Anyone else has habit of over-preparing?

[tpatana]

Anyone else has habit of over-preparing for things? Like number of batteries, memory cards, bodies, lenses, lights, etc...

I'm now finalizing preparation for bigger event in 6 weeks, and at times I'm wondering do I worry too much.

I'm already bringing 2 bodies (R5 + 1DX) and I was looking if I should rent third one (90% of the time it'll be me and assistant shooting, so basically 2 bodies should be enough).

I also checked where's the closest well stocked camera store from the venue and what are their opening times, what they have in stock (esp. R3, R5, batteries, chargers), if they also rent or only sell, etc. If something critical breaks I'll rush to the store to buy/rent replacement gear.

I'll bring 2 HDDs so every night I offload to 2 separate drives before format the memory cards.

I bought extra battery charger so I can charge multiple batteries at the same time.

I bought third power bank for phones (will be live streaming with 2 phones).

I bought more batteries for the video camera I'm bringing.

I bought more memory cards for both still and video cameras.

At least this time I don't need to bring lights, probably will bring one speedlite but might not end up using it.

Anyone else has OCD to carry too much "just in case"?

 

[JHG]

I guess if you are on the job, there is nothing called 'over-prepared'. Anything can go wrong will go wrong. I am never a professional photographer, but I did some weddings from friends and families, even back in the film era, the amount of preparation was immense. Like you said, film rolls for all occasions, ISO100, 400, 800..... Then is the batteries, that's more for flashlights than anything else. Oh, I also didn't have an assistant, so changing rolls was always a challenge even I had two bodies.

 

[Photofarmer]

opposite storm chasing severe weather lightning etc always a "ahhhh shit moment should have done that before i left" 10 minutes into a storm lightning trigger goes flat waste 3 minutes changing battery. Wrong filter ahhhh change again etc etc good thread by the way

 

[Dean Wilson]

My camera bag is only 30-35 lbs (14-16 kgs) and remains like that when I am visiting a landscape I haven't been to before.

My last mistake was at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon (USA) hiking Misery Ridge Trail in Spring when it was only 70° F (21° C). It is only 3.5 miles but I was smart enough to take the climb up on the shade side of the mountain. I didn't need all that gear and I won't pack it next time.

• Canon EOS R5
• RF15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM
• 15.0 mm
• ƒ/9
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 100

 

[tpatana]

I also kinda feel that the better you are with the gear you brought and your skills, the less you need to carry as you can often find ways to utilize what you have even if it's not the perfect for the job. Naturally plenty situations where you need something specific, but other times there can be workarounds.

So sometimes I try to carry less. Good example few months ago I was shooting this local dancing group and I brought 2 bodies with few lenses as the venue was new to me. I shot them again few weeks ago at same venue so this time I only brought R5 and 28-70 + 70-200 as I was fairly confident that was all I needed. Much lighter back bag than the first time.

 

[Dwardski]

I also kinda feel that the better you are with the gear you brought and your skills, the less you need to carry as you can often find ways to utilize what you have even if it's not the perfect for the job. Naturally plenty situations where you need something specific, but other times there can be workarounds.

So sometimes I try to carry less. Good example few months ago I was shooting this local dancing group and I brought 2 bodies with few lenses as the venue was new to me. I shot them again few weeks ago at same venue so this time I only brought R5 and 28-70 + 70-200 as I was fairly confident that was all I needed. Much lighter back bag than the first time.

Referring to your original post, I'm very impressed with the level of your preparation! I'm not a pro, so it doesn't matter to me - financially, at least - if I suffer from equipment failure during a shoot. I do tend to carry a fair bit of kit with me if I'm out rambling, but I certainly don't "double up" to the extent that you do. When I'm shooting concerts, I do carry two bodies, mainly because it minimises lens changes during the gig. However, there is another reason: on one occasion, prior to a gig by a well-known but, shall we say, band no longer in their prime (but still a great favourite of mine) I got chatting online with one of the band members, and was eventually invited to come and shoot them, back-stage access and all. At the time I only had one camera, and initally all went well. Shot the support act, and was maybe two songs into the headline set when the dreaded "5D mirror failure" hit! I still got to meet the band backstage, but I have no photographic evidence of having done so!

The 5D was repaired FOC, and a 5D Mk III was purchaced very shortly afterwards. I've always had two bodies with me ever since that disaster...