Skip Rowland Photography

the bag-packing checklist

Before heading out, make sure you have all of the following that are necessary for not only any jobs you have scheduled, but also for any work that may come up while you are out. While there is a lot to be said for traveling light, you do not want to be caught short in critical situations – especially if you are not going to be anywhere near a store that might have what you left at home.

Cameras

2-3 Bodies
2 Fully charge camera batteries
1 Battery charger
2 Extra camera batteries
32 GB worth of cards (minimum)

Lenses

1 16-35
1 24-70
1 70-200
1 50
1 300
1 1.4 TC
1 15 Fisheye

Support

1 Tripod mount
1 Sturdy tripod
1 Monopod
1 Table-top tripod
3 Quick-release plates
1 Collar for each long lens

On-camera Strobes

2 Strobes
2 Light modifiers
20 AA batteries
1 Light meter
3 Pocket Wizards
1 Hotshoe cord

Miscellaneous

1 Lens cloth
Filters (UV, ND, Polarizer, etc)
1 Pack of Q-tips
1 Lens pen
1 Roll duct tape
1 Roll gaffers tape
1 Voice-activated Digital Voice Recorder
1 Credential sleeve
1 Flashlight
1 AC/DC car lighter power converter
1 phone battery charger
Sunblock
Small First-Aid kit
Extra-Strength Migraine Formula Aspirin and/or Aleve
Rain gear for both you and your gear
Water & Fruit and/or Granola Bars

Portable Office

2 Sharpies
1 Legal pad
1 Notepad
1 Pad of stickies
100 Business cards
1 Pack of model releases
2 Ink pens

If you are shooting groups and/or portraits

Strobist Style

2 8′ Light stands
2 Strobe mounts
2 Umbrellas
2 3-n-1 reflectors
Adequate remote triggering system

Portable Studio Style

2 6′ Light stands
2 Backdrop stands
1 Boom stand
1 Backdrop light stand
2 Large Softboxes
2 Strip Softboxes
1 Beauty Dish
Grids, Barn doors, Snoots, Gels, other Misc Modifiers
1 6×9 2-sided backdrop
2 2-sided backdrops
5 Portable studio strobes
Either a portable power supply or adequate power cables
Remote triggering system

If you are providing onsite delivery

1 Laptop
1 Laptop power cable
1 USB Flash drive
1 Blank DVD with envelope
1 Blank CD with envelope

If you are printing onsite

2 Printers (1 primary and 1 backup, or 2 primary, depending on the job)
2 Printer power cables
2 USB cables
Adequate consumables (paper and ink or dye-sub rolls and film)
1 Power strip
Depending on the location and power supply, may bring a surge protector

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 9:06 am. It is filed under How To's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.