Six landscape photography workshop essentials
When you join a landscape photography workshop or go on a photography trip, of course you’ll bring your camera gear - but it’s often the other items you pack (or forget to pack) that make the biggest difference. Much of what you choose to take will obviously depend on the destination, and I may write future posts about trip-specific packing lists, but to start, in no particular order, here are six of my all-time favourite items that I always carry with me on workshops and photo tours.
1. The Heat Company Mittens
Cold hands or more accurately, cold fingers, are a nightmare for photographers. The Heat Company, Heat 2 soft shell mittens are my go-to because they’re warm, comfortable, and cleverly designed for photographers. They are basically fingerless gloves made from wind and water-repellent softshell material with fold-back mitten tops that let you free your fingers and thumbs quickly to adjust camera settings. They have some small but very useful features like the loops for easily pulling the gloves off, magnets for holding the mittens folded back and there’s even a pocket for a hand warmer for those icy dawn shoots. If it’s really cold there’s room to wear thin liner gloves underneath to add an extra layer of warmth. If you are going somewhere really arctic or especially feel the cold then I’d suggest the super toasty, premium insulated Heat 3 mittens (I bought these with UK winters in mind) that said I have worn these in Iceland in January and they coped admirably well.
👉 Check them out here
2. Packing Cubes
When travelling from place to place and perhaps staying in each hotel for just one or two nights, organisation is key otherwise the suitcase will soon be a mess. Packing cubes are lightweight and brilliant for keeping clothes neatly separated and all those odd accessories in one place rather than floating around your case, you can easily unpack by pulling out the cubes and quickly stuff them all back in again when its time to leave. They save time, reduce clutter, and make it easy to find what you need — which means more time spent photographing and less time rummaging.
👉 Find them here
3. Snack Bars
The best landscape photography can often be in the remotest places and you never know when you’ll next find a shop or when you’ll need a snack, so I always keep an energy bar in my bag. My favourite is the Eat Natural dark chocolate fruit and nut bars — perfect for a quick boost when sunrise starts early or the next meal is hours away. Small, light, and easy to stash in a side pocket, snack bars are one of the simplest but most valuable items to pack.
👉 Grab them here
4. F-Stop Accessory Pouch
Keeping chargers, cables, and small accessories organised can be a headache on photography trips. With so many odds and ends and so many pockets to put them in, it’s easy to misplace things and waste ages hunting for them. That’s why I love the f-stop accessory pouch. It comes in three sizes, all designed to fit in the top of an f-stop backpack. I use the medium size which easily holds my laptop, phone, and camera chargers, along with a power bank, hard drive, and plug adapters for overseas trips. Talking of overseas trips, I always carry it in my hand luggage when flying, just in case I’m delayed in an airport.
👉 Take a look here
5. Portable SSD
Backing up images while travelling is essential. I use an Integral portable SSD, which is compact, reliable, and fast. Each day I back up my photos onto the drive via my trusty, old (read no longer supported by Apple) MacBook Pro. I create a new Lightroom catalogue for each trip, store that and the photos on the SSD which I can later merge into my main catalogue at home. That way, if anything ever happens to my camera or memory cards, I know my images are safe.
👉 See it here
6. Merino Wool Clothing
While not technically “kit,” I can’t resist mentioning Merino wool. Over the years I’ve tried all sorts of brands and fabrics in fact I could write a whole blog all about photography clothes, but for base layers (socks, leggings, tops, liner gloves etc) Merino wins every time. It’s lightweight and comfortable yet warm and breathable and it stays odour-free — perfect for long trips where you need to pack light. It’s not cheap but it’s important to be comfortable when you are out in the elements all day long and it should last, the base layers I bought for my first trip to Iceland 7 years ago are still going strong!
Final Thoughts
The right photography workshop kit goes beyond cameras and lenses - it’s the small, practical items that often make the biggest difference to your comfort and peace of mind. Let me know your must-haves in the comments below.
If you’d like to put your kit to the test while learning new skills, why not join me on one of my upcoming landscape photography workshops in East Anglia, across the UK, or further afield?
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