Proud Photography Blog

It may not be incredibly obvious, but whenever you are out and about with your camera taking photographs, you need to be alert.

When you are using a SLR camera everyday it’s easy to forget that it’s an item of high value and that it can be of interest to a thief and being somewhere busy may not necessarily be a deterrent.

Here are some tips on how to stay safe when taking pictures.

1.    Disguise

Your bag that is.  Whilst photographers bags tend to look a certain way because they are made to protect the camera and lens, some of the branded bags attract attention to potential thieves.  It can be better to get an unbranded bag sometimes or even better a camera bag with all the padding you need that is disguised as an ordinary everyday bag.

There are a few of these around if you look on the internet – maybe camera bags these days try to appear more fashionable and less obvious than traditional camera bags but still offer good protection.   If you are planning on doing a lot of photography alone and regularly taking your equipment out and about with you, a disguised bag is a great idea.

These are also idea for holidays because tourists are quite often targets for thieves as they are a carrying around expensive equipment.

2.    Keep out of obvious danger.

This applies when you are abroad and don’t know where you are or what an area is like, but it also applies when you’re at home. When you are exploring new horizons and end up in a rough part of town you never know who may be eyeing you up.  Therefore it’s important to be smart and use your gut instinct – if you feel that people are watching you for no good reason, if you suddenly become aware of someone that makes you for whatever reason, feel uncomfortable then leave.  If it’s your first time in a new area, take a friend or go in a car – keep yourself safe and surrounded by people you know.

3.    Busy can also be bad

Although you don’t want to be on your own in an area you don’t know, it’s also not a great idea to be in extremely busy places.  Here cameras are easily stolen as you push through crowds and work your way through people.  There are plenty of ways that people can steal your bag – they can catch you off guard or distract you be causing a commotion somewhere else.

4.    Take what you need

Although you have lots of lovely equipment on a day out try to take just what you need. Something’s you may want to take more off like memory cards and batteries but when it comes to other equipment pieces, it’s best not to take those unless you know for sure that you will need them.

Also unless you are taking pictures of a once in a lifetime scenario you can always go back later.  If you take a friend or take your car you can also store more equipment but don’t just walk around carrying thousands of dollars worth of electrical goods on your person.