My ultimate compact travel and street photography camera kit

“What camera should I buy for my upcoming vacation or just walking around town?”

As a professional photographer, I get asked this question all the time. I used to reply with,”Just use your smartphone.” But the truth is, that’s not what I would do, and people are asking me for a reason. They want to know what a professional photographer brings when they’re not working. Fair enough. I’ll tell you exactly what I take on my trips and I’ll even provide affiliate links to the exact items (of which I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases). Not just the camera that I use right now, but all of the accessories that make taking photos on vacation or on a day trip a little more enjoyable are listed below. If I have it linked here it’s because I bought these items with my own money, use them regularly and I’m happy with the quality and features.

The truth is, I don’t always take the same photography gear on my trips. It depends on where I’m going, for how long, and what types of photos I want to capture. Increasingly I’m going on trips that I just want to enjoy without carrying a bunch of gear around with me. I’m trying to simplify my packing and walk around with just a few things in my pockets or at most a small sling bag. So here is a list of the essentials as I see it.

Sony ZV-1 - My best compact camera for travel and street photography

My main compact camera is now a Sony ZV-1. I had a RX-100 IV and I loved it, but it was stolen on one of my trips last year. After considering many cameras including all of the RX-100 series and similar ones from Canon and Fuji, I landed on the ZV-1. It’s touted as a great vlogging camera, and if you intend to make videos, it’s a no-brainer. The list of video-centric features is impressive. But I’m primarily a still photographer and that’s what I want this camera for, so why did I buy it? Instead of writing a long paragraph about the features and specs of this camera I’ll give a list of reasons.

• 24-70mm equivalent F1.8-2.8 lens - This focal length is Ideal for travel and street photography and f1.8 lets in tons of light for shooting at dusk and beyond.

• 20 megapixel 1” sensor - Plenty big enough for capturing images for serious editing and even decent size prints.

• Fully articulating screen - Flips out for selfies and makes getting low or high angle shots more comfortable.

• Hot shoe - Can use an external flash or even a wireless trigger for setting up one or more flashes in different locations.

• Decent battery life - I can get over 250 shots on one battery.

• Customizable buttons - professional shooters come to rely on dedicated buttons for quick settings changes. You’ve got two of them here.

• Great autofocus - some of the best autofocus and face detection I’ve used on any camera, including full-frame mirrorless.

• Great Time-lapse feature

• Weight and Size - It’s super compact and lighter than other point-and-shoots. I want something that can fit in a jeans pocket.

• Relatively low price for the quality and features

There are some cons. No EVF, not a super long lens, 1” sensor is bigger than your smartphone but 4/3” would be even better. I’m not complaining though. It hits all the notes for me. and here is a list of accessories that I have to take for it when I go out.

MEIKE MK-320S Mini TTL Speedlite

This is a powerful external flash that can fit in your pocket. Much smaller than an average off-camera speed light. It can go on the hot shoe of the ZV-1 and it takes two AA batteries. If you will be shooting with strong sunlight at the back of your subject or if you want to have some fill light for darker indoor or dusk photography this can be super handy.

Wasabi Power NP-BX1 Battery (2-Pack) and Charger

If you are going to be traveling or out shooting all day, you’ll need extra batteries for sure. I’ve been happy with Wasabi brand batteries in all of my cameras for several years now. The price point means I can have loads of them on hand. They last a long time and I have no issues at all with them.

Taisioner Super Camera Clamp Mount

This is like a tripod that can fit in your pocket. Not really a tripod, but you can usually find somewhere to clamp this thing onto and it’s super sturdy. It has a 1/4 20 thread adapter on it that fits all cameras including the ZV-1. You can use it as a handle for vlogging too. You can even attach it to your bike handlebars. This is sturdy and compact. The only con is the clamp doesn't open wide enough for some things so I put a link to a wider clamp that you can swap out. I love it for making time lapses, getting slow shutter speed light trail shots, night photography, panoramas and bracketing exposures for blending later, especially when I want to take a clear photo of a landmark but there are loads of people milling about. I can take multiple shots in a static position and then stack the photos and erase the people. Basically anywhere you would normally use a tripod but don’t want to carry one around all day.

