Shawn Corrigan is by some accounts the hardest-working photography assistant in the history of hard-working people. But since he can’t join every single photographer on every single shoot, he put together a list of everything you’d need to replicate having a badass sidekick.
Here’s his full list:
-A Fully Charged iPod with at least 3-4 daylong playlists
-iPod Cables
-Gaffer’s tape in multiple colors
-Black Sharpies
-Screw Driver
-Tape measure
-Various phone chargers
-Exacto knives
-Paint markers
-Multiple sizes of coveters for tripods
-Pens
-Notepads and/or loose paper
-USB Cables
-Firewires
-Tethering cables
-Level
-Breath mints
-Tums
-Band-aids
-Advil, Tylenol, Aleve
-Batteries
-Heavy-duty gloves
-Triangular door wedge
-Ziplock bags
-Extra compact flash cards
-Card reader
-Swatch book of gel colors
-Book of seamless colors
-Valid passport
-Circuit testing plug
-Blow drier
-Extra gels
-Lens cleaning cloth
-Multi-outlet adapters
-Manfrotto light stand for fittings/adapters
-Pocketwizard cords for common gear
-Allen wrench set — metric and standard
-A leatherman and a light meter
He also made a printable checklist version, in case you want to actually follow his lead. Though, if you’re flying solo, you’re also going to need all of your actual photography gear — probably in a separate bag. [PhotoShelter via PetaPixel]