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Best Destination Wedding Photographer Airmiles

Air Miles & Status – Part Five

A Practical Approach to Travel as a Wedding Photographer

Part FIVE: An Introduction to Air Miles & Status
Find Part FOUR “Staying Productive on the Move” here
Find Part Three “Zero Hassle Destination Weddings” here.
Find Part Two “Travel Money” here.
Find Part One “Hand Baggage” here.

I fully appreciate that for some of you the idea of “Air Miles” is not one that seems worthwhile considering, or even an exciting subject to read about, especially if your travelling infrequently. In fact, whilst most people have a basic understanding of what “air miles” are, few people actually understand the benefits and loop-holes that can really pay-off for you, and hence why a few, myself included, do find them extremely interesting. Admittedly, it’s normally by some accident that you come to discover more than a “points for flying” explanation of these things called ‘miles’.

I have avoided exploring in any great depth the tricks of mile hacking here, but have instead chosen to explain a few facts of the industry. Unfortunately, airline miles and the world of; money saving, point collecting, status flying and credit card accumulation is a little more complex than that simple ‘points for flying’ explanation that I wish it could be.

However, that simple explanation is the base for any deeper understanding and here I hope to plant the seed for learning more of what could work for you independently.

Why so complicated. In my view, there are four main reasons that the world of air miles appears from the outside to be so complex or ‘pointless’ :) …

ONE Understanding the difference between Air Miles ‘points’, and Airline Loyalty ‘status’. More often than not, I hear people discuss points when actually they mean ‘status’. The simple difference is this; points are like pennies in a jar, they can be collected and redeemed against the cash value of a ticket. Status on the other hand, whilst often accumulated on a point based system, CANNOT be redeemed for cash, but rather are more like stars on a child’s school card. The more stars against your name, the more you are rewarded.

TWO Once you understand that there is a difference between ‘money off’ and ‘building status’ with an airline, the next incorrect assumption is that ‘this is only worth knowing if you fly ALOT’. This is simply not the case. Mid-level tier status with OneWorld (the alliance that includes; Iberia, British Airways, Qatar, Air Berlin, and 11 others) can be obtained by flying as little as 4 flights (a mixture of long-haul business and first), and is easily achievable by splashing out just once every 18 months on a return business trip to Asia (for circa £1,000!) and then taking 4 additional short-haul flights for as little as £39 each.

The same status is also achievable by taking 25 return trips in economy seats with the cheapest tickets you can find. However shopping around and splurging once on a long-haul business flight can be very rewarding – plus it’s an experience I highly recommend! ;) I did this recently for as little as £800, and as well as the status guarantee, got to take 4 long haul business class flights with Qatar for my troubles – not too shabby.

“So what? Now I get a free bacon roll?” I hear you ask.

No! Sadly not. But for the next 12+ months, you will have FREE access to all One World airport lounges, priority check-in, priority boarding, free seat selection, free additional checked-baggage and fast track security at some airports… Every Time You Fly!

For me, if I had to pick between points and status, I would pick status every time. It’s status that makes my travel life so much more productive, enjoyable and rewarding – not the ‘points’.

THREE However, ‘points’ do play a role, and once you start flying consistency with one alliance, the doors can open for you and the places you can visit for “very cheap” prices – start to appear. Just last week I spotted a deal to New York in Business from Madrid, for less than £200 per/person (& 65,000 points). What’s the catch? Well, potentially there isn’t one. It’s working out the value of a point to you, but that can get confusing and here is why…

Gone are the days where you received 4,000 points for flying 4,000 miles. And likewise, it’s complete rubbish you require 4,000 points to fly 4,000 miles. Personally, I value a point at £0.01. Fairly ridiculous right? well… wait. I know other people that will value them as little as £0.005, and some who value them as much £0.03. Yep, 3 whole pence!

The reason someone might value a point at £0.03 is two-fold. Firstly, the cost of collecting them in the first place i.e) did you pay for the flights personally, or did the business? If you collect 10,000 points for a flight, but someone else paid, then clearly those points were free to collect. Secondly, what are you redeeming them for and what are the alternatives? Would you have paid for business class? Are you using them for shop vouchers, first class flights from London to Australia, or a 2-hour economy flight? How you collect/redeem and IF you would have paid the cash alternative, are all factors to consider.

