Most of the work I do nowadays is in my studio, a cosy sanctuary of all my kit and a decent amount of space for my clients products.
I have over the last year improved my client facilities and now I have a proper kitchen and a proper toilet (this time with its own door !)
However, once or twice a year I have a location assignment and I need to gather all the essential equipment that I will need.
Photography has changed so much in the last ten years and now there is a requirement for video as well and this brings with it its own set of equipment demands.
I light my set-ups now almost exclusively with continuous lighting and my Elinchrom flash heads are gathering dust. So I am laying out 4 lights; 2 x LED panels (approx 100 W each) and 2 x 150 W COB spots). These supply a good amount of light especially in a location where I will be relying on a decent amount of daylight to give me the main direction for the lighting, plus I have enough power available to overwhelm the ambient light should I need it.
I have more lights available but I really don’t want to complicate matters too much and as I work with children on set I do not want too many wires adding to trip hazards for the little darlings. I like to tape down as many floor cables as possible – kids can be unpredictable. ( That reminds me : pack 2 rolls of Gaffer Tape).
On location I am basically a one man band; gone are the days when I would have an official assistant on hand, and hiring in a trained assistant for a one day shoot is not viable – believe me I’ve been there ! Not the assistants fault of course but hiring in someone who doesn’t know you or you gear or the clients or the products is just not sensible. Instead I am using a simple ‘gofer’, one of the clients team who has been assigned to me for the day. I already know her and she’s great. Willing and able and happy to follow simple instructions and help shift lights and crap from one location to the next. I’ll deal with ALL the technology.
So today, I laying all the kit I expect to use on the studio floor: not packed away, everything visible so I can look at it from time to time and see if there’s anything missing.
If I was doing location shoots every week I’d have a properly drawn up kit list , itemising EVERY little thing. But I’m not so I go through this soul searching and brain wracking every time.
Small screwdrivers, gaffer tape, pliers, clamps (lots), diffusion material, Blu Tac, video head, 2 tripods, knife (sharp), spare camera cards, spare camera, batteries, chargers, remotes, lens cloth, audio gear (radio mics etc.) …. the list goes on,
and on
and on

The camera is the easiest bit.
Having said all that I love the excitement of a location shoot.
It is stressful but it’s a great challenge.
The very very worst part though is getting to the location !
This time it’s in south east London and I live in south west London.
Eighteen miles. 20 minutes in the Ferrari .
I’m allowing 2 hours.
Will let you know how it goes…