MagFilter 52mm Threaded Adapter Ring and 52mm Circular Polarizer

If you’ve ever seen a beautiful sky with your sunglasses on, and then taken them off only to be disappointed with the non-sunglasses version, you know the power of the polarizer. If you are shooting scenes with lots of sky, water, windows, or other shiny surfaces, a polarizer filter can greatly improve the color, contrast and tame the highlights in your images. You can’t fix these things in editing, it’s something that can only be done with a physical filter on the end of your lens. This adapter comes with a magnetic ring that sticks onto the rim of the ZV-1’s lens and allows you to easily attach any filter to the front of the lens. The main reasons I like this one is that when the lens retracts, it doesn’t impede or affect the filter adapter and it’s easy and fast to snap on. No need to screw or unscrew anything once you already have your preferred filter on the adapter. I have also included a link to a good circular polarizer filter that you can use with the MagFilter adapter as it doesn't come with the actual filter.

These are the essentials for me. I could get away with leaving the flash at home if I know for sure I won’t need it but the rest is a must. As you can see I didn't even recommend a sling bag because you can fit all this in your pockets. It’s liberating not having to carry a backpack and a tripod and all of the accessories that I would normally take out for the day when traveling. And I’m getting high quality 20MP RAW files that I can edit until my heart’s content. I hope this has been helpful and let me know if you need any more recommendations for different scenarios.

Photo Requirements for Amazon and Ecommerce Images - Best Practices and Absolutes

You finally have your product in-country and are ready for Ecommerce photography. What do you do next?

Amazon is the biggest marketplace in this space so it’s a good idea to create content that will be acceptable on their platform even if you aren’t planning on listing with them at this moment. Images created with my guidelines will be able to be used on any website including Walmart, Etsy, Shopify and more.

The MINIMUM technical requirements for an image on amazon are:

• file format - JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF

• 1000px minimum in length or width

• sRGB or CMYK color space

• File names must consist of the product identifier (Amazon ASIN, 13-digit ISBN, EAN, JAN, or UPC) followed by a period and the appropriate file extension (Example: B000123456.jpg or 0237425673485.tif)

1000px is a minimum requirement. If you are listing on a marketplace like Amazon, you may want to upload images with larger dimensions, such as 2000px. If you are uploading the images to your own website, you may need to be concerned with the page-load times and therefore may want to upload smaller and more compressed images. I’ll cover this later in the article.

Amazon Site Standards for Product Images

These guidelines apply to the MAIN product image and main product variant images. Meaning the first image that is displayed on the product page (and that is displayed as the thumbnail on search result pages.) If you have product variants such as different color options, this also applies to those images. I have bolded the most important ones.

• Drawings or illustrations of the product are not allowed.

• The image must not contain gratuitous or confusing additional objects.

• The image must be in focus, professionally lit and photographed or scanned, with realistic color, and smooth edges.

• Books, Music, and Video/DVD images should be the front cover art, and fill 100% of the image frame. Jewel cases, promotional stickers, and cellophane are not allowed.

• All other products should fill 85% or more of the image frame.

• The full product must be in frame.

• Backgrounds must be pure white (RGB 255,255,255).

• The image must not contain additional text, graphics, or inset images.

• Pornographic and offensive materials are not allowed.

For additional other view images: 

• The image must be of, or pertain to, the product being sold.

• The image must be in focus, professionally lit and photographed or scanned, with realistic color, and smooth edges.

• Other products or objects are allowed to help demonstrate the use or scale of product.

• The product and props should fill 85% or more of the image frame.

• Cropped or close-up images are allowed.

• Backgrounds and environments are allowed.

• Text and demonstrative graphics are allowed.

• Pornographic and offensive materials are not allowed.

My recommendations for your main product image is:

• White background

• 2000 x 2000px square 72dpi sRGB JPEG compressed at 70%

• Front of product full view, either straight on, flat lay or front 3/4 angle

• If not a wearable item then no model, if wearable, model is optional

I recommend between 3 and 12 additional product images depending on the complexity and value of your product. The guidelines for these images are:

• 2000px on the longest edge 72dpi sRGB compressed at 70%

• Mix of closeup views and alternate angles

• Show the product in-use with models if appropriate

• Show the product in different environments with high contrast if possible

• Use graphics and text to highlight features ONLY if necessary

• Use props that relate in an meaningful way and that do not distract from the product

Social media platforms have different crop factors for different posts

Create alternate crops for social media. While square crops are the most common for social media, you may want to have a look at each platforms standard before uploading. It is better to create the exact size image that you are going to upload rather than letting the social media platform resize your image for you. This can result in poor image quality in the post.

