Being able to fly to just about anywhere in the world is obviously pretty brilliant, but transporting your photography gear can be a real pain. For this reason, we’ve decided to gather up some air travel tips for photographers and offer some help and advice to make your future journeys that little bit easier.
When I started my research for this post, I thought I’d end up giving you a definitive list of “The best airlines to travel with if you’re a photographer”. That was going to be the title. Once I got into the research though it quickly became apparent that this was an impossible task, mainly for the following reasons:
- Laws change all the time
- Individual airline rules change frequently
- Different countries have different rules and laws for what is and what isn’t allowed
- Some airlines only seem to enforce baggage rules under specific circumstances, e.g when the flight is full
For these reasons,聽any info I聽would’ve been able to share with you聽may not have been as reliable as I聽would’ve liked. So I scrapped that. I did however聽continue to read countless blogs and articles about air travel tips for photographers and also sat through a fair few related YouTube videos. So, I thought I’d gather up the best tips I could find and put them all in one place for you. Hopefully this will lead you to a future of air travel that is hassle free, or at the very least, reduce the hassle and stress you聽get when trying to fly with photography聽gear.
So, without further ado, here are my top air travel tips for photographers:
Do your homework聽–聽Travelling somewhere you’ve not been before? Check to see if you need any special documentation to accompany the amount of聽photography gear you’re travelling with. This includes any necessary insurance documents. You might聽be asked to produce this info when you arrive, so be prepared. For additional homework read the small print for the airline you’re travelling with. You may assume your carry-on bag is small enough, but for some airlines, depending on the size and weight of your bag, you might have to check it in to be placed in the hold. If that thought alone is not enough to scare you, think of how your bag might be treated by the baggage handlers and then picture your lenses and bodies being rocked around this little roller-coaster:
Carry on, don’t check-in – So following on from the above, I think we can all agree that checking-in your expensive photography equipment might聽be on the risky side. For that reason, get yourself a decent camera bag that is small enough to be taken as hand luggage. There are loads of options out there and far too many to mention, but you should be able to find something suitable to match both your requirements and budget. I聽found a . The good news is, at least at time the article was written earlier this year, they are聽all approved by the USA Transport Security Administration so they will probably be safe the world over.
If you must check a bag in, pack a gun – Yes, I thought this might raise a few eyebrows. Sometimes, you may have no option but to check your bag(s) in. However, aside from the physical perils awaiting your checked-in baggage, there’s also the danger of your bag going missing. This would be a disaster if you have been hired for a shoot abroad and you arrive without your tools to do the job. One solution to this that I found while reading numerous articles was to pack a firearm into your baggage and declare this at the point of check-in. The theory being聽that if there is one thing an airline does not want to lose, it’s a bag with a gun in it. For this reason many photographers that fly frequently say that your bag will receive extra special attention and therefore have a massively reduced risk of going AWOL. As having a gun handy is not really that common for most people, I’m told that an unloaded starter pistol or flare gun would receive the same treatment. Not sure if it’s a tip I’d personally want to try but I wanted to mention it none the less.
Ask for a seat towards the back of the plane – This quite often means you’ll be invited on first, and there should be more space in the overhead lockers to place your carry-on bag full of your valuable bodies and lenses.
Keep your memory cards on you in a separate wallet at all times聽– If your bag goes missing or is stolen at least there is no chance of you losing your precious images.
Back up your images before and after you travel – It goes without saying, but always back up onto cards, a laptop, hard drives, the cloud…basically as many places as possible to reduce the risk of the unthinkable: losing your work.
Check your airline’s rules on carrying lithium batteries聽– Some airlines will get nervous about allowing passengers on with a bunch of spare batteries. Also, check any fluids you are carrying (like lens cleaning fluid) are not flammable as you may be stopped at security.
Charge your laptop and cameras before travelling聽– Sometimes at security you’ll be asked to switch something on to prove it isn’t a bomb. You don’t want to be held up at this stage of your journey.
Ship your luggage ahead – This might be slightly risky (but probably cheaper and less risky than checking luggage in) but you could consider shipping聽your equipment ahead to your destination. Pick a reliable courier and then enjoy the stress free walk through the airport on arrival knowing that (hopefully) your baggage will be waiting for you at the hotel.
Security – Since padlocking a zip case is 聽it’s always聽worth taking extra precautions before you leave. Recording the serial numbers for聽all parts of your equipment will make any insurance claim easier and try to register your equipment with Customs before you travel – that way you won’t be charged any import tax for goods you already own on your way back.
I hope these tips help you out with your next journey. We also went to our Photographer Forum and asked our photographers –聽聽Some interesting views there so feel free to get involved in the conversation, or if you’ve got any other travel tips of your own, we’d love to read them in the comments below!