Food-tography: The Search for the Perfect Camera Bag

Food photography.  It pretty much boils down to two key ingredients: aesthetics and taste.  We first feast with our eyes and then with our tummies.  And to ensure that we take the best shots, we also need a nice home for our expensive friends:)

So, tell me then why of all markets entrepreneurs have capitalized on, the market for stylish, women's camera bags has nearly remained untapped until..well, now.  Ever since I became interested in food photography and purchased my first professional (or so I'd like to think) 50mm lens, I have been searching high and low, near and far for the perfect camera bag.  For the most part, much of it has been left to my own boundless imagination.  From countless research and finding that the only camera seems to be for the unassuming photographer who can care less about what bag they're toting around, I've realized that my bag NEEDS to be:

1. Versatile:  Just like I want to be able to take my camera with me and snap random shots wherever I'm at, I want a bag that is multi-faceted and I'd be proud to take with me wherever I go.  As such, my bag also needs to be...

2. Classy and Stylish:  No, I don't want to look like a high school kid with a backpack for a camera bag.  I want to be able to take my bag to work, to play and to the grocery store and on the occasional night out on the town. 

3. Functional:  I need a bag that is intended for lugging around my expensive toys.  My good friend shook her head in disapproval the other day when I pulled out my DSLR from my Whole Foods tote bag with my shirt wrapped around it for safe-keeping. I couldn't understand what the fuss was about, but in retrospect, I knew that my baby needed a new haven--designed just for it.

4. Affordable:  I don't want to have to decide between paying my mortgage or buying a camera bag (so immediately, any designer's name who I can't pronounce is off my list.)  As the saying goes: "If you can't pronounce it, you probably can't afford it."  Well, that works for about 80% of the time, but you get what I'm saying

And alas, my quest finally ended today at a little past midnight.  I just purchased my first camera bag that meets all of my stipulations and I am stoked!  Unfortunately, due to its widespread popularity within the first few days on the market, I had to pre-order mine to ship in mid-May.  That's the bummer, but I suppose good things come to those who wait. 

The bags come in a variety of colors (I, being a sucker for classic, ordered the black one) and are designed by Kelly Moore, a photographer based in Louisiana, who also was fed up with the lack of selection among camera bags.  You can purchase or pre-order her bags at Kelly Moore Bags for $199.   I know, not as dirt cheap as one would hope, but I consider it an investment. After all, the bag is versatile enough that I can take it to work and dinner, so I did the math and figured I would definitely get my money's worth.  Not only that, but I was really digging the photo on her site of the business woman with her KM bag and I thought, hey, that really DOES look professional.  I won't look like a high school kid after all. Immediately, I was sold.

Courtesy of Kelly More Bags.

Here's the Kelly Moore Bag promo video.


Kelly Moore Bag - Promo Film from Joshua Smith on Vimeo.

Additionally, if you want more bags to choose from, my friend just purchased the Ginger bag from Epiphanie created by another photographer, Maile Wilson.  The bag is currently taking a trip with her in Turkey, so I'm excited to hear how it held up as she was sooo thrilled when her shipment arrived.  And get this, it's lightly less pricey then mine at $164.99.  I am seriously tempted to purchase the red one.

Screen shot pictures above courtesy of Diary of a Mod Housewife.

So, there you have it! Choices for foodies who love to shoot! Can't wait to get mine!