Be creative to stand out from the crowd and get attention

Consider the marketplace that you are selling on when creating your images, both technically and creatively.

If you are posting these on your own shop, page load times may be a serious consideration. There is debate as to the SEO benefits of specific image sizes and compression methods but it is clear that if you image loads too slowly on the page, the customer may leave. You may want to err on the side of caution and create smaller image sizes and use more aggressive compression such as 1500px and 60% JPEG. Achieving a file size of 70k is ideal for SEO purposes but it may not be attainable at the quality you want. Do be mindful of this and don’t be afraid to create different image sizes for different shops and marketplaces. Take advantage of thumbnails and learn about your website’s method for generating them and it’s settings. A few minutes resizing and exporting could lead to more sales in the long term.

If you are posting images to a marketplace that has a certain aesthetic or demographic, or if you are trying to create strong branding on your own Shopify store for instance, try and appeal to the customer. Make your image stand out amongst all the rest. Marketplaces like Etsy have a customer base that want’s to buy something unique, possibly handmade, maybe even quirky. Stock photography and boring angles or overly technical photos may be the wrong approach here. Consider the style of your prospective customer and try and emulate that style in your photos. Remember that there are subsets of demographics even within the customer base of certain marketplaces. You may not want your own website to conform to the style guidelines of Amazon and the marketplaces. That’s a good thing. Consider different photos for different marketplaces.

Remember that the images are what is going to set you apart from your competition.

Color Management in Product Photography and the new Nix Mini 2 Color Sensor

Color is important to photographers. But it’s often subjective. If it looks good, it’s good…right? How many times have your read a photographer’s blog and it says “this is exactly how it looked to me when I captured the image on the day”. Fair enough right? I mean, who are we to argue?

But what about when just looking good isn’t good enough.

Enter the world of commercial product photography. Where the customer is going to expect to receive a handbag that matches exactly what they saw on their iPhone when they clicked the buy button. The colors need to be accurate and a grey card or even a color checker calibration card isn’t going to guarantee that.

I understand that this isn’t paint matching or graphic inspiration. There are a few variables in play, namely the temperature of the lighting that the product is viewed under or the calibration of the screen that the customer is using. But all things being equal, the color of the product “is what it is”.

Taking a color sample of Tee Shirts during a photo shoot with the Nix Pro

And now we can measure the color precisely with a small and affordable piece of technology called the Nix Color Sensor. I started using the original Nix Color Sensor Pro several years ago for my product photography workflow, after having a few issues with an apparel company client. Too many color revisions meant time (and money) lost for me. I had used a grey card for white balance and a color checker card for calibration and the colors still weren’t perfectly accurate. After a bit of research I found Nix and ordered the sensor.

It started saving me time immediately. During the shoot, for each product I scan the product with the Nix sensor and my iPhone and create a database of product colors for each job. Even when the client gives you Pantone color samples of the product color ways, it doesn’t mean the the actual products are going to match. If I need to reference the color, when I’m editing, I have the exact product color in a swatch that I can pull up into Photoshop or Lightroom or Capture One. Or I can enter the exact RGB or LAB or CMYK colors into the program. I can also use the Nix to check prints for accuracy. I still use a grey card for white balance but the color sensor gives me confidence every time I deliver a project to the client. It adds seconds to my workflow but potentially saves me hours of revisions.

In practice there is still an art to using it. Photographs are not a single luminance value. Light and color is reflected and diffused thought the product. You can’t just click a button and “fix” the color. The Nix blocks out all of the ambient light and has and internal high CRI LED light to illuminate the product, but the photos that we take will have a gradient of luminance, so it’s not as straightforward as matching swatches of fabric or mixing paints. But knowing the exact color of the product helps to set the overall color on balance. Now I have access to the precise color data of the product while editing, long after the garments have been put away and the studio lights have been turned off.

