Air Travel for Photographers

Regulations

You will usually want to carry your camera gear in your carry on bags. Unfortunately, airlines impose very tight restrictions on the size and weight of carry on bags. At the same time, airlines remind you to never put any of the following items in the checked bags: valuables, batteries, medication, personal items, computers, documents etc. It‘s quite easy to see that these items most likely add up to more than your carry on allowance. Therefore, you have to find ways to navigate these regulations somehow…

Choose a Light Bag

There are a lot of bags, especially camera bags, that are incredibly heavy. Knowing this, some manufacturers put the net weight without any padding and dividers in their specs. Be sure to check this thoroughly. It just doesn’t make sense when your bag is already eating up half of your weight allowance.
There is no single brand, that wins this category. But we own and enjoy the following bags: Peak Design Travel Backpack, Peak Design Everyday Backpack, Peak Design Everday Messenger, Gitzo Adventury, Thinktank Glass Limo, Hazard4 Plan B.

Pack Inconspicuously

Most airlines do not weigh and measure every carry on bag. They tend to focus on bags that are looking big and/or heavy. Usually, bags that are tapered a bit towards the top look smaller. Darker bags look smaller, too. And neatly packed bags without a lot of stuff dangling from them, look more compact, too.
If your bag is heavy and you are barely able to drag it to the check-in counter, you are almost asking for trouble. Therefore, be strong and act like your bag is really lightweight. At least for the moment…

Pack Light

While you might be able to bend the regulations somewhat, traveling as light as possible will really make the trip a lot more enjoyable for you. Do you really need all the lenses you are planning to bring along? Do you need the battery grip? Or any heavy mounting system? Can you leave your big headphones at home? etc.

If you are a couple, family or group traveling, you might be able to distribute the weight a bit. That is, if your fellow travelers are not photographers and if they don‘t mind to carry your gear. In our case, this doesn‘t help: Fabienne and Christoph are both carrying a lot of gear…

Use Coat Pockets

Airlines do restrict the size and weight of your carry on bags. However, nobody will put you or your jacket on the scale. If your jacket or coat has large pockets, you can easily fit a lens or two inside, if you fear that your bag will be weighed at check-in. You can always put these items back into your bag after checking in and before security.

If you think, this is illegal behavior: This was even recommended to us by check-in staff when our carry on bags were overweight. She told us, she could not let us carry bags that heavy, but we would be free to take things out and wear them (jackets etc.) or put them in our pockets…

Know What to Check In

Certain things, like batteries, you can‘t put in your checked bags. Other things, you probably don‘t want to put in there, since bags can get delayed, lost or even stolen. Other things, like tripods, could be considered a weapon and might not be allowed in your carry on bag, but will be fine in your checked bag. Knowing what to carry and what to check can save you some hassles. And it will also allow you to max out the weight limits for carry on and checked bags.

Bring Your Proof of Purchase

Cameras and lenses can be expensive. If you are carrying multiple camera bodies and lenses, customs officials might assume, that you are not using the gear for yourself but are actually trying to smuggle in or out of the country. Since you don‘t want to be in this position, we recommend to always bring your purchase receipts. We use our Dropbox to store these documents so we could access them, should there be any need.

Consider Insuring Your Gear

If a new camera or lens fails, it‘s usually covered by warranty from the manufacturer. However, if your gear gets damaged, lost or stolen, this is not covered. Since traveling puts your equipment at a higher risk for these incidents, insurance might be a good idea.

Have Fun

If you have read this far, you might have gotten the impression, that traveling with cameras and lenses is a real pain. Don‘t worry, it‘s not that bad. Therefore, have fun and take a lot of wonderful photos!