Anyhow… my point is… (excuse my accidental metaphor), that it can get confusing when you don’t actually know what the damn things are worth!

Over the years I have developed an understanding of what a single point is worth to me, and it will take some time to understand what they can be worth to you. Yet, there is absolutely NO REASON not to collect them. At the very least you can convert them to an M&S voucher, or the like (I am not recommending this – it’s an option).

My advice would be to focus more on the “status” if you take up to 25 flights a year, and if not, then don’t dismiss the points benefits. When combined, they can create a rewarding mix.

FOUR Finally, I want to install the knowledge that the best way to collect points, is not necessarily flying. In 2016 I collected approximately 160,000 points, at a personal valuation of circa £1,600.00. Not bad, hey? However, as little as 25% of those points came from flying. The rest, primarily, came from credit card spending and credit card sign-up bonuses. This is one of the secret ingredients that point collectors exploit. It’s still possible to collect those sort of miles from flying alone, but you will need to be consistency flying A LOT of long haul in business class. Since I fly 80% of the time in economy class, the credit cards are my keys to a few reward flights each year.

Like a First Class Return trip to Dubai. (because I like that sort of thing)

;)

If you like geeky articles on photography, travel and productivity, just like this one, please tell me.

To Conclude:

(1) You can build status within an alliance by flying with ANY of the members of that alliance – interchangeably. You do NOT have to fly with just ONE airline.

(2) Likewise, when you gain status with one airline, you then have the same (or similar) benefits, with all other airlines, within that alliance.

(3) Whilst I talk about ‘OneWorld’, ‘airline alliances’ and ‘status’, you should know that there are actually THREE different alliances, the other two being; Star Alliance and Sky Team. Everything I have said is almost certainly transferable knowledge, accept the terminology, and the values might be slightly different. If you live in the UK or Spain, it’s likely OneWorld will be for you. If you live in Denmark, Sweden or Norway, then it’s likely to be Star Alliance, because of SAS.

Check the airline you fly with or could fly with, and which alliance they belong to.

Status with an airline can be incredibly rewarding, and productive if you let it!

Best Destination Wedding Photographer Productivity on the move

Productivity – Part Four

A Practical Approach to Travel as a Wedding Photographer

Part FOUR: Staying Productive on the Move
Find Part Three “Zero Hassle Destination Weddings” here.
Find Part Two “Travel Money” here.
Find Part One “Hand Baggage” here.

If you regularly sit in a fixed office space with a desktop computer, fibre optic internet and draws full of everything you could possibly need for any task – then staying productive on the move might come as a little challenging. Your current schedule might not exactly package up into a 4 day trip on the road? On the contrary, if your life is already one of coffee shops and a little more ‘nomadic’ -then this might come a little more naturally.

It’s amazing how easy it is to stop being efficient when everything you ‘need’ to stay productive has to fit under the ‘seat in front of you’.

Are you Offline or Online? One of the things I have implemented over the last few years of travelling has been becoming strict with myself about what tasks are online, and which are offline – and with that same intention, which can be done on my 11” MacBook, and which tasks require me to be sat for longer periods at a larger display. By organising your to-do list into a system whereby you know what to be doing when, can be extremely time-saving, and remove a lot of frustration!

For example; you don’t want to board a flight to write emails, only to realise you haven’t downloaded your emails on your laptop – We have all done it! Likewise, it would be silly to plan on doing all your culling in an airport, only to then not be able to do your social media whilst in the air.

Personally, I find splitting my tasks between online/offline and then home/away a very useful activity. My day-to-day or week-to-week tasks get saved up and scheduled for the most efficient times to be doing them. It’s easy to do, but also easy not to do.

On a flight for a few hours; I would recommend culling, writing, podcasts and reading.

In an airport; I would recommend social media, blogging and emails.

In a coffee shop with internet then research, travel planning and some big thinking are normally the order of the day.

I find different environments, like inspiring coffee shops, really great places to switch my brain into top gear and therefore put me in a good place to learn and write. ( like right now! )

And then home at your desktop, I would recommend the heavy internet tasks and large screen tasks such as you main editing.