Nix Mini 2 Color Sensor unboxing

Now, Nix has reached out to me and sent the next generation of Nix Mini 2 Color Sensor for review. (full disclosure) I didn’t pay for this one. And it’s the mini, not the pro model. So I’ll be making a video of my workflow with this new unit. It’s even smaller than the original Nix Pro. That one was small enough to fit in your pocket, but this one can go on your keychain. There is no excuse to be without it now. I’ll be creating landscape and street photography color palettes from my upcoming trips to New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. And I’ve already used it on a surfboard shoot for Degree 33 in San Diego. Results have been super positive! Looking forward to this.

check out the Nix Sensors here

What format do I save my photos in?

Here are the different formats I can provide and the reasons you may or may not want to have them.

tl;dr

I deliver JPEG or PNG-24 files to my clients for web use and TIFF or PDF for print use. I save both the RAW and PSD files for archiving and you can also have those if you want.

You want JPEG for your website if your photos don’t need to have a transparent background. I will make the background color whatever it needs to be. Use this format if it won’t be layered on the website over something that needs to be visible behind it. If it is for your website use 72dpi. If it is for print use 300dpi.

You want PNG-24 if you want to layer images on your website over a background element that needs to be visible. To do this your image will need to have transparency. Or if you want to use the photos in another application to create layered graphics and you want them to be already cut-out from their background so that you can just drag and drop and create without having to mask out backgrounds and other elements. PSD files will also work fo this if you want maximum control and re-editability, but PNG-24 is easy, high quality and lightweight.

You want either TIFF or PDF for printing at 300dpi and your print shop will be able to advise you on which format they prefer.

Below are more details about the most popular image file formats:

RAW

(the actual file extension is different for different cameras. They can be .CR2 for Canon cameras, .ARW for Sony, .NEF for Nikon, and many others) The actual raw image file that comes out of the camera.

• Pros: Contains a ton of color data, loads of depth and detail. allows for maximum edibility and quality and resolution and relatively small file size. Also, the RAW editor applications are non-destructive, meaning that you can always go back and re-edit without loss of quality.

• Cons: Must have an editor capable of working with RAW files such as Lightroom, Adobe RAW, Capture One etc. Is not able to be displayed in anything other than a RAW editor. Not able to be displayed natively in a web browser.

• What is it good for? Going back to the original pure image to start an edit all over again. Proving the authenticity of a photo.

PSD

Photoshop file. (or PSB for very large files)

• Pros: Can be discretely layered, meaning multiple elements of the image can be turned on and off, including the background (if it is edited in such a way). You can add elements to the image, in discrete layers, to make a composite. The quality, if edited at 16bit or 32bit, is high and the resolution is generally the same as came from the camera, unless it is cropped. It is non-lossy format, meaning no data is discarded whilst saving, meaning the quality is optimal. Can contain various wide color spaces such as Adobe, CMYK, LAB etc. Can contain extensive metadata.

• Cons: Must have Adobe Photoshop to edit. The files can be quite large, up to several gigabytes, if many layers are used. Many of the edits are irreversible, unlike a RAW editor, unless they are done in such a way as to allow for changes or original layers have been duplicated for safety. Not able to be displayed natively in a web browser.

• What is it good for? Archiving, going back to make changes and saving other formats from such as TIFFs, JPEGs, PNGs etc. It’s a good format to save as your master file, especially if you also save the RAW image and/or duplicate the original image on one of the layers inside the PSD file.

TIFF

• Pros: Similar to PSD files. Can be layered. No quality loss if saved correctly. Can contain various wide color spaces such as Adobe, CMYK, LAB etc. Can contain extensive metadata.

• Cons: Also similar to PSD. File sizes can be very large if there are many layers. There are many types of TIFF files, it can be confusing which TIFF setting to save a document as if you don’t know already. Can be lossy or lossless depending on how it’s saved. Not able to be displayed natively in a web browser.

• What is it good for? Good cross-compatibility across software. Sending to print shops for printed materials. I prefer saving the master for archiving as a PSD but TIFF is also a valid option for this.
  
  
  
  
  

JPEG

• Pros: Variable quality. Can be very high quality and larger file size or a little lower quality and smaller file size. Can contain millions of colors. Can be very lightweight on the server/browser load times and therefor better for SEO. Highly compatible with multiple applications.

• Cons: Is a lossy format, meaning that data is discarded when saving. Can’t go back to original quality. Can only contain the RGB color space.

• What is it good for? Saving relatively small file sizes for fast loading of pages in web browsers, leading to better SEO and user experience.

