I’ve loved photography since I was in high school, but I didn’t fully get into using a more professional camera until 2017/2018. I had always used a point-and-shoot camera or my cellphone prior to those years so unfortunately, all the vacation photos I had taken are quite low quality and not composed as good as they are now and mostly not shareable. But over the years as Instagram has become more popular and photography is being shared even more widely across social media (and with my husband being a photographer), it has gotten me to take up this hobby again and want to do better with capturing all my memories. As much as I like being in photos, I like being behind the camera more often than not. And when I travel, I like to be able to take home my photographs as a souvenir so that means I have to have my photography essentials when traveling, but also keeping in mind that I try to travel as light as possible.
Depending on where I go or the type of activity I’m doing when I’m traveling, I need to be ready and have the right camera equipment to capture the best moments. I love that photography allows me to keep a moment frozen in time that I can always look back on. I am by no means near a professional, but I think I understand enough to take pretty decent photos! If you are new to travel photography or just want to be able to take better photos than what a cellphone can do when you travel (although they’re pretty powerful these days – I still prefer a real camera) and be prepared to snap a shot at any given moment, read on to see what the photography necessities I can’t go without. (Don’t worry – I made this simple enough for everyone to understand!)
Camera Equipment I Pack When Traveling
Keeping in mind that I like what I bring to be as compact as possible since I don’t bring a camera bag, I really need to think about which items are absolutely necessary for the type of travel and activities I’m doing since I usually only bring a small backpack or a purse. Plus, I need to make sure my bag matches my outfit! So I think about whether I’m traveling to a city for street photography or a more outdoorsy trip where I’ll have the possible opportunity to capture animals or far away landscapes to help me decide what camera equipment I’ll need for a particular trip.
Prior to my travels, I need to figure out what to pack and what to leave at home since luggage real estate is quite precious considering I only bring carry-on luggage a majority of the time, but I still want to be able to capture the best of my vacation. Below are my photography essentials when traveling and when I use them to help you decide what you may need to bring for your own trips.
1 – Main Camera Body
With influence from my husband, I prefer using Fujifilm cameras, and in particular their X-Series. I started off by using his mirrorless camera and I loved it. Mirrorless cameras are significantly smaller than DSLR cameras since they don’t require a reflex mirror and therefore make them much lighter and more compact to easily take with me anywhere, especially when I travel. It’s not any less professional than a DSLR camera – even many world-renowned professional photographers have chosen to use mirrorless cameras. For myself, since I want to have a camera that’s not heavy and fits the size of my hands and in my bag, I’ve chosen the X-T20 after much research, whereas my husband prefers the single-digit X-T or X-Pro models, or the classic X100s. Adding the lenses on will make your camera much larger, but the X-T20 has been the perfect model for me and my needs and has been working exactly how I’d like it to.
What we both love about the Fujifilm cameras is that the buttons to change the settings of your camera are physically on the camera and super easy to adjust. Whereas all other cameras will require you to adjust settings within the camera on their digital display. If you would prefer that, a great camera I’d highly recommend is the Sony A7 IV full-frame hybrid camera.
2 – Wide Angle Zoom Lens – 15-45 mm
Now that you’ve got your camera body, choosing the right lens is so important. It took me a while to figure out what lens I actually wanted. When there are multiple options, it just makes it harder for me to decide since there are so many different scenarios that will require the “best” lens and there’s not really a one-size-fits-all option. With a professional camera, you can no longer zoom 100x like a point-and-shoot camera, you’ll need separate lenses to be able to do that.
When I bought my Fujfilm X-T20, it came with the 15-45 mm kit lens (the other option was 18-55mm). I actually used this for a while before I purchased a second lens. I loved that it’s a wide-angle lens but also allows me to zoom in. Plus the size of the actual lens wasn’t that large so it fit the compact description I needed. When I don’t want to bring a zoom lens or a prime lens, this has been a great option for me since it’s able to capture most of the kinds of photos I need. The only thing is that the lens itself is missing the f-stop so it doesn’t let me adjust how much light I want to allow through the aperture (which makes the background blurry to put it in simple terms).
When I use it: general street photography, wide-angle shots to capture more of the background, and minimal zoom.
3 – Telephoto Lens – 50-230mm
The second lens I purchased was the 50-230mm telephoto (zoom) lens. This was recommended to me by my husband as he had this for a short while before he sold it. Now he sometimes regrets it and uses mine when the occasion calls for it! This lens zooms quite far and has come in so handy for nature photography. I can zoom into the peak of mountains, up close to bears that I do not want to be anywhere near, or even eagles in the sky. The quality of the images is so crisp and even much better than the 15-45mm kit lens that I have. However, it is quite a large lens (almost 5 inches long) and when it extends to 230mm, it’s about 8 inches long in total – on top of the size of your camera. Sometimes I need to switch between this lens and another one while I’m on the go and although it does get cumbersome, it’s necessary to get the perfect shot. So if this isn’t something that you mind, it’s great to have different lens options and has been a great photography essential when I’m in nature.
When I use it: Nature photography or really faraway shots.
4 – Prime Lens – 23 mm
My favorite lens is probably the 23mm prime lens (fixed focal length and has no zoom) that my husband gave me. It has a 1.4 f-stop and produces high-quality, crisp photos where I can easily adjust the amount of light I want coming in through the aperture. The images with a prime lens are also considerably sharper than those using a zoom lens. This is a great all-around lens and although you can’t zoom, it’s good to learn how you need to position yourself to compose the perfect photo. Don’t forget that you can crop your photos as well – as long as you keep your pixels large enough, you won’t lose much quality.
When I use it: Portrait photography, street photography, or landscape photography.
