How to Carry a Lot of Camera Gear in Total Comfort
It took me about two months of seriously working as a photographer before I understood just how important choosing your camera gear backpack is.
The first thing to go on my way to becoming a true photographer were my $15 Walmart shoes. The second thing was my $40 camera backpack I bought off of Amazon.
The final thing to go was my kit lens, because buying a replacement lens was most expensive and let’s be honest, I had to be making some real income before I could justify it.
Your comfort is important in your job. Typically, it’s your employer’s job to ensure you have all the equipment you need to perform your best. But, since you’re a photographer, you’re probably running your own business, which means you need to take care of yourself.
So, let’s have a look at one of the best ways you can make your working life more comfortable and functional.
Gear Weighing You Down? Not With This Bag.
Camera gear is heavy. If I had to compare carrying my screaming toddler around all day with carrying all of my camera gear for a shoot, I think I would take the screaming toddler any day.
But, since he isn’t very useful on my shoots, I use the Sightseer backpack to carry my camera gear.
One of the reasons I chose the Sightseer is because it features heavily padded and contoured shoulder pads. There is nothing worse than carrying your camera gear around after an incredibly long shoot where your shoulders got cut into for 14 hours.
The creators behind the Sightseer also put a high priority on making sure each one of their camera gear backpacks are adjustable to any body type.
So, the shoulder straps are thick enough to displace some of the weight of your camera gear, without being so wide they look odd on a petite person.
This comfortable camera bag also rests precisely on your lower back, to help make the load more comfortable to carry.
Learn More:
Easy Access to Gear Makes Gear Changes Easy
The reason I so firmly believe everyone should own a Holdfast camera gear bag is because of their ease of use.
Each Holdfast product works with the rest of the products in the Holdfast line, so if you can own the Sightseer bag, you can also purchase the Holdfast cell phone pouch, which attaches directly to the Sightseer.
Holdfast also has a lens pouch, which is great if you need more room for storage than the Sightseer provides or if you are in the habit of quickly needing to switch between lenses during shoots.
While all of these pouches will attach to the back of the Sightseer (as pictured above), you can also purchase leather straps that attach to this comfortable camera bag in order to be able to literally pull your camera to your eye at a moment’s notice.
Plus, the way the Sightseer is designed allows you to never need to fully remove the bag in order to get to the camera gear that matters.
With other camera backpacks you might still need to spend some time figuring out how to carry camera gear (i.e., learning how to pack your camera bag in the most convenient way). But with the Sightseer, a lot of this forethought is taken out of the equation because the interior compartment is so well designed with various cubbies for your camera, lenses, flashes, and other gear, as well as smaller pockets for little items like batteries and memory cards.
In other words, this bag has a spot for just about everything!
This Bag Offers Supreme Functionality
I will only recommend “top camera backpacks” if those backpacks can be thrown around, and the Sightseer can.
It’s got a huge handle on top, which makes for easy transfers from car to house to studio to field.
It’s also built out of buffalo hide, which is the strongest animal hide because it goes through the least amount of processing.
Plus, the Sightseer does what every camera gear bag should do and unzips all the way. I get so frustrated when I see photographers recommending a list of the best camera backpacks when I know I’ve used some of them before and they don’t open nearly wide enough.
I want to be able to see the gear I packed. I also don’t want my camera gear to get thrown around inside of my backpack. The Sightseer prevents this with customizable compartments, like those shown above.
I know it took me a few years to find a way for me to carry a ton of gear comfortably, but I hope you can learn from my experience and take a shot on the Sightseer. Trust me, it’s a decision you won’t regret!
Learn More:
Photos in this article are by Brandon Burk
