Protecting your equipment

During a wedding how do you guys secure your equipment. I don't want to tote my bag around but I may need a different lens or another set of batteries. I would be sick if somebody walked off with my equipment.

Hire a bag toter.

i always work with a shoulder bag, so my lenses and batteries stay in there. i have a TT airport security that i cable lock to something if i can find it. Otherwise i just keep it out of sight. If someone wants to walk off with your stuff, they're probably going to. That's what insurance is for.

I have my big ThinkTank bag, which can be locked, and can be secured to something with a built in strap. I also have an assistant.

At the reception I have two cameras + two lenses + 2 flashes on me. Everything else goes in a Think Tank Airport Security 2.0, which is locked down. Not fool proof, but it is gonna make it way harder for someone to walk away with my stuff. At my higher end weddings, I always have at least one assistant.

Thomas Campbell wrote in post #15748603
At the reception I have two cameras + two lenses + 2 flashes on me. Everything else goes in a Think Tank Airport Security 2.0, which is locked down. Not fool proof, but it is gonna make it way harder for someone to walk away with my stuff. At my higher end weddings, I always have at least one assistant.

Sounds a lot like the way I work !

Except I am typically the assistant/second shooter, and my wife does the main shooter bit (because she prefers shooting weddings, I would rather shoot sport, or news, or concerts, or ............ Well anything really)

Locked down Thinktank bag, a body on each shoulder, flashes If I need them, and my wife has a similar system (we typically share the one bag though)

awad wrote in post #15745195
i always work with a shoulder bag, so my lenses and batteries stay in there. i have a TT airport security that i cable lock to something if i can find it. Otherwise i just keep it out of sight. If someone wants to walk off with your stuff, they're probably going to. That's what insurance is for.

I'd be careful here, I asked my commercial insurance underwritter and they won't cover any gear that has been unattended. I asked for an example and they said their definition of locked and secured would be in a locked room or in a locked car and not in a locked bag sitting in the corner of the hall (at the reception for example).

In our case we work light - a shootsac each with a bunch of lenses, spare batteries, cards, cleaning kit - everything else stays in the car.

jackinavox wrote in post #15750955
I'd be careful here, I asked my commercial insurance underwritter and they won't cover any gear that has been unattended. I asked for an example and they said their definition of locked and secured would be in a locked room or in a locked car and not in a locked bag sitting in the corner of the hall (at the reception for example).

In our case we work light - a shootsac each with a bunch of lenses, spare batteries, cards, cleaning kit - everything else stays in the car.

Who's your insurance through? Mine is through Hill & Usher, they specialize in covering event photographers, I've confirmed before that they'll cover any theft while working a wedding.

I live and work in a city, so a lot of the time my car is parked by a valet, or I cab it to a wedding. When I do drive, Odds are my car would get broken into is way more likely than someone walking off with my stuff at a wedding. Nothing ever stays in the car for me.

awad wrote in post #15750985
Who's your insurance through? Mine is through Hill & Usher, they specialize in covering event photographers, I've confirmed before that they'll cover any theft while working a wedding.

I live and work in a city, so a lot of the time my car is parked by a valet, or I cab it to a wedding. When I do drive, Odds are my car would get broken into is way more likely than someone walking off with my stuff at a wedding. Nothing ever stays in the car for me.

Yeah i'm sure different companies/countries cover different things, just wanted to point out a potential non coverage risk there. We're in New Zealand.

jackinavox wrote in post #15751008
Yeah i'm sure different companies/countries cover different things, just wanted to point out a potential non coverage risk there. We're in New Zealand.

Yeah for sure. It's always a safe practice to check with your insurance company to make sure everything is covered.

First of all make sure your gear is insured!

I only have a subset of my gear on me. The rest, I leave in the trunk. At the ceremony, I have it somewhere on the premise, usually by the back row. Haven't had an issue with that arrangement. I realize that's probably a bad assumption to make, even inside a church, but again, I haven't had an issue. At the reception, I leave my gear by the DJ. If not, I usually ask the venue whether there's a closet of some kind.

In a church, I will carry everthing I need - 2 bodies w/different focal lengths and flashes attached. A fanny pack w/spare battereies, memory cards, lens cleaner, etc. Everything esle is left locked in the car. At the reception, I ask for a secure location or closet to store the spare grear or place the bag at the DJ station.

awad wrote in post #15750985
Odds are my car would get broken into is way more likely than someone walking off with my stuff at a wedding. Nothing ever stays in the car for me.

I grew up in Center City (in Philly) and can clearly recall that every parked car, no matter how decrepit, had The Club attached to the steering wheel.
Now that I live in Oregon I never worry about leaving my gear in the car.

I use bags that I secure to something with a good ol' Bicycle Locking Cable. I usually secure it to a table and chair. I try very hard to get close to the DJ and make friends with him and ask him to keep an eye on my stuff.

put your stuff right in the middle of the dance floor and dare anyone to steal it