Where do your stash your extra gear and bags at the reception?

Where do you stash everything you're not using while at the reception? At the ceremony it's fine to leave it in the back but at a reception, people are everywhere and I worry about theft. Do you take everything you aren't carrying on your person back to the vehicle before you start shooting? Or do you have a safe spot you can store your bags and whatnot?

nah.. i post up somewhere away from an entrance/exit, near people(dj booth possibly), but not in 99.9% of shots. zipper it up and hope for the best. there is no doubt stuff always has possibility of being stolen.. just position and secure your equipment as to take the longest time to steal. a bend and snatch is an easier accomplishment than a bend, unzipper, and then snatch.. also you should have proper equipment insurance.

Generally just somewhere visible where I can keep an eye on it. I have a Thinktank Wheeled Case thingy, maybe the biggest one, I can lock it closed and lock it to something solid. I do lock it if i'm at all in doubt about it. I have an assistant who helps with that though.

My insurance excess is $2500 for gear in the car, $500 for gear at home or locked down somewhere, so be careful of that.

I leave it behind the DJ booth or next to the band. I make friends with them as soon as I show up, and ask if it is OK. Of course, as a professional, I have business insurance that fully covers all of my gear, and a have a bag with BU gear that lives in my car. So if my primary bag did get nicked, I can keep shooting with the stuff in my car, and fill out an insurance claim on Monday. Heck, It might even fund a switch to Nikon .

Typically up around the DJ, though sometimes, he's the most questionable character in the room.

The real answer is that I always work with an assistant so anywhere out of the way is fine.

Peacefield wrote in post #11723933
Typically up around the DJ, though sometimes, he's the most questionable character in the room.

Haha - me too, and I agree.

jamiewexler wrote in post #11723690
I leave it behind the DJ booth or next to the band. I make friends with them as soon as I show up, and ask if it is OK. Of course, as a professional, I have business insurance that fully covers all of my gear, and a have a bag with BU gear that lives in my car. So if my primary bag did get nicked, I can keep shooting with the stuff in my car, and fill out an insurance claim on Monday. Heck, It might even fund a switch to Nikon .

Jamie,
If you want to leave your gear bag around here I wouldnt mind helping you to fund a switch to Nikon

Yup, around the DJ area.

jamiewexler wrote in post #11723690
Heck, It might even fund a switch to Nikon .

Selling my Canon gear paid for my switch! I tried up from prosumer to pro gear so it didn't quite cover everything.

Unfortunately, I want more gear than you have, Tim...Like the new 85 f1.4g, and the 35 f1.4g, so I think I would be a bit in the hole . Plus I have a very good corporate client that wants 21 megapixel files, and to get that with Nikon would cost me BIG money!

@ the DJ's Booth works for me!

jamiewexler wrote in post #11726302
Unfortunately, I want more gear than you have, Tim...Like the new 85 f1.4g, and the 35 f1.4g, so I think I would be a bit in the hole . Plus I have a very good corporate client that wants 21 megapixel files, and to get that with Nikon would cost me BIG money!

Yeah that D3x isn't cheap. Fortunately you don't have to use one system or other, you can be bi! I wouldn't want to use them side by side at a wedding though, that'd be confusing, the controls are backward and it'd throw me having to think too much about the basic controls.

I ask the venue if they have a safe place for it. Otherwise I lock it in my car and carry with me what I need. I've also kept it with the DJ and under the table if there's a vendor table.

Thanks for the input!