Splitting your tasks this way is vitally important because if you’re away from home for 3 or 4 days, and then get home having only really worked one of those days, the ‘travel time’ becomes ‘dead time’. When I am on the road, I consider my travel time as ‘super productive time’, I plan to arrive home without a massive ‘to do’ list, but with time to relax and work on editing and bigger tasks.

Cloud Syncing. One of the best value subscription tools I have is Dropbox. Dropbox is my fail safe back up on the road, and also my way of transferring files quickly and efficiently between my various computers. Some people store things on Hard Drives and their Desktop, I store everything within Dropbox.

In practice I use Dropbox for 4 keys tasks:

Backup JPEG copies of all my images on the move. As soon as I have some internet, normally overnight in a hotel room, I will allow all my files from a wedding to backup to Dropbox in a JPEG form. This is worst case scenario and on top of the four RAW hard copies, I already carry.
Sync Lightroom Catalogs between my own computers, to Poppy (my other half), and to any outsourcing company. Whilst a typical wedding is approximately 100GB of Raw files, once selected and rendered as Smart Previews in Lightroom, this comes down to under 2GB and is easy to sync with some good internet in a Hotel or Airport. (if the internet is rubbish – don’t attempt it)
Nomadic Backup. If I was to have my laptop and phone stolen/broken/lost then I could log in to my Dropbox account from any device and access any files I might need in any place, anytime. Not just my photo files, but literally anything on my Mac, nothing is on my computer that is not synced, with the exception of original raws.
If you have a fast internet connection at home, I have also started to use Dropbox as a means to backup DNG copies of all my files too (thanks to Photographer Chris Giles, for this one).

Be sure to use Dropbox’s selective sync option, especially for RAW or DNG syncing. Of course, there are alternatives to Dropbox, I have been using Dropbox for years and it’s a classic example of being invested in their technology.

Checklists/Systems. Alongside Dropbox, I use another online tool, Trello. If you have followed me for a while, you will have read about all the ways I use Trello to optimise my business tasks and post-production workflows, thus I won’t repeat that now. What I do want to mention is the importance of having some form of system or checklist for your repeatable workflows. Not only does having a checklist of tasks save brain power for more creative tasks, but they also help you stay organised and schedule what you can and cannot do when you’re on the move.

I believe this to be crucially important at the best of times – personally, I go as far as making a checklist for my morning routine. For example; I’m terrible and forgetting to eat breakfast at the moment, so a morning checklist is great for that too. However, without going that far, it would be my recommendation to create a checklist for some of the following scenarios…

Camera Bag Contents Checklist
Booking Checklist
Travel Plans Checklist
Backup Checklist
Editing Checklist

I use these, and many more, for every single wedding and client so that; I am providing the same high standards to everyone, lessen the chances of forgetting something, and have everything in one place, all the time, anywhere!

Trello is a great free online tool that will allow you to do this, but there are many others. I would suggest a digital one so that your not reliant on having a notebook with you and you can easily copy and paste for each new client/couple.

Whenever you do the same task twice, you know that you need to add it to a checklist. Poppy hates me endlessly adding things to our business workflow, but the consistency, quality, customer service and brain power we can save is superb, and it’s scalable too.

The more you can automate and checklist your life, the less energy you burn thinking about it, modern technology can be your worst enemy, but I suggest making it work for you and letting it become your best friend. It’s taken me years and several good books to realise this, but getting a grasp of some basic systems and you’ll be hooked and begin to save energy for more deep and creative work.

Environment to Work. Without a doubt, my number one hack for staying productive on the move is the mantra that ‘Cheap is not always best’ it’s obvious, but so easily forgotten when you travel. Whilst you might scrimp on the airline you fly with, or the luggage you carry, please save a few £$€, for putting yourself in a good place when you’re in an airport, enter – Airport Lounges.

I am amazed how late people leave this idea in their travelling thoughts, and yes they do become a lot more affordable if you travel frequently. However, for me, and for anyone else I have converted, they are so incredibly important to being productive on the move. Even more so if you’re flying long haul and find yourself at the airport for 2+ hours at a time.

As a result, the time I spend away from my laptop when moving through an airport is very minimal, probably about 30 minutes on average, allowing 10 minutes for security, 5 minutes to walk to the lounge and a further 15 minutes from lounge seat to my onboard window seat.

