The Perfect Camera Bag

You know the saying “Look good, feel good”?

As a professional in anything, looking good and feeling good, as well as to say, being organized in mind as well as being literally organized truly plays a role in your overall success. This had me thinking, the perfect camera bag could provide the same utopia of sorts. That is, if it existed.

As a photographer, I know the amount of times I thought I was purchasing that perfect camera bag. Continuously scouring the internet, eagerly searching for that diamond in the rough, but never to any avail. The constant let down. Like purchasing anything online these days, the anticipation and excitement deriving from the thought that “this purchase could be THE ONE!”, is intoxicating, but let’s be real, rarely are those expectations ever fully satiated. The few that appeal to the eye are never equipped for the gear and the ones that could possibly accommodate the gear, never really catch your eye….what an endless, frustrating cycle it can be. 

How many camera bags do you have?

Needless to say, I was quickly approaching my busy season last year. I knew I had to find a solution to this camera bag dilemma, so I had to use my resources! I already had this Thirty-One XL canvas crew tote bag that was a perfect size just without all of the necessary pockets and purchased a padded camera bag insert from Amazon. LO & BEHOLD it fit like a glove inside the tote! It got me through the entire season and taught me a lot about the essentials of a camera bag. However, it still left me without the perfect camera bag.

Thirty-One Canvas tote

Ciesta Flexible Cushion Partition-XL Lens DSRL SLR Camera Insert Padded Bag

Was I going to find the perfect camera bag?

This led me to one of those lightbulb moments. I have a lifelong friend, Lisa, and her husband, Ron, who own their own business, RL Makers, where they grace the world with beautiful Italian leather goods and can customize anything. I knew if anyone could make my vision a reality it was these two! After running the idea by them, they were all in on a collaboration! 

Lisa and I met up in a quaint cafe in Richmond, VA (for my KJ Business Journey peeps, this was after our conference in December).

It was there that my perfect camera bag vision started to become a reality. 

Lisa listened to the things I deemed essential from what I had learned from my makeshift camera bag stint, as well as the things I wanted in order to make it even more functional and efficient. Some of my “must haves” included:

• A bag with enough room for the padded camera insert and then some. 

• Pockets, pockets, pockets – a total of 5! 
• An open top without an annoying flap, making it easier to reach in and out of. I opted to not do a zipper top because I find that my hand (rings) tend to get caught in the zipper. (Besides, the padded insert bag has a drawstring enclosure that can be used, if needed, to protect my gear.)

• And lastly, straps long enough for the bag to fit comfortably on my shoulder.

THE MAKING OF THE PERFECT CAMERA BAG

After all of this, I’d have to say the hardest part was then choosing which shade of leather to go with to complete the creation! Eventually, (after what I probably made wayyyy too hard of a decision) I chose to go with tobacco leather for the body of the bag, and walnut for the straps.

Together, we created a camera bag I thought only existed in my dreams! 

I’m here to say that the perfect camera bag DOES exist! Ready to create yours?

Contact Lisa on Etsy at RL Makers

My Perfect Camera Bag

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