Photography Equipment Storage: Best Practices

As a keen photographer, you are acutely aware of how expensive and precious your equipment is. Whether you’re doing photography for a living, or you like to snap beautiful pictures in your spare time, you have built up a few good habits over the years. When it comes to storing your photography equipment you have learned that preparation is key. Proper storage not only protects your pricey gear, but it also saves you a lot of time and effort when time is short. 

Running out of batteries, losing your camera and forgetting where your storage cards are will soon be a thing of the past, when you understand more about the best practices of photography equipment storage. Keep reading to find out more about maintaining clean, safe and high quality photography equipment at home, in a self storage unit, and whilst out on the field.

Organise Your Gear

Before you approach storage solutions for your photography equipment, you need to think about getting organised. All you need is a good label maker, some protective boxes and a little bit of time and patience.

As a photographer, some of the main equipment you use on a regular basis might include:

• Camera(s)
• Spare lenses
• Cleaning equipment
• Charging cables
• Extension cords
• Laptop
• Storage cards
• Films
• Power strips
• Backpacks and straps
• Batteries
• Cases and holders
• Tripods
• Lighting
• Portfolios and books
• Contacts and client lists

Depending on your speciality, you may even have more equipment than this! It’s clear to see that organisation is key when it comes to storage practices for your photography gear.

Travelling light as a photographer isn’t really a thing, so it’s important to organise your equipment into labelled boxes that have good air circulation. This will allow you to prep them for storage so that they remain in the best possible condition whilst not in use.

Clean and Prepare Your Equipment

After every usage, and before you put your equipment back into storage you need to clean and prepare it so it’s ready for next time. Using lens cleaner you can give your camera a thorough clean. You may also want to conduct some administrative tasks such as reformatting cards, changing batteries and replacing anything you’ve used from your spares case.

Keeping everything clean and in good condition will ensure that you can access your photography equipment quickly and easily once it has been stored away in your chosen safe space.

Choose Climate Controlled Self Storage

If you don’t have the appropriate space in your home to store your photography equipment, you may want to look into high quality, secure self storage solutions. With options such as Keep Safe Storage, you can have peace of mind that your valuable items are stored in a climate controlled environment that isn’t going to cause any damage to them in the long term.

Keeping your equipment away from moisture, extreme heat, dust and sunlight is extremely important, which is where modern storage solutions step in and save the day. If you’re in need of regular access to your photography equipment, there are flexible solutions that allow you to get to your belongings at any time too. So, if you’re feeling particularly creative at a random part of the day, you can head to your unit and access everything you need quickly and conveniently.

As long as you prepare your equipment properly before storage, you can expect a clean, affordable and reliable experience with a local storage unit such as KeepSafe.

Storage Whilst Travelling

If you travel regularly as a photographer, you need to think about two different angles when it comes to storing your equipment. How are you travelling safely with your equipment? And, where do you store your excess equipment whilst you’re away?

First of all, you need to invest in sturdy, protective and high quality cases for your photography equipment so that it’s safe whilst you travel. Protecting your camera from the elements and excess damage whilst on public transport will prevent any mishaps when you arrive at your destination. 

Similarly, you may also want to use a self storage unit to keep all of your other photography items safe whilst you’re not using them. Leaving them in your house or apartment is one option, but a storage unit actually offers a safer and more secure option if you’re travelling for prolonged periods at a time.

Access Your Equipment Whenever You Need It

Many photographers might worry about having instant access to their equipment as a creative. You never know when you might feel inspired to take photos or head out to a local event to snap some beautiful scenes. With modern self storage solutions you have 24/7 access to your equipment, as well as round the clock security. 

As soon as you’re done with your equipment, you can go and lock it up safely and come back to it at your next convenience.

If you’re an artist looking to build your portfolio, a self storage unit is the ideal place to keep your books, artwork and larger photographs so that you don’t have to store them in your home. You can package them carefully and keep them away from moisture and extreme weathers in a storage unit, and still have access to them whenever they’re needed in the future.

Final Considerations

Hopefully, these methods will help you to keep your equipment looking brand new and shiny, even when you’ve had it for a very long time. With the right self storage unit and effective practices, you can maintain your photography equipment to the highest standard. You will also have peace of mind that your expensive gear is in safe hands no matter where you choose to store it, or how often you use it.