Travel is in itself something always inspiring. Walking under different stars, different colors, smells, features, customs, different accents or languages… Everything fascinates us, immerses us and captivates us. For travel lovers, traveling is a necessity, a NEED in capital letters; it’s almost like breathing. And if you are also passionate about capturing everything in images, there are few things as magnificent as a trip to practice photography. And few moments as magical as planning, unplanning, living the trip and returning with everything you learned (and with thousands of fantastic images behind you) 🙂 .
So whether you like landscapes, portraits, long exposure photography or street photography… A trip is the perfect setting to practice everything you’ve learned and to learn new things. So far so good, right? But what about when it comes to packing things? Do you not have the feeling that sometimes you go too far with caution and at other times disorganization overcomes you and you forget half of the things? Well, to try to make it a little easier for you when choosing the essential photographic accessories for your tripso that you do not lack or have anything left over:
- Backpack
- Camera
- Objectives
- Tripod
- Cleaning kit
- Charger
- batteries
- Power adapter
- extra memory cards
- Filters
- Flash
- Parasol
- waterproof cover
- notebook and pen
- Check list
But better we are going to see it carefully because all this goes hand in hand with you depend and other recommendations 😉
Aspects to take into account when choosing your travel photography accessories
trip type
- Conveyance: When deciding what to take on a trip, the way you are going to move is essential. Moving around in your own car is not the same as traveling by plane, by bicycle or on foot. The way you are going to travel will determine how much material you are willing to take. The material is heavy, and there is nothing more tiring than carrying various objects that you are not going to use.
- Route type: Do you go to a fixed and safe place where you can store the material that you are not going to use? For example, if you are going to photograph landscapes in the morning, you may take the tripod and the wide angle, but if you are going to take portraits of the locals in the afternoon, perhaps you are on the tripod and the wide angle and prefer a medium focal length. Or, on the contrary, are you going to be changing places every so often? In this case, you may be more interested in traveling with the bare minimum for your comfort. I assure you that carrying too many things is one of the worst things you can do when you are traveling. In the end you can get so tired that you don’t even want to take the camera out of the backpack. 🙁
- Number of days: Nor is it the same to be away for a week than for a month. In the first case, perhaps you can do without having a computer where you can download your images or even a hard drive where you can make backup copies. On very long trips, it doesn’t hurt to have a device where you can download your photos. This way you will have the information on the memory cards and on another device that will make a backup copy for you, and even if the situation arises in which you run out of space on the cards, you can empty them knowing that you have them stored in a safe place.
soak up the place
Buy yourself a guide and/or look for information about the place you are going to. Look for related images and decide what you are interested in seeing and what is not, get inspired by them and get ideas, because based on the type of images or the place you are going, you will need one type of material or another. It is also important that you soak up the customs of the place, knowing what is good to photograph and what is not, can avoid a serious situation.
Essential accessories for your travel photography
Photo backpack for travelers
The most important thing when choosing a backpack for your camera is that it is comfortable, light and that it allows you to handle yourself in an agile way when it comes to taking out or storing the camera, lenses and others. If it has several compartments so that you can have everything organized, much better, and if it is waterproof, it would be almost perfect. If it’s not perfect, don’t worry, but organize it well and try to get the best out of what you have.
Body
If it is a pleasure trip, with a body you will have more than enough. If you have two and you don’t want to change lenses every moment, you can take both, but you will also have to multiply the weight by two. A good option, and of less weight, is to accompany your SLR with a compact to capture images that do not need too much technique (Selfies or group photos 😉 ), so you also make sure that if unfortunately one fails you in the middle of the trip, you will always there is another.
Objectives for your travel photography
If you have multiple goals, think about what kind of images you want to make. Are you passionate about the landscape? The portrait? Or maybe fixed focal? Here are some indications and suggestions, but you can always take a look at our article with the recommendations of objectives for photographic trips:
- Telephoto lenses (55-200mm approx.): Very useful to get closer to situations that you cannot or are reluctant to access. The standard apertures are usually narrower than those of other lenses, and the more open, the more expensive, so keep in mind that they are lenses that a priori need enough light.
