Spring Cleaning Tips for Photographers
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photo by PeopleImages via iStock
Spring cleaning for photographers is a topic we don’t cover enough on PhotographyTalk, because, frankly, it isn’t very sexy. But, it is important.
Keeping your equipment in tip-top shape will allow you to get the most for it when you eventually sell it to upgrade, plus clean equipment just plain works better!
In this article, we are going to cover how to clean your camera, how to clean your camera lens, and how to create an inventory if you don’t already have one.
Clean Your Camera
Our friends over at Gear Focus created this video about learning how to clean your camera, but here’s a quick overview:
First, you’ll need a rocket blaster and a microfiber cloth. Use the rocket blaster to gently spray air at the body of your camera to remove large pieces of dirt before taking a microfiber cloth to the body in a circular motion.
Next, take a separate cloth to your LCD screen to remove any fingerprints.
Make sure your lens cap is on for the entire cleaning session. You don’t want to get any gunk in the camera that might attach itself to the sensor during the cleaning session.
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Find and Clean Your Filters
Photo by Roman Koval from Pexels
If you’re doing a spring cleaning for photographers, then you don’t want to miss any equipment. Your filters will need to get done as well.
This video by eHowArtsAndCrafts shows you exactly how to clean your filters, but pro tip: you pretty much clean your filters exactly how you would clean the body of your camera. It isn’t rocket science.
Finding all of your filters, on the other hand, may be.
Learn More:
Don’t Forget Your Sensor
Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash
Your camera’s sensor is the most important aspect of your camera, so you want to make sure to include it in your spring cleaning routine.
Nigel Danson walks you through how to clean your sensor without damaging it. Sensors are incredibly fragile and you don’t want to accidentally touch your sensor while you’re attempting to clean it or your whole camera could be ruined.
As our pals at Gear Focus noted in their video, you need to clean the camera body as well.
Just give the body a once-over with a brush to knock any big chunks of dirt or dust away. Then use a microfiber cloth to give the body a good wipe down.
Update Your Inventory (or Create One)
If you don’t already have an inventory for your business, then this video by David Hay is a good resource for starting one.
While some tips for photographers lists will tell you to create a fancy inventory, I basically just have a running list of all of my camera equipment in an Excel sheet in case I need it for my insurance.
Find a system that works for you and stick to it.
Sell Some Old Gear
Since your equipment all looks brand new now, you should challenge yourself to sell some old camera gear you no longer need on Gear Focus.
I can’t tell you the amount of money I’ve lost by simply letting equipment sit in a closet instead of going through the hassle of selling it. But, with Gear Focus, it isn’t a hassle.
Gear Focus has some of the lowest sellers fees available in the industry (less than 4%), which means more money back in your pocket. And now through April 10, 2020, there are ZERO seller fees. It's just one way that the fine folks at Gear Focus are trying to help creatives out during the coronavirus pandemic.
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