My Daily Street Photography Carry & Essentials

As the years have gone by my everyday carry has evolved, however - one running theme that takes priority in my decision making for picking my gear and heading outside is having as little faff as possible.

I want a minimal & simple setup that allows me to focus on actually taking photos and nothing else. However, the last year or so I think I’ve landed on a pretty effective but straight forward street photography setup that works perfectly for me.

Part 1: The Camera Bag

If I’m being honest I think it’s hard to find a good camera bag, most of them are so ugly and just don’t really suit a minimal street photography setup. I’ve gone from using full blown backpacks to carry as many lenses as possible to just having a very simple shoulder sling that carries just the essentials. The bag I’ve landed on is the 9L Bellroy Venture Sling.

Before this one I was using the famous Peak Design 10L sling for about a year but it feels too much like a hard shell. It’s not the most comfortable bag and I only needed the size if I carried multiple cameras with me when filming YouTube videos for example. But strictly for street photography - I wanted some more comfortable and slim.

I don’t want to turn this into a full blown bag review but from the last couple months using this bellboy bag, it’s almost perfect. The perfect bag doesn’t doesn’t exists because as consumers we can find a fault with anything. But this venture sling is great. I’ll share everything that goes inside in just a moment, but for me, the size is spot on.

Part 2: Camera Gear

I use the Leica Q2 most of time. I love how it feels to use, the quality of the images and obviously the red dot means I’m a better photographer than everyone else.

The 28mm lens is actually the biggest reason you would probably pick this camera up. It does feel more like 26mm but either way - I’m a fan of that wider focal length.

I use this setup 80% of the time. The other 20% goes to my trusty X100v - another fixed lens setup, which is a callback to what I mentioned earlier. I want as little faff as possible. Having a fixed lens means I can’t mess around swapping lenses and picking a focal length. When I pick the camera up - that’s my decision for day.

If I want to shoot a POV video for YouTube then I can easily pop the GoPro and magnetic neckless mount in here too. Most of the time I have it on me anyway - you never know what clips I might end up filming.

I also have been using these DJI mics the last few months which are brilliant. Again this isn’t street photography related but if do film anything for YouTube like my recent interview with fellow photographers I can easily set these mics up on my phone and I’ve got top notch audio.

As you can tell with the fixed lens camera, GoPro and audio setup, I only want to carry convenient things. Gone are the days of carrying multiple bodies, lenses and microphones. It reminds me of your weight in video games, when you’re inventory is too full, it weighs you down and you can’t move as fast. Keeping it lightweight keeps it fun.

Part 3: The Accessories

We all know that once you have decided on the essential gear, along comes the accessories. So whether I use the Leica Q2 or Fujfilm X100v - I’ll need to bring batteries with me.

If the GoPro also comes with me, most of the time it does - that also needs batteries.

I’ve been out too many times now and haven’t realised I have no SD card on me until it’s too late. 90% of the time, one 128gb card is enough for a day of shooting - but occasionally if the light is beautiful or maybe there’s an event going on, I will power through that 128gb and need a second.

It’s not even up for negotiation, I always bring extra cards with me.

Another small accessory, which isn’t essential by any means is a small note book and pen. The last few years I’ve made a huge effort to use pen and paper in general - I write a lot when at my desk, random thoughts, ideas, to do lists. It’s been specifically helpful for creativity & my memory. But the little note book is for my ‘street notes’ Maybe someone recommends a podcast or photo book, I can make a note in here instead of pulling out my phone. I also make notes when on the train into town - my journey is about 40 minutes so if I can write thoughts in here instead of scrolling on my phone, I prefer to do so.

It’s typically very basic thoughts but it’s nice to have a place to brain dump. I might hear something on a podcast and it’s nice to be able to write it down.

I just mentioned podcasts, that’s where the airpods come into play. I don’t use these when shooting though, I like to be able to hear my surroundings but as soon as the camera is put away, I’ll normally listen to something when on the train to and from.

Part 4: Miscellaneous

Lens Cloth, Plasters and Lip balm - I mean… pretty self explanatory.

I will say however, having one or two plasters is almost essential. Not because you need them EVERY time, but just for the one time you do. It’s not like they’re any extra effort to carry a few incase of any blisters etc etc. However, you shouldn’t end up with blisters because you will have been smart about your choice of shoes.

I know we all have different foot shapes and shoe preference but I can highly recommend vans, but specifically the comfycush soles. That piece is important, I’ve found that walking 20/30/40k steps my feet are still good to go.

You could otherwise use running shoes, hiking shoes or whatever but I also want to wear shoes I like to look of. Vans are pretty casual and go with almost everything. So these vans or any vans with comfycush soles have been my go to this year.

If you’ve enjoyed this breakdown of my street photography essentials and want to get more involved - I write a weekly or Bi-weekly emails sharing ideas, work from the community, maybe some new photo books I’ve picked up and just generally anything I find interesting in the world of photography. You can sign up for The Focal Point newsletter below.

Thanks,

Mike