The Shoot! The Day Survival Kit

Shoot! The Day is approaching, and we thought that we’d throw together a list of items that we find indispensable on shoots with the help from our good friends over at Adorama Camera.

Lowepro Street & Field Deluxe Padded Waistbelt
I like to use a good camera backpack when I’m traveling from place to place, but once I’m on location, there’s nothing worse than fiddling into the camera bag, or leaving a lens lying around. So I dig a good belt system with some pouches. It’s like Batman for photographers.

Make sure to get the right pouches for your gear.

Off-Camera Flash Cord
for Canon and for Nikon:

Step one in taking better pictures with your flash is taking the thing off your camera. By creating more directional lighting, you can control the way shadows fall in your photos and eliminate red-eye and that “deer in the headlights” look.

Permacell Gaffer’s Tape
In Hollywood parlance, the gaffer is the head electrician who is responsible for wiring all the lighting gear. Mr. Gaffer didn’t like Scotch or Duct, so he made his own tape. It’s better, and it’s built for the job. And remember how many times MacGyver saved the world with a little bit of tape…

Photek 12′ Portable Background Stand
If you want to shoot people against seamless, you’ll need a good stand system. And if your significant other doesn’t like it when you leave the seamless up in the living room, then you’ll probably need something portable. That’s why I’m recommending this particular unit. I’m on my second set because I have a bad habit of tripping and tipping it over. Trust me, it’s not prone to tipping, I’m just a klutz.

Pocket Wizard MultiMAX
If you’re dealing with multiple strobes or are just fed up with wires, the Pocket Wizard is the de facto solution. I have three of these bad boys and they are beat to hell, but they keep on ticking, and have saved me hours of frustration running zip cord to power my strobes.

SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV Compact Flash Card
Echoing my sentiments from “10 Pieces of Photo Gear Under $50 You Should Own,” I’m calling out this CF card again because you can never have too many. I hate it when I’m shooting RAW and I run out of cards, and begrudgingly have to switch to JPG…Don’t forget, SanDisk has some great rebates right now, so stock up!

Nikon D700 DSLR
How can I resist? Nikon will be debuting this camera at our Shoot! The Day event in NYC. This is Nikon’s mid-range full-frame camera that uses the same sensor as their flagship D3. Am I mad that I paid $2,000 more for the same sensor than you’ll pay today? No, I’m not. I’m actually happy for you because you will be able to experience the joy that’s allowed me to create photos that I couldn’t have without its incredible high ISO performance.

Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly
The D700 has a self-cleaning sensor, but most of us don’t, so when the Rocket Blower doesn’t work, I pull out the Visible Dust brushes. A year or so ago, they upped the ante by creating the Arctic Butterfly that doesn’t require a bottle of canned air to prep the brush (i.e. it’s good for traveling photographers).

Profoto AcuteB 600
I’m a lighting gear junkie, which explains why I own three different brands of lighting equipment. Profoto ain’t cheap. I’ll be honest with you. But if you need a reliable and light battery-powered strobe, this is the guy I reach for. I’ve been shooting a bunch of location portraits with it recently, and it’s awesome – particularly indoors where you don’t need to full-power. You can dial it down, and shoot wide open to retain a limited depth-of-field. I even attached a nice padded strap on it for easy portability.

Photoflex Litedisc 42″ Reflector
When you’re shooting lifestyle, you want a light and airy atmosphere, and one way to accomplish this is to reflect a lot of light into the scene. But don’t be tempted by the gold or silver reflectors – they are often too specular. A nice white bounce card is great. Yes, you can go to the art store and get a piece of white poster board for $1, but then you’ll probably end up throwing it out when you’re done, killing yet another tree. Spend a little money, and this reflector will last you a lifetime. Plus it folds up into a circle. How cool is that?