- Wide Angle (12-20mm approx.): The classics for landscapes, because they are the ones that allow you to cover the most framing.
- Medium focal length (50-70mm approx.): The 50mm is the one that most closely resembles human vision, and you can also find it as a fixed focal length with a large aperture, which will allow you to shoot in low light conditions.
- SUVs (18-200mm approx.): If you have enough and enough with one of these off-road objectives, you will only have to carry one of them. They are designed to be “correct” at each distance, although they can never match the quality of fixed lenses or more specialized focal lengths.
(Whatever you decide, don’t forget the front and back covers!)
Tripod
Faced with the classic question and decision to take it or not, think in general terms what use you usually give to the tripod. If you are passionate about long exposure, time lapse, landscapes, rivers with a silky effect… Then take it with you. If not, if you are one of those who always manages to forget it in a corner, one of those who prefer to go light and like speed… Then leave it at home, don’t be fooled, people don’t changes from one day to another 😉
Cleaning kit
The simplest ones are very cheap and should always, always accompany you (and not just on trips). The most basic ones usually have an air bulb with a brush, microfiber cloth and/or cleaning paper, and cleaning liquid. The kit occupies the minimum and will be very useful for cleaning lenses, glass or mirrors without damaging them.
Charger
They are neither cheap nor easy to find depending on where and what camera you have. So it’s very, very, very important that you don’t forget it. So if you can, make it one of the first things you put in your backpack (the camera is less likely to be forgotten 😉 ).
batteries
If you still only have one battery, now is the time to buy a second battery. If you are going to spend the day photographing and away from power outlets, it is always a great option to take at least two. And even if one suddenly fails during the trip, you can at least have an extra and thus cover part of the day.
Power adapter
Find out what type of current and plugs the place you are going to have has. Unfortunately they are not universal, so find out and, if you need an adapter, buy it before the trip. It may be difficult for you to find it there or simply and directly you cannot find it.
Multiple memory cards
As a general rule, it is better to carry several memory cards with a smaller capacity than one with a large capacity, as long as you take care of them and take special care not to lose any of them. If you only go with one and you lose it or it gets damaged, you will lose all the images. On the other hand, if you have several and one of them is lost or damaged, you will keep, at least, the rest.
Filters
It is worth taking one of these filters on a trip:
- Polarizing: Prevents reflections on shiny surfaces and intensifies colors.
- UV filter: The easiest way to protect your targets. If you do not have one, it is highly recommended that you buy one (they are usually very cheap).
- Neutral Density Filters: To reduce the intensity of light entering the lens. For example, if you want to take images with a wide aperture (let’s say you want the background out of focus) but you have too much light and even speeding up the images are overexposed, or if you want low speeds in bright situations, etc. Within the neutral density filters, you have different degrees or intensities to let more or less light through.
external flash
An external flash neither occupies too much nor weighs too much. But, if you have never missed it, if you keep it jealously in a corner inside its practically pristine little box… Leave it at home. On the contrary, if you use it at least once in a while, enjoy its handling and its effects… Do not hesitate to add it to your suitcase, surely you will find more than one situation in which, if you did not do it, you would throw it away much less. And please, do not forget spare batteries, as many as you foresee that you can use, it is better that you have more than you lack.
Parasol
When you are traveling, you usually take pictures at all hours, adapting to the hours of light that you find in each place. Therefore, because you will not always be in the right place with the right light, it is important that you do not forget the lens hood to avoid flares or unwanted lights on your lens.
Waterproof camera case
Or in its cheap version, a plastic bag (although it is not comparable). It does not matter if you plan to go to the Sahara desert or the Atacama or the Gobi and it rains an average of two days a year. That day you may be the one who is there. So just in case it doesn’t hurt to anticipate it and have everything you need to deal with the situation. Also, miss the rainy days with the wonderful images that they offer us… 🙂
notebook and pen
Yes, like in the old days. It will help you write down the names of the places in the photographs, write down the best times to photograph them, anecdotes, ideas… Whatever you think.
Check list
Human beings love lists. New Year’s resolution lists, shopping lists, lists of all kinds. Lists…