One of the least exciting piece of photo gear has to be a sandbag. I can’t remember the last time I was in a room filled with photographers and we enthusiastically talked about them. Although sandbags are not exciting, they are an important piece of gear that adds safety to a set.
Common Uses for Sandbags
- Weigh a light stand down.
- Counter balance for a boom.
- Steady a tripod in wind during long exposures.
- Keeping seamless paper from curling.
Avoid a Mess (Add a Bag Inside)
Here is a neat trick. Fill a heavy duty plastic Ziploc bag with sand, then insert the bag inside the sandbag. This keeps the sandbag clean plus makes it easy to empty for travel or shipping.
If you need to travel, you can go with empty sandbags. Then when you get to your destination, hit the beach or stop by a Home Depot and buy a 50lbs bag of play sand for about 4 bucks.
ePhoto FOUR Photo Video Sand Bag Light Stand Sandbags by ePhoto INC 4SBblack
I know sandbags are not exciting but the safety they add to a set makes them an asset to your business liability insurance!
Vanelli
Currently he is teaching workshops, writing for Photofocus and creating tutorials for various plug-in companies and for the Vanelli and Friends series.
You can find out more about Vanelli at www.VanelliandFriends.com
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I highly suggest filling “sandbags” with pea gravel instead of sand.
I use scrap metal in mine. I got four used disk brake pads and put each one in a ziplok bag and then one in each side of the sandbag. Works like a treat and there’s no risk of spillage.
Great idea with the ziplock bags! I travel quite a bit and fill my sandbags with sand, dirt, and sometimes small gravel. I probably carry dirt and sand from about 5 different countries around at any one time.
Another good use of a sandbag for a camera support for low angle shots. If packed right the sandbags can be molded to support the camera at various angle for really low shots.
How about filling the sandbag with bird seed and empty it on the ground when you leave for the birds.
It’s good to put sand into the zipper plastic bag. Important thing is you have to use only dry sand. More expensive solution is to fill it with metal bearing balls, it will be much heavier.
Pea gravel from Home Depot is cleaner and easier for me.