I can attest that traveling with photo gear can be extremely nerve wracking! Each time we fly to a destination for a wedding, I cringe inside at the thought. I want to protect my gear and protect my files afterwards when traveling home! So here are some tips for traveling with gear!

1. Get insurance! This should be a no brainer, but if you don’t already have insurance on your gear, get it before you leave the country or put your gear in the hands of a plane. Seriously. How devastating would it be to lose everything and have to pay out of pocket again to replace it? Not worth it! Get the insurance! There are great companies that provide insurance for photographers. Be sure to ask questions on what is protected and how you can file claims if the worse happens. Make sure you have all your gear documented and accounted for as well. Serial numbers and exactly what you take in case you need to make a claim! Be prepared for the worst!

2. Pack all your gear in the Carry on. When we travel, we NEVER check any gear (other than a light stand). We keep our gear in our carry on and we also make sure it fits below our seat to assure that it NEVER gets checked due to full cabin storage.

3. Pack light. Before we travel for a wedding we ask ourselves do we REALLY need all the lenses? I know that I tend to use my 85mm the most and I can’t do a wedding day without my 105mm. But I can easily choose between a 35mm and 50mm. I don’t need both. Don’t take more than you need!

4. Back up! Before heading home on the plane, I always make sure that my cards are backed up on the laptop. So I have essentially 3 copies of EVERYTHING that I shot. I always fear that somehow the machines will erase my files or corrupt my cards, so I try to make sure it is in several spots! If time allows, I can cull through the images as well and back up the best images online as well.

 

Hopefully these tips will help you plan for your travels!  If you liked this post you may also like The Ideal Client Myth, Editing  Style or 3 Business tools.