How to Protect Your Photography Equipment During Industrial Shoots

Photography Tips

Most of the time, when we research how to take pictures in a particular scenario, what we care about is getting the best results possible. That’s only natural, right? Well, there are certain circumstances where the most important thing isn’t taking care of the picture, but rather the equipment; you can always take more pictures if you are careful not to destroy your camera. The Slanted Lens teaches you how to protect your camera from falling BBs:

In the video, Jay P. Morgan tries to tackle an industrial shot, working inside a spray booth at the SKB factory. That’s where case molds are blasted with BBs in order to make them release the plastic easier when the mold comes apart. He shows us in detail the steps that he has taken in order to better protect his camera.

Protecting Your Camera Gear

1. Be aware of what you’re getting into. Equip yourself with adequate safety gear.Try to view the site through the eyes of a safety inspector and identify everything that might damage your camera—or yourself—while you’re focused on the camera!
2. Map everything out. After studying the surroundings, try to map out where you will position your camera, your lighting equipment, and yourself. If you watch the video you’ll see there’s a lot of planning going into the shoot, and every light and every clamp is carefully positioned.
3. Protect your equipment. In the video, Morgan taped Plexiglas sheets over the lights to protect them from the BBs that were flying all over the place. As you have already identified the possible dangers that your equipment would face, this should be fairly straightforward.
4. Protect yourself! This is the most important step of all, since it focuses on the most important part of the process: the photographer! At the end of the day, your safety is the most important.
5. Take the shot! Try changing different settings; experiment with the equipment and with the subject.

Stunning shot with BBs flying everywhere. Due to all the precautionary measures, all the equipment survived.

You can see all of these steps being correctly carried out in the video, and the results are spectacular images in an area that’s less than safe.

Do you have any cool industrial shots? How did you protect your camera while taking them?