14 Travel Essentials for On-the-Go Photographers

Packing your bag for a trip and can’t think of what you’re going to actually need? You’ll want to pack lightly while still bringing your travel essentials so we figured we would help you out. Here’s a list of all the things we find essential to bring with us on our photography adventures!

Camera Bag

This should go without saying, but it is the first and most important. You’ll need a durable bag, big enough in size to store all of your gear, but small enough so that you can carry it with you along your journey to wherever life takes you. Some great camera bag options include Herschel Supply backpacks, Think Tank bags, or the Peak Design messenger bags.
Camera

A camera is always necessary if you are a photographer, especially when traveling to a new location to shoot. Make sure you have high quality camera with manual controls and adjustable aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. This will ensure your ability to make the perfect adjustments to get the most clear shots wherever you are.
One Short Prime Lens (at least)

A short, prime lens is always a good option to have when photographing. Adjusting the aperture and ISO rather than the zoom like in a normal lens will help to capture sharper images with less vignetting and distortion. Perfect for portraits, prime lenses focus on the subject and blur the background. Some prime lenses that are notable are the Canon EF 50mm lens and the Nikon NIKKOR 50 mm lens.
One Wide Angle Lens (at least)

You’ll also want at least one wide angle lens with you while traveling, especially if you’ll be camping or visiting areas with vast amounts of land and open scenery. Some great wide angle lenses to consider are the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm lens or the Canon EF 24-70mm zoom lens.
Camera Rain Cover

You think you won’t need it. You’ll need it. You don’t want unexpected rain to mess up your whole setup while traveling and shooting. Invest in a good rain cover for your camera before your next trip to make sure you don’t have any regrets when you’re in need. A perfect, cheap option is the Op/Tech Rainsleeve.
AA/AAA Batteries

These will always come in handy. You never want to need something and not have it. This is one of those items. Say your flashlight or other camera equipment runs out of batteries and you don’t have any. You’re in a bit of a pickle and are going to need to go find some batteries. Plan ahead and bring the batteries just in case.
Portable Charger

Perfect for any person, not just a photographer, portable chargers are always essential when traveling. Whether you need to charge your phone on the go or you need it to charge any other your various other devices when traveling, portable chargers will always come in handy. Some useful portable chargers to look into include the Flux, RAVPower, or the Ventev Powercell portable chargers.
Flashlight & Headlamp

These may not seem like a necessity, but flashlights and headlamps can be very useful especially when traveling in the mountains or in caves. Some good headlamps and flashlights to look into before traveling are the Atomic Beam Tactical flashlight and the Petzl Tikka XP Headlamp.
Portable tripod

This is something you may not use a lot when you are at home or going shooting with a friend, but when you are traveling, you’ll want a tripod to do some work for you. Especially while in the mountains, tripods come in handy as a second recorder while you are off photographing nearby. They offset some of the work on yourself and are great for time lapses. The 3-Way from GoPro and the GorillaPod Series from Joby Tripods are your two best options when it comes to on-the-go tripods.
Laptop

To some, this may be unnecessary, but when traveling a laptop can be very useful, in fact very helpful. Importing pictures onto your laptop, doing work, and responding emails are all attributes of bringing your laptop which is why we highly recommend bringing your laptop while traveling.
Power strip

When traveling with all your gear, one outlet won’t cut it. Bring along a power strip to ensure that you can charge all of your gear without any troubles. Some power strips to consider include the Belkin 3-Outlet SurgePlus Mini and the GE Heavy Duty 3-Outlet Tap.
Cleaning Gear

Cleaning gear will come in more handy than you think. When you get dust or dirt on your lens, you’ll want to clean it properly using the right materials. You can check out our article on How to Clean your Camera Lens to help out with this process if you have any questions. The best camera cleaning kits will be the K&F Concept Professional 7-in-1 Camera Cleaning Kit, the Canon Optical Lens and Digital SLR Camera Cleaning Kit, or the Delkin SensorScope System.
External Hard Drive

This will be used to store all those excess pictures you’ll be taking while traveling to whatever destination it may be. New sights, new views, new opportunities. They’re all good reasons to take more photos so make sure you have a plan to back them up and keep all of those pictures stored safely. Check out the WD 1TB Portbale External Hard Drive or the Seagate Backup 2TB External Hard Drive if you are in the market for a new external portable hard drive.
GoPro

Last, but not least, bring a GoPro with you on your expedition. GoPro’s are perfect for documenting and filming in all types of weathers and terrains. Highly durable with many uses and priced fairly, definitely consider purchasing a GoPro before your next excursion. Take a look at GoPro’s website to see what camera will best fit your needs.