And who doesn’t love a 30-minute podcast?

Working in a lounge with coffee on tap, food, plug sockets, wifi, clean toilets, maybe a shower, and at times – proper working desks, or cubicles – for me, a total no-brainer!

A lounge for a one off visit will probably cost you around £25 if you book in advance. If you take 10+ flights a year, check out a basic Priority Pass that will bring that down to around £15 per visit and grants you access to the vast majority of non-airline branded lounges.

If you travel more than that, then I would ask you to strongly consider an American Express Platinum Card which comes with a top spec ‘unlimited’ Priority Pass – you can’t even buy this one.

Another option is building mid-level status with an airline alliance, but that’s for another day. Priority Pass is the best option for most, especially if you fly regularly with non-alliance airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair and Norwegian.

My Throne. 12A, on most flights this is where you will find me sat. Why? Extra Legroom, Exit Seat, No Kids sat behind me and a window seat. I could also choose 12F for the same reasons.

I travel most frequently on British Airways A320’s and hence the layout of the plane becomes familiar to me, however, you can use SeatGuru, or your airline’s seating map, to work out the best seat for you. If you use EasyJet seat selection then you pay a modest £20 per flight for these seats, plus you also get speeding boarding and can take TWO bags into the cabin with you.

The reason I mention my seat preference here is coming back to the idea of creating consistency and knowing what you are doing ahead of time. The less I have to use my limited daily energy on the topic of where my seat is each time I fly, the more productive I can be on the road and in turn the less I have to do when I get home.

12A and 12F normally work for me on British Airways & EasyJet, but check the configuration of your flight! As I write this, Easyjet is rolling out some new spec A320’s which are slightly different and British Airways are following the same process soon.

The A321’s are even better! (full stretch out leg-room). – Different seat number.

Mobile – If you travel frequently, even just within Europe, you’ll want to highly consider activating a travel-friendly phone plan, this has got MUCH cheaper in the last 2 or 3 years. For example, I now have a UK phone number that charges me zero extra fees anywhere in the EU. Therefore I rarely use my Spanish number at all.

New EU regulation has eased the cost pressure for those travelling within the EU. However, if you’re based outside the EU and travel into Europe frequently, it’s probably worth getting a local SIM at the airport, keeping it and using that as your ‘in Europe’ number.

There are also many services online now that will allow you to forward calls between international numbers that you own, or you can create a Skype number. Invocco is another option.

For those travelling from within the EU to other destinations across the world, I would recommend a local SIM on arrival, but only if you need to be connected to data frequently and you are away for more than a couple days.

Personally, if I am away shooting a wedding I am unlikely to need to use my phone for calls, so for simplicity, and because I am normally on the ground for as little as 2-3 days, I will simply use my UK number and pay the fees.

For longer trips – Yes, a local sim card!

Or learn to live without 4G and plan lots of off-line tasks. It could be the precious time you need to spend on some long-term goal setting, or educating yourself with a good book.

SatNav. What about when I need to use my SatNav? I will need data roaming then, won’t I?

No.

It’s a little-known fact that you can download offline maps to your phone and use your phone as a SatNav when you travel without ever being connected to data, in fact, you can even use it in flight safe mode.

Okay, I admit, you won’t get real-time traffic updates, but hopefully, you’re not driving anywhere like the M25 anyhow and very few countries actually have such a service.

Instead, all you need is £20 to spend on phone maps. I would recommend ‘SatNav by Scout’ and their worldwide downloadable plan – £20 or less. Then all you will need to carry with you is a small car phone cradle and a car charger.

I use the Kenu Airframe, a Griffen Dual Power Jolt, and an Amazon Basics Lightning Cable – all of which takes up minimal room in my bag and fits in every car I have ever rented. You’ll be set up for driving in any country!

And what do Avis want to charge you for a SatNav rental anyway? – no, thank you.

Tip: Before running away from Wifi at the airport, be sure to make sure all the venues/meeting places and hotels are marked on your maps, as you can’t search for place names once offline. Even better, checklist this for the week prior.

