how do pro photographer travel with huge number of gears?

How do pro photographers manage to take their whole gear in carryon bag & a huge Pelican case on the plane?

Is it safe to check in the camera gear with the luggage?

They don't carry it on, they check it and have everything insured.
http://www.vincentlafo​ret.com/Gear/

More often than not, they'll carry the bare minimum to at least bring back some images if the unthinkable were to happen and ship the rest via FedEx or similar (and yes, insurance is a key element of why they can do this.)

It also helps if you're one of CPS's "golden children" and much of what you take, you have on loan from Canon!

they get payed more for the gig

gjl711 wrote in post #10245101
They don't carry it on, they check it and have everything insured.
http://www.vincentlafo​ret.com/Gear/

W O W

There are a heap of variables involved in planning for traveling with your gear, including the size and weight of your equipment (not many of us are working with Vincent Laforet's collection), the particular weight and size limitations of your carrier/s for carry-on vs. checked luggage, and the type of photography you're planning to do at your destination.

My approach when flying out for weddings is to carry about 10kg worth of laptop, bodies and glass onto the plane with me. I choose gear I could use to cover the whole wedding if absolutely necessary (admittedly without any backups), just in case my luggage is lost in transit. My Think Tank Urban Disguise 50 (which I use when shooting too) is perfect for this.

Additional glass and bodies are checked in after being carefully packed in my Think Tank Airport International v2 (unless I'm covering something smaller than a wedding, in which case I leave this case and 1 of my 3 bodies at home). Particularly fragile gear, in addition to light stands and other miscellaneous gadgetry, gets wrapped in my clothes and packed in a second case.

It helps to have luggage scales to make sure you're compliant with your airline's requirements. I own these: http://www.bagworld.co​m.au …al-luggage-scale-navy-sc/

Hope that helps.

gjl711 wrote in post #10245101
They don't carry it on, they check it and have everything insured.
http://www.vincentlafo​ret.com/Gear/

That guy has more money in Pocket Wizards than I do my whole kit!