocked with cool beverages as well. Your bride and groom should be fed plenty of water so they’re more cooperative in the summer sun.
  2. Snacks: Keep your favorite granola bar or snack item in the cooler. Most wedding photographers might not recieve a meal break. My favorite is a protein shake. It’s easily a replacement meal.

Illustration Used by Flickr User Protectorrr.

High Resolution Press Images:

[+] 2406577829_1d69cbe8ea.jpg

2 Comments

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2 Comments

  • Chris Sonjeow
    March 16th, 2009 at 9:58 am

    Great list! I shoot a lot of video but most of the stuff on this list is spot on.

    I would also recommend lens wipes. I do a bunch of mobile production and a dirty lens sucks..especially when you don’t notice until way too late.

  • Christos
    March 18th, 2009 at 7:33 am

    I would also like to add another use of clear plastic bags. The are great for when you happen to get caught in the rain, you can cover your flash and camera body and continue shooting. All you would have to do is open up a little hole and poke the lens through.

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