Kings & Queens of Concentration. Headphones are so important for keeping me in the ‘zone’ when I travel, so much so that I carry as many as 3 sets – just in case. Many people prefer over-ear and noise cancelling headphones for travelling on planes, and whilst I totally understand why, I find a simple £20 Apple set work just fine. They take up very little room, and it’s easy to carry spares.

If flying long-haul and you like music to sleep or the silence that noise-cancelling can provide, then maybe consider them. When I want to sleep on flights, I use a 20cent pair of earplugs and a free eye mask I was given on an Emirates flight once. This works for me, and noise cancellation works for other people.

You’ll need to trial what works best for you, but you might want to try my approach before splashing out on a £300 pair of bulky headphones.

Whatever you do, headphones can keep you productive and in the ‘zone’. Consider creating different Spotify playlists for concentration, workout and chill-out time. And, for that ‘dead time’ during taxi, take-off and landing, you can switch to a good podcast.

If you like geeky articles on photography, travel and productivity, just like this one, please tell me.

For more productivity hacks, you should also check out my Productivity Hacks for 2017 post.

Barney’s Top Tips:

(1) If you’re hiring a car when you arrive, take a phone cradle with you so you don’t have to buy one when you arrive, or worst, have to hire a SatNav you’re not used to and get charged an arm and a leg for it.

(2) Pack your clothes around your camera equipment. I wouldn’t be able to travel for 4 days hand baggage only without this common sense approach. It also provides your equipment with more padding when you’re lugging it in and out of the overhead bins. Non-crease clothes are a winner!

(3) Wear your sunglasses onto the plane. It might be raining, it might be snowing, it might even be a force 5 hurricane, well I hope not as you probably won’t be taking off at all. Anyway, whatever the weather on the ground, remember once you’re a mile high – there is no weather. Sunglasses on! You’re welcome.

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Zero Hassle – Part Three

A Practical Approach to Travel as a Wedding Photographer

Find Part Four: “Staying Productive on the Move” here.
Part THREE: Zero Hassle Destination Weddings
Find Part Two “Travel Money” here.
Find Part One “Hand Baggage” here.

Recently, several of you have reached out to me about how to best go about shooting your first international wedding, however by the time I can offer my opinion it’s sometimes too late to put into action some of what I can easily help with. Thus I hope to be able to put a few of my core beliefs and ideas of how to have a life of less travel hassle…

Probably the best word I can use to describe my attitude towards travelling hassle free is – consistency.

Now, I can already hear the nay-sayers thinking, boring! However, stick with me, the title of this blog is not, ‘adventure at every corner’ and whilst I love some adventure as much as the next person, when working and when being paid to be somewhere – consistency, trumps adventure, every time. This is not just a joyride, it’s a job too. A job that when coupled with a stress-free travel environment, and amazing couples, naturally breeds enjoyment and perhaps even – fulfilment.

Control. The first way to create consistency with travel, whether 5 trips a year or 50, is to implement personal control over your own travel arrangements. Having your clients book your travel might seem like a golden idea and a complete time saver for you. It’s not!

You won’t be thanking them for booking you on the cheapest flight possible or the earliest flight out (which also happens to be the airport furthest from you). And you certainly will not be thanking them for inputting your passport details incorrectly on the API.

Having control, researching and picking the travel arrangements that best suit you is one of the best tips I can offer. It might not seem like a big deal, but when you have control, you can be assured that you’re travelling on the correct flight, with the correct airline, form the correct airport. What’s more, if you start some loyalty with an airline later down the line, it’s much easier to credit any previously flown flights toward some status. More on that another time.

Just to give you one more crucial reason this is important, and believe me, there are many many more… Mobile boarding passes with most airlines are generated within your online account (or mobile app), so to save having to find a printer or going back and forth in emails with your couples to try and receive the correct login details you need – Book Your Own Travel!

Consistency of Airline & Airport. Flying with 10 different airlines, from a variety of airports, all with different procedures and baggage requirements is no fun whatsoever. Whether you choose Ryanair, EasyJet, SAS, Iberia or any other global airline, it’s rewarding in both time, and often money, to stick to one, or a small handful when flying – especially so when building loyalty.

