After many years as a travel and portrait photographer, I think that I have finally determined my perfect kit for capturing the moment when you’re exploring a new environment. With years of experience of lugging around unnecessary and cumbersome kit, I have pared it down to the bare essentials that, for me, cover all eventualities of my particular genre of travel portraiture.
Whilst this particular set up might not fit your style of work, the choices I have made could be a good starting point when considering what to carry with you.
The all-important bag
I LOVE my camera bag! We have been through a lot together; travelling through Africa, climbing volcanoes in Nicaragua, and hiking to remote villages in Nepal. It’s been tough, sturdy, smelly (after a particular couple of nights sleeping with the goat poo on a Masai camp!), and very useful.
I know when people travel with camera bags they tend to prefer the rucksack option. I, on the other hand, prefer the shoulder bag. It’s probably not great for my back, but having everything to hand and easily accessible is a better option for me, shooting the way that I do. I can see images just jump out at me and I don’t want to be messing around with a back pack fishing for the correct lens for the job, I want to change lenses, get the shot and move on.
It is also important for me to consider the travelling aspect, as I am generally on flights, on cramped public buses or similarly tight-for-space Land Rovers. With this in mind the bag needs to pack well, and keep everything in place, with extra pockets to carry tickets, wallets phones and snacks.
Making this choice right at the beginning is key to an easy ride once you get out there, so its worth trying a few (make sure to test it filled with kit too) to find out which one works for you.
Sisters - San Jose, Nicaragua. FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF90mmF2 LM WR | F2.5 | 1/500th sec | ISO 200
Consider your genre
Before setting out it is also worth thinking about the genre of photography that you will be focusing on to help you choose the right equipment to take. For example, if you will be predominantly taking images of landscapes, you would choose the appropriate kit and lenses for this purpose.
Wider lenses, such as the XF10-24mmF4OIS or the XF 16-55mmF2.8 WR, are favoured by the landscape specialist as they give the photographer scope to take in a wider view-point. With my specialty being travel portraiture, I always choose my kit with this in mind.
My go to kit when travelling is my FUJIFILM X-T2, with a spare X-T20 body.
Lenses that are in my bag are:
• The XF16-55mmF2.8 WR – the perfect lens for story-telling portraits when you want to include the context and environment the subject is in.
• The XF 50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR – a brilliant lens for travel portraiture and probably my most favoured.
• The XF90mmF2 R LM WR – I always want to have a prime lens to hand, and I often tend to take an XF56mmF1.2 APD as well.
For me, this combination covers all portrait eventualities and is one that I have selected from my many trips, knowing that it is the one that works for me. Taking into consideration all of the following helped me narrow down my selection…
Prime lenses or zooms?
When choosing between prime and zoom lenses it is worth considering how you will be working.
I will always have a couple of prime lenses alongside my zoom lenses, specifically the 90mm and the 56mm primes, as these are my favourite for travel portraiture. They are both beautifully sharp when shooting open wide, with the drop off being lovely for shooting portraits and isolating the subject.
I use prime lenses mostly when I know what I’m shooting as well as the focal length that I’m working with, and when I want to challenge myself to be more disciplined in my composition and framing.
Zooms have the advantage of being flexible, enabling the photographer to frame within the camera quickly. They also enable you to anticipate a scene.
My most used lens is the 50-140mm, as it gives me enough distance from the subject to give space and respect, but still close enough that I still have some connection. It is the heaviest lens that I own, but is very much worth its weight.
Blue Sadhu - Kathmandu, Nepal. FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF50-140mmF2.8 | F2.8 | 1/100th sec | ISO250
Weather-proofing
Dust and water resistant bodies and lenses can be extremely useful when travelling, especially when visiting remote and isolated locations. Denoted with the letters WR, these lenses are built to withstand harsh and unforgiving environments.
Anything that can help when you are against the elements and trying to protect the chip within the camera has to be a benefit. Fending off the daily rain but still being able to shoot constantly was of great use to me whilst travelling in Nicaragua during the rainy season. I didn’t need to worry that my kit was constantly getting wet and not once in the three months that I was there, did the body or lenses give me any problems.
Everest - Tingla, Nepal. GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 | F8 | 1/320th sec | ISO 100
The battery grip
When travelling, this extra piece of kit really does come into its own. With an extra two batteries in the chamber and the ability to recharge both in approximately two hours, I never travel without it. The ability to pop it into boost mode – where the body becomes more responsive with faster auto focus and reduced black out time – is perfect when anticipating a developing scene.
Whilst in Nepal, I would very rarely have access to a reliable electricity source. At these times, when electricity was available I needed to quickly charge as many batteries as I could, so the grip was the perfect solution.
Extra memory cards and batteries
When travelling remotely, it is a good idea to carry spares of theses essentials. In certain countries these will be hard to obtain when in the field. Obviously I shoot a different number of images on different days, but I will never shoot over a 32 GB card, so I have a few of these always neatly stored in the bag.
Shopkeeper and Grand Daughter - Barpak, Nepal. FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF56mm F1.2 R APD | F1.2 | 1/250th sec | ISO 200
Back-ups
A couple of back-up drives are always in my kit and I will always try to back-up any images taken at the end of each day as good practice.
So that’s it, that’s my kit, and it goes pretty much everywhere with me! As I said before, it may not be the perfect kit for you, but it may give you a few pointers if you are thinking about an exciting photographic adventure. I’m not jealous at all! Now go and have some fun!
Sadhu - Kathmandu, Nepal. FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF50-140mmF2.8 | F2.8 | 1/250th sec | ISO 200
Sadhu through the doorway - Kathmandu, Nepal. FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF50-140mm F2.8 | F2.8 | 1/400th sec | ISO 200