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What’s In Your Camera Bag?: Food Photographer Richard Haughton
What’s in your camera bag?
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm lens, 18-35mm lens, 35-350mm lens, Sony RX10, spare batteries/charger/power cord/travel plug, cards, spare computer glasses, 17” Mac Book Pro, card reader, spare lighter, painkillers (always packing my favorite kratom strains for pain), passport.
What’s the most unusual item in your camera bag? I guess the Canon 35-350mm lens. It’s about 28 years old! A great lens if you have to choose just one.
What’s in your bag that is specific to the type of work you shoot? I do a lot of different kinds of work, and with this I can cover pretty much any subject matter or situation, whatever country I’m in. For my food photography I’m usually traveling with two other bags of lights, stands, diffusers, back up discs, etc., depending on the job. It’s basically a mini studio—ready to work in what can be cramped and inappropriate spaces. Few kitchens have decent, consistent daylight, so I’m always carrying 2 Elinchrom D Lites, a range of diffusers, soft boxes, clamps and reflectors. I need to work very quickly, which would be impossible if I was dependent on available light. Also a 100mm macro lens, which I use a lot for details of food. I’m on my way to Marseille so I just checked them in—main bag weighs 29 Kilos, stand bag 18 kilos. And thats keeping it to a minimum!
Any tricks for packing light, space-saving techniques? Big white plastic bags make great ultra portable lighting diffusers.
What’s the most expensive item in your bag? 17” Mac Book Pro. It’s great for working on the road. Please please Apple bring back the 17”!
Any makeshift, homemade items you’ve crafted over the years? For my speedlight with an extension cord I use a Fong diffuser and put both inside a big apple bag, which is itself doubly diffused. If you have to use a small flash it’s very flexible and greatly improves the quality of light. Looks a bit silly, but hey, it works.