Of course, it’s not always possible to travel with the same airline or even from the same airport. On occasion the route you wish existed – simply will not. You may have to fly a new airline or fly from a different airport, or both. When this happens, you’ll need to do a little more research into baggage restrictions and allow yourself more time to travel through a new environment. Where at all possible, even for the sake of a few £$, it’s my view to choose a familiar airport and airline to save yourself time and energy that you could otherwise be deployed in your business elsewhere.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. Last year I took more than 30 trips, visited 12 countries, totalling more than 60 international flights, stayed over 100 nights in hotel rooms and hired enough cars to of received top level Avis status TWICE OVER!

I say this because it illustrates a point that then when you repeat any task, like booking travel arrangements here, as you repeat you get very proficient at doing it quickly when you’re visiting the same websites to book the same/similar flights, hotels and cars.

I always implement a quick Kayak search to make sure I am not overpaying too much for my loyalty to an airline, airport or hotel chain, but simplicity, speed and familiarity are my friends.

Having a repeatable system when booking travel, even if only for a few trips a year, is unquestionably useful and provides peace of mind that all the boxes are ‘physically’ ticked.

I use Trello to keep track of all my travel arrangements (and nearly everything else, including this article). Most of my flights and hotel bookings are automatically added into my digital diary, but it’s in Trello I can find all my details and keep track of what I have, and haven’t already booked, for any given trip.

Hotel?

Car Hire?

Parking?

Flight Number?

Early AM flight?

Lounge?

You bet Trello will give me the answer.

You’ll save yourself so much time in the long run by taking half an hour to arrange your own trip as opposed to having your clients do it for you. What’s more, every airline and major hotel chain takes American Express, so you can bag some nice cash back or miles for some personal travel too!

“My business travel pays for my personal travel.”

Your clients don’t know what’s best for you, so next time they offer to book things for you, educate them that you need to have control and they will thank you for it, don’t they have enough to do without worrying about your travel requirements anyhow?

Remember to tell them your flights are booked though – they’ll probably want to know you’re organised. :)

Later, if you begin to travel more frequently, this mindset of self-organisation at the outset will mean that as you grow you will have developed a formula you can grow into, rather than a mass of email confirmations that you can’t find when you’re moving about because of lack of 4G! :)

The Overhead Test. I can summarise this point in one sentence for you. ‘If it doesn’t fit in the overhead for a destination wedding, do you need it for any wedding?’

I’ll explain a little more…

If you only plan on travelling once or twice or year, this is where a lack of experience can really hurt you, simply because you’re unlikely to be prepared for the practicalities of travel. If you have a driving licence (myself included), this is specifically aimed at you. When you drive to weddings it’s easy to get yourself in the habit of having every backup and eventuality covered. Your car, if anything like mine, can quickly become an Aladdin’s cave of things you might need, someday – next year – never!

When you fly, you don’t have the luxury of carrying 5 cameras, 10 lenses, 2 tripods and 3 sets of spare clothes. So when you start to travel frequently it’s important to build your equipment base and the foundations of ‘what you actually need’ around the worst case scenario of what you can carry. This is why I have built my ‘core’ photography equipment that I use weekly to document weddings around the basis of 12KG’s that can fit inside a Think Tank Airport Advantage for an ‘arhhhh’ Flybe flight.

Whilst I rarely travel with that little amount of equipment, (thank you EasyJet, British Airways & Iberia) I know, if need be, I can do it – and that is a comforting feeling.

Sure when flying isn’t involved I may have a few extra items; an extra set of clothes than normal, or maybe a lighting stand, or soft box that I never actually need – but very little else. When you become familiar with a set amount of equipment in your car, then come to realise you can’t (or otherwise make it hard for yourself) to travel with that same equipment – life can become frustrating.

In reducing your equipment, you will actually have made life much simpler for yourself, not to mention a whole lot lighter! – your neck and back with thank you for sure.

The key really is that you quickly become familiar with the same selection of equipment available in every location, anywhere in the world. It’s the same equipment if I am shooting a wedding in Cornwall, Marbella, Lake Como, London or Bali – you have got to love consistency!

So many advantages.

Plus, who needs 6 flash guns and 10 lenses anyhow?

Slim your gear down, make life simpler and you’ll thank yourself.

Minus Stressful Situations. Take some time to think what it is that could make you stressed, or just a little apprehensive, and then reverse engineer that situation to think of things you can do now, to help avoid or better eliminate what’s to come.

