Articles, Popular

Renting or buying photoshoot equipment?

5 April

As I am starting to get more work as an assistant and observing what photographers need on different kinds of shoots, I wanted to address a specific topic: Equipment rental. Whether to rent or own different kinds of stuff to use during a photoshoot.

This is a highly personal topic, and there are lots and lots of different opinions about it. For myself, I am dividing it into two kinds of people here: the minimalists and the play-it-safe photographers/assistants.

Minimalists tend to own as little as possible. They rent and are comfortable organizing equipment beforehand. They are not stressed about the work that needs to go into planning every millimeter and second of a shoot. They go the extra mile to have less clutter at home and organize storage.

The play-it-safe people often have almost everything at home or in their possession, at least. They are probably prepared for the zombie apocalypse happening during a photoshoot (or just a client next to them having lots of ideas that need to be implemented immediately).

These two descriptions may tell you which kind you are. Probably your gut feeling is already screaming at you.

But what if there is no screaming or no inner tendency towards one of them? I got you. Because I would declare myself as a mixture too. I like to play it safe and be prepared. But at the same time, I am living in one room in a shared flat and thus do not have the storage capacity to own all the equipment I probably need for future shoots.

So let’s get started!

cables and power

The first area I want to work out with you is cables. Because everyone once shot in a location where the nearest plug seems a kilometer away. So always having an extension cable with a few plugs is handy to have and nothing you would rent, right? Except you need high-voltage cables for a blockbuster film shoot.

If you’re shooting with cable-powered flashes, having one spare cable for every flash or light seems like the right way to go.

"At one point I said to friends it’s not even worth anymore to own a camera. They are developing so fast that it's very hard to keep track."

grip

So grip has always been a tricky topic for me. I am not as experienced in working on big sets where a lot of grip is used. Hence, I am relatively new to all the options Manfrotto, Avenger, and LightEquip have. But a solid group of clamps and tapes is a must. Which ones you use is up to you. Maybe one or two extension arms or magic arms.

camera equipment

At one point I said to friends it’s not even worth anymore to own a camera. They are developing so fast that it’s very hard to keep track. There are two cases here: Case one is you being a wedding photographer and having to shoot every weekend. You should probably own two cameras so you can be able to switch between lenses within seconds at the venue. Case two is you being a hotel photographer and maybe just have one or two high-paying shoots a month. But you need some Tilt-Shift-Lenses or something like that. Or you have so many various jobs that you would need a sh**ton of equipment to make your photography style work. I think you know where this is going. If not: Case one —> own. Case two —> rent.

What is always nice to have is a spare tether cable or a spare set of triggers for the flashes. Having this saved my life and that one of the photographers when assisting so often already (not in a literal way though).

flashes and lights

I would say having two small flashes is a good way to go and if they are battery powered it‘s even better.

But as I am looking at the prizes right now it seems almost impossible to own one myself. So this is something I am currently renting almost all the time. This has two major reasons.

Reason one is money of course. I am not earning enough to buy them at the moment.

Reason two is creativity. This seems a little off right now but let me explain. Let’s say you just own two lights and you doing well with them (nothing wrong with that) you probably make all the shoots work out with just those two lights. Because you have them and therefore you think: „Why rent?“ But what I like to do is think first of the light I want to create. Research a lot about how to achieve that and then rent whatever I need. And in the end, being cheaper and more creative with the outcome. This is by far not true for everyone. You can create awesome light setups with just one or two lights. But why limit yourself right from the beginning?

This opinion is not doable for some niches in photography. And that’s totally fine. I am just explaining my point of view as a fashion photographer/assistant.

modifiers

So many light modifiers are on the market. White and silver variations and then with grid and with a second diffusion. And all this comes for almost every light modifier in general whether it’s an umbrella, a para, a softbox, or a beauty dish. I‘ve even seen some people working with a diffusion on top of barn doors too.

Deciding on this topic is therefore very personal. And the personal circumstances should come into the decision. Maybe you’re traveling a lot with your equipment or you have a car or not. Putting equipment from A to B can be a major problem when working with a 2,2m Briese parabolic softbox for example.

Umbrellas are a very good solution to that. They come in different sizes. Usually works with every flash brand and creates a very solid light. You can diffuse them and they are easy to handle. Maybe this is something to consider owning.

Renting everything other than what you usually need is always a good idea here.

tripods

For tripods and light stands it‘s a little tricky and depends on what you are shooting. You know the situations and locations you‘re ending up in best.

But for a general rule of thumb, I would suggest having one higher, heavier light stand, one lighter, medium one, and a ground stand is a good way to go.

If you know beforehand that you need to light a team of basketball players each one of them 2 meters tall maybe you should consider some rental equipment.

For a camera tripod, I would say every photographer should own a solid one. Even though you rarely need one.

conclusion

So as we see now it is very personal whether to rent or own the equipment. But I hope I have given a good overview of possible practices.

Some rent companies (such as 711 for example) even send the stuff you need by mail when you are not able to pick it up. Or they deliver it if it’s a lot you‘d like to use on your shoot.