5 – Camera Case
Whenever I get electronics, I buy everything to protect them – whether it’s a screen protector, a case, or whatnot. Electronics aren’t cheap and it’s always a pain to replace so I like to use them until their death so I want to make sure they last as long as they can. Because I do not use a camera bag, it’s important that I have a camera case/pouch to protect my camera. I use a soft-shell camera case with the neoprene material which takes the shape of my camera, is flexible (fits both my 15-45mm and 23mm lens), and very streamlined so it doesn’t take up much room but I know it gives my camera enough cushion to be protected.
6 – GoPro
This is my husband’s, but I will add it to my photography essentials when traveling since this has come in so handy. But I don’t think each of us needs to have one for our trips at this time even though I have a backup that’s not the GoPro brand. This has been perfect to have especially when we go diving, do any water activities, or when we are going on an adventure that’s fast-paced and the most convenient camera to use is a GoPro since we want to be mostly hands-free. It’s portable and easy to take with you anywhere. And there are many accessories that will allow you to place the GoPro conveniently on your body as well. This has also been a great backup if he happens to run out of batteries.
When I use it: Underwater, action-packed adventures, selfies, and large group selfies.
7 – Battery Charger And Extra Batteries
One of the most important photography essentials to bring when traveling is your battery charger and extra batteries! There have been so many times when my camera dies and I only had one battery on me while the other one is left in the hotel room. My husband tells me to bring an extra one with me and somehow I just keep having faith that my one battery will work. But don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson. Even when my battery had 4 out of 5 bars left, for some reason it turned red and died. So I highly advise bringing at least one backup battery on your person at all times. You don’t want to finally reach your most-anticipated destination to end up having to use your phone.
8 – Camera Cleaning Accessories
When you change your lenses, you have a higher chance of needing to clean your camera as particles may fly on your lens and leave a dust speck on your images. Also after a while, your lens may just become dirty from any debris such as sand on the beach or randomly get a smudge and that’s something you’ll need to clean right away in order to take your photos with minimal cloudiness or editing. Some camera cleaning accessories that are great to have on you are an air blower or a microfibre lens cloth. These are photography essentials not only for when you’re traveling, but are important to have any time you use your camera.
9 – FujiFilm Instax Mini LiPlay
My husband got me the FujiFilm Instax Mini LiPlay for Christmas one year and I like to have this with me occasionally when I travel. The reason I don’t always have it on me besides it taking up space is that I can put my own photos into the camera to print at a later time. If I didn’t have that option, I would be bringing this with me on my travels all the time. I love the classic and fun style of this instant camera and being able to print out the photos and keep them for memories to decorate the house or even be able to give them away.
Additional Photography Essentials You May Need When Traveling
Although the below may be great to have, I found that I haven’t needed them often or at all on my travels yet. A couple of them also take up quite a bit of space and isn’t so convenient to carry around. But when the time calls for it, it will be very handy to have.
1 – Mini Tripod
A mini tripod is easy to pack in your bag and will be great for those one-off moments if you want to take a timed photo or a video when you’re by yourself or with others. However, it doesn’t provide any height so you’ll need to have access to somewhere that you can place this. I haven’t needed to use this yet, but I take it with me just in case since it doesn’t take too much space. But when I’m traveling by myself, I usually just ask strangers to help me take a photo. Of course, be weary of whom you ask!
2 – Larger Tripod
Having a full-size tripod is so useful but even as light as they can get, it’s still cumbersome and inconvenient to take with you everywhere. Unless you’re traveling by yourself all the time and absolutely need something that can help you take the photos and videos you need, plan to take a timelapse video, or shoot at a very low shutter speed and need to be very still, you probably won’t need this. Some of the tripods even double as a selfie stick and can be folded down quite small. I’ve brought this with me on my travels but haven’t needed it as of yet. It does take up a lot of space so really think about if this is something you absolutely need or convenient for you to carry around. I really like this tripod though and use it often when I’m at home. It works for both a camera and a phone which is a bonus.
3 – Selfie Stick
I’ve packed a selfie stick in my luggage for years and haven’t used it once, to be honest. I even took this around DisneyWorld and haven’t needed it. But for those who are avid on capturing yourself in every location you plan to visit, this might be the photography essential for you.
4 – Extra Memory Cards
I’ve never needed to use an extra memory card during any of my travels, but if you save both RAW and jpeg files, you may quickly use up your memory. I know my husband needs multiple memory cards and it’s a relief to have them on him when he runs out of space. If you are traveling for weeks on end, it might be a very good idea to have an extra memory card or two just in case. This of course also depends on how large of a file you’re saving on your camera. Also, if your memory card somehow becomes corrupt, I would definitely say that this is a photography essential to have when traveling.
5 – Camera Lens Filter
Depending on what you plan to shoot, another item to pack might be your camera lens filters. For example, it’s great to have a polarizer lens filter especially if you plan to take photos of water to minimize reflection and possibly even see through the water. I’ve usually just kept this on my 23mm lens, but it may make your photos a bit darker. There are many different lens filter you can use such as those to remove reflections, enhance certain colors, limit the amount of light into your lens, etc. It all depends on the style of photography you’re going for.
6 – Remote Shutter Control
If you decide to use your cellphone over a camera (because most camera with come with an app that allows you to do this anyway), a remote shutter control might be useful so that you can be far away from your phone and take as many photos or videos as you like instead of having to set a timer and run back and forth.
Overall, it really depends on what type of photos you plan to take, where you’re going, and what your preferences or needs are. These are my photography essentials when traveling, but as you take more trips, you’ll start to really understand what you need to have with you and what you can leave at home. But I will say that it’s always better to be safe than sorry if you want to be able to capture your best moments!