A quick example would be the fear of having all your images in one place as you are unable to separate them on the move. This is something I will go into more depth within a future article. But to reverse think that situation, here are some of the thoughts that come to my mind…

Multiple copies – 4 or more in my case.
Separating wherever possible, I keep two copies in one bag, a third in a second bag and a forth in my trouser/short pocket. (I find the Lacie Rugged drives are perfect for a pocket size drive.)
Where possible a cloud back-up. (even if JPEG only – it’s a fail-safe strategy)
Using a small Peli or Otter case for a minimum of one copy. (fire/water/crush resistant)
Backing up to multiple copies at the earliest opportunity. (I never even step into a car to leave a wedding until I have a minimum of 3 copies)

In my view the above should be implemented whether shooting a wedding 5 or 5,000 miles from home, but when you travel you involve a few extra risks and thus for me this is completely routine.

If you like geeky articles on photography, travel and productivity, just like this one, please tell me.

Barney’s Top Tips

(1) If you find yourself frequently on the limit with hand baggage, consider investing in a different bag. Personally, I love a bag with wheels, as I hate sweating because I’m wearing a backpack. However, backpacks naturally have less weight (no wheels or handles) and can ‘appear’ to look less bulky, especially if you’re flying with the budget airlines. Worth considering.

(2) If you buy a bag with wheels, avoid 4 wheels, it seems like a good idea at first, but once you’re on a bus or train and let go of the handle, you’ll soon find your bag rolling away from you.

(3) If you get asked by ground staff to check your hand baggage due to the plane being full, kindly explain that you would prefer not too because there is $$$ of fragile equipment within. This will normally resolve the situation. To avoid being forced into an argument, board the plane earlier! Worst case, if you get given a luggage tag to gate check your bag, promptly remove it when out of sight and walking towards the plane.

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Best Destination Wedding Photographer Travel Money

Travel Money – Part Two

A Practical Approach to Travel as a Wedding Photographer

Find Part Four: “Staying Productive on the Move” here.
Find Part Three Zero Hassle here
Part TWO: Travel Money
Find Part ONE “Hand Baggage” here.

Cash is dead.

Cash is no longer king, cash is dead! The truth is, if you’re travelling in the first world, cash is almost dead. Yes, it’s important to always have a little chum change, but my philosophy is correct – you will not convince me otherwise. :)

I don’t know about you, but I hate having to carry cash at the best of times anyhow – especially multiple currencies. It’s not only unsafe, it’s costing you money – serious money!

When you convert currencies, someone is benefiting, it’s a transaction in itself and in every transaction someone is making money, and it’s definitely not you, and let me tell you – it’s more than a couple Euros when you add it up.

While watching someone exchange money at an airport makes my insides scream to the hills, there are some smart ways to get cash if you need it. Using online comparison tools to mail order currency to your door for example, (http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com).

However, this is still an extremely inefficient way to get your cash in the first world – so my philosophy is ditch the cash all together!

If you’re travelling to the middle of a rainforest, on a boat out at sea, or elsewhere away from a phone line or ATM, then yes, okay, re-think your strategy slightly. Otherwise, save yourself some money, collect some points and have some extra drinks on your holiday’s instead!

(If you’re a couple looking for less travel advice and more Destination Wedding Photography, then you just need to click here.)

Travel Money Best Practices

UPDATE – 25th May 2017

Sadly, it has been confirmed yesterday by the Supercard team, that they will be withdrawing the card from circulation on the 24th June 2017. This withdrawal is not just for future customers, but also for all current card holders. So, if you have a Supercard, from the 24th June 2017, it will cease to work from then onwards.

So, what’s next?

As I go on to mention below, a secondary option for me, alongside the Supercard, has been a 0% FX fee credit card. Two of the top players are by the Post Office and Halifax. The Halifax Clarity Card has the additional benefit of not charging any fees for cash withdrawals, as well as normal purchase transactions, something I have not seen on any other FX credit card. However do be careful to pay off IN FULL every month. Another option pointed out to me recently is the Santander Zero Card – if you are already a Santander current account holder.

Rewards?

