how do you carry your equipment at weddings?

Honestly, I leave my Lowepro bag in one designated spot, and take my camera, and my main lenses with me, and I just wear a 3 pocket (waiter/waitress) apron. It ties around my waist and has the slots for my lenses, so it's easily accessible. It's black as well, so it just blends in with my black pants and shirt... I dunno, works for me

Well, I have a big Tamrac bag that holds everything and I use it for transporting my gear from house to truck to church and back again. But when I'm shooting, I use a Think Tank Speed Belt system to carry things with/on me.

I use a large Kata Bag, and I carry two bodies with two lenses. Usually wear a vest with two lense hidden inside, and light meter and extra flash.

I have a large Tenba Response shoulder bag that works well for me. The top access allows for fast access to lenses, batteries, and the zippered top flap stores memory cards. I'm considering carrying something lighter and distributes the weight better on the body, like the Think Tank Modular Set.

For carrying everything to the wedding:

Crumpler Karachi Outpost + various other bags (mostly Lowepro). Have just purchased a Think Tank Airport International to take over this role.

For shooting on the day:

www.goboda.com

Crumpler 7MDH. Tested, it will work when I get my backup body as well. Now, getting a new flash for the new body, not sure. Haven't considered but for going out of state I'd know I'd need two bags like I'm doing next weekend.

7MDH though is perfect because of size I can just throw caps in there and grab the lens I need and "throw" whatever lens in to swap for another. Of course my wife helps in the transition.

If I may throw in an observation - I am not a wedding photog but I've been through enough weddings lately...

Please be considerate and don't wear any safari vests, aprons, commando style belt systems, hoola skirts or anything else that would make you stand out of the suit & tie crowd. Try to look as dressed up and professional as you can. At least first show that gear to the bride & her mother (they're usually the ones most obsessed with style anyway) & make sure it's OK. Don't forget the people who hired you spent thousands of dollars on "just so" look and a single guy in a strange outfit will likely ruin their mood (and it's high strung already !). I was at friend's wedding where a video guy was wearing a leather jacket with some football team logo on it and stood out like a sore thumb. OTOH, when my sister in law was married a couple years ago the photographer was all dressed up and carried a large bag with him, he complained to me that it was hot as hell but he didn't want to take his suit jacket off until "at least half of the crowd did it first". I think it was very nice of him and it definitely didn't go unnoticed. (The photos were amazing too).

I had a thread about that already. Everyone does except women I've notice who get away with dressing in business attire, like suit pants and some frilly shirt.

I always where a suit and depending the location, keep it on till the reception or when we're doing portraits. I use the pockets is one reason I keep it on.

_aravena wrote in post #5996129
I had a thread about that already. Everyone does except women I've notice who get away with dressing in business attire, like suit pants and some frilly shirt.

I always where a suit and depending the location, keep it on till the reception or when we're doing portraits. I use the pockets is one reason I keep it on.

Can't wear a suit in Florida while packing all my gear and running to shoot. I would pass out after 30 minutes with heat exhaustion.

About the gear, i use the LowePro Stealth 600 model, then added wheels for a suitcase and it works great!

Domke F-2 with the stock insert on me. Backup backup camera in a bag in the car.

I read a couple of people mentioning think tank but don't remember reading that anyone actually used one so I will represent! I use the ThinkTank with a few bags, one for my 70-200 F4, 24-70L and an attachment bag for my 17-50 and a prime (30mm or 50mm). I also have a bag for general stuff like memory cards, batteries, light meter. That's my typical setup. Yes, I carry everything on my waist! I used to carry everything on my shoulder (crumpler bag) but that hurt after 8 hours The weight on the waist is so much more comfortable for me (obviously your mileage may vary).

Yes, it does tend to make you look like a complete dork, but everyone knows you're the photog... you're a hired gun. I've found that people are actually impressed by my gear. It isn't like you're uncle bob showing up at the wedding with Batman's utility belt around your waist. When people see me coming they get out of my way.

How do you go with squeezing through tight spaces, lying on the ground etc.?

I use one of Lowepro's bum bags (Photorunner maybe) for an extra body and/or lenses. It's fast and easy to get in and out of and I don't have a problem crawling around on the ground, in the sand, over rocks - whatever. I love having it around my waist rather than a shoulder bag (which I also have but leave on the ground when shooting).

linarms wrote in post #6159400
How do you go with squeezing through tight spaces, lying on the ground etc.?

I have the belt pouches rigged in such a way that there are a couple of gaps. So when I need to prone I rotate the whole belt so that that gap is in front of me, allowing me to lay on the ground. Works well for when I need to squeeze through spaces. Just rotate belt to optimal position. Again, it isn't perfect but it works well for me.