PNG-24

• Pros: High quality, lossless, and able to be displayed in all web browsers. Can contain millions of colors. Can have transparent areas in the image, so that you can layer it in a web page or use in an editor to layer images in a composite without having to cut-out the background. Highly compatible with multiple applications.

• Cons: Filesize is larger than a JPEG. More weight on the server/browser load times. Can only contain the RGB(A) color space. Limited XML Metadata features.

• What is it good for? High quality web images when transparency is needed. High quality image parts with transparency when needed for use in compositing layouts and graphics for various projects in various applications. (note PNG-8 is not for photos. it is a variation of PNG-24 which supports only 256 colors, like a GIF)

GIF

• Pros: Small file size. Can be animated. Can have transparency. Lossless compression format.

• Cons: Contains only 256 colors. Not good for photos. Not good for any graphic with a gradient.

• What is it good for? lower quality animations. Graphics with high contrast and no gradients. Web assets that need transparency but that must be extremely small file size. PNG-8 is similar but better for small icons and logos.

SVG

• Pros: Scalable without rasterization (no pixel restriction). Relatively small file size compared to possible screen-size. Can be animated. Great for vector based graphics.

• Cons: Not compatible with some older browsers. Not really good for photos. A complicated SVG can put some load on the browser (client-side computer processor)

• What is it good for? Vector (not photo) based graphics that need to scale for different screens. Like logos and such. Ok for animations. Only for when you know the browser will support SVG. Not really for photography.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

PDF

• Pros: Can be lossless or lossy, Can contain a lot of searchable metadata. Can be password protected. Can contain multiple pages in one file.

• Cons: Adobe Acrobat required for editing. Is not a standard for archiving photography. Options for saving can be confusing.

• What is it good for? sending files to printers. Sharing layouts with other graphic designers. Layouts with Images that contain selectable text. Saving a version that you do not want edited or a version of a layout that you want to be displayed exactly as intended.

The upshot is, different formats are good for different uses. There is no ideal format for every case. Knowing what you need the image for is key to making the correct decision. If you need help creating a long term plan to manage your digital image assets contact me through this site and I’ll personally guide you.

Alex Miller Photos Go Public

This was one of the more challenging projects I've done lately. For the obvious reasons. Chrome and curves. My two favorite things!  Alex is brilliant to work with. As an artist, he has a very focused vision for how the images should look. He even makes a storyboard of drawings for each shot. It reminds me of when I used to work at Paramount Pictures. Love it. So naturally the photos turned out amazing. The incredibly unique faucets and shower heads and sprayers and handles etc are all available to view at alexmillerstudio.com

Has This Happened To You?

So I was compelled to write an Amazon review after owning the 16GB OCZ Rally thumb drive BECAUSE... I've been using it for 6 years or so to transfer photos and such between devices. It is the biggest and fastest of all the thumb drives I own. My favorite. ...but, I just left it in my pants pocket, and I washed it in the washing machine ....and dried it in the dryer. I was heartbroken when I realized. Was ready to buy another one. But I left it overnight. Plugged it into my Macbook the next day. It still works, and all the info is still there.  I did have the cap on it. I'm sure that helped somehow.But I will be buying these only for thumb drives from now on.

Working on the spring Canari shoot

Thee new designs look great. The fit on the models makes it so easy to shoot. I think there is going to be a lot of buzz about the new Canari women's bottoms. Can't wait for the new catalog to come out.

The Spring 2015 Canari Men's Cycling Jerseys are fitting well and looking great!

Bathroom Faucet Photo Shoot

This is some super high end stuff. I don't think I can even show you the designs yet so I'm not including the shots of the good stuff. But I knew it was going to be exclusive just based in the weight of them alone. Definitely don't want to drop one of these on your foot.  The fact that they are so shiny and contain both concave and convex curves makes them extremely difficult to shoot. But also very interesting. My vast experience shooting trumpets and saxophones and other brasswind musical instruments is serving me well right now.

Mr. Slice photo shoot made me cry..

I'm not a professional chef, but I've never used a knife a sharp as this. Some seriously good knives! They are called Mr. Slice and I just finished the product photography shoot for them.

My eyes were seriously watering

I think the photos turned out well. But more importantly, they seem to be selling like crazy on Amazon!

Careful, these are super sharp knives!