None of the above mentioned cards will earn you cash back or reward points of any kind on your spending, but since the majority of debit and credit cards in circulation charge a 3% fee for all foreign spending, this might be something you can overlook, as the 3% saving is likely to outweigh any points you may have earnt.

Is there not another Supercard ‘like’ product?

There is, and it’s called a ‘Curve’ card. Originally introduced about 12 months ago aimed at the UK business market, it is rumoured to be rolling out a personal card very soon, and with Supercard withdrawing from the market, this might be the perfect time for them to get going. Whilst the current card is meant to be used for business transactions only, it is not hard for any sole trader to apply for one either. (I have one.)

The free version of the card comes with £5 free spending when you are referred, see below.

Like Supercard, a ‘Curve’ card is NOT a credit card, and thus, there are zero credit checks.

Another great thing about Curve is that it can be used in the UK too and has its own reward scheme. The negative is that does charge you 1% on foreign transactions, however, you can link the Curve app to a UK reward credit card (Mastercard & Visa only), and thus offset or completely eliminate the 1% fee.

A final point is that there is currently a monthly cap on international cash withdrawals of £250 (or equivalent).

Use this code for your £5 free spending: NRO2D

*please note; I also receive a £5 credit for referring you.

If you fly frequently and collect Avios, then it might be worthwhile checking out the £24 annual fee Lloyds Avios Card. More on this below…

Pre-paid cards.

For those of you not wishing to have an additional credit card to spend abroad, a final option would be Caxton or FairFX pre-paid Mastercard. On most days the FairFX does offer a slightly better rate over Caxton. Both are very similar, offer the same pre-paid service coupled with a mobile application, and both can be loaded anytime with a number of currencies.

I have one, but don’t like to use them, unless I have to.

They can be great to lock in an exchange rate you are happy with, but they do tie up cash and you never know what is going to happen with the exchange rate, so what might have been a good rate 3 months ago, might not turn out the way you planned. Of course, the reverse is also true.

Whilst the rate is good and much better than cash, it is historically not as good as that of a 0% fee credit card.

Original Content:

Option ONE – Supercard. (UK residents only)

A Supercard is a FREE product offered by Travelex that when combined with it’s iPhone or Android, App will allow you to turn any of your existing credit or debit cards into a ZERO commission overseas spending card. What’s more, you can link a Supercard to a reward card too. Let’s say you have an Amazon cash back credit card, you can link your Amazon card to your Supercard and then all your international spending becomes not only fee-free, but you can now also collect cash back on your spending too! Win Win.

If needed, you can also use Supercard to withdraw cash from an ATM in the vast majority of local currencies. This will cost you 1%, which is far superior to the standard 3% charged by most UK banks on foreign transactions. If you bank with Metro or Halifax you may be safe, but do check your own account. Current accounts from; Barclays, HSBC, Santander & Lloyds are all terrible for overseas spending – use them if you like giving your bank free money.

Supercard is NOT a credit card, it only uses the credit available on current credit cards or cash in your current account. Supercard handles the transaction which is a near perfect rate, whilst your linked card is debited in GBP.

(I am not endorsing Travelex as a company. Please don’t EVER exchange money at Travelex desks in the airport – it’s near the worst rate you can ever get – if you simply HAVE to exchange at an airport then pre-order online for better rates)

Option TWO – Specialist Credit Cards

Supercard is a great option for most people, however since it relies on a communication between two intermediaries, it can, on occasion, fail. Leaving you in a little bit of a pickle. Also, if like myself, you just love to be rewarded for ALL your spending, at the highest possible rate, then you may want to consider a specialist American Express (Amex) credit card.

Supercard has an American Express (Amex) restriction and thus does not allow me to make Amex level rewards in places I could otherwise receive 1%+ in cash back. Mastercard credit cards typically offer no more than 0.5% in cash back, or comparable rewards.

There are several credit cards available that will offer rewards for a small annual charge, my top pick and the account I currently use is the Lloyds Avios Duo, this provides you with both a Mastercard and Amex which you can use interchangeably and collect Avios globally. The annual fee is £24. You also receive an upgrade voucher for one Avios qualifying flight each year you spend £7,000 or more on the cards combined.

If you’re looking for a fee-free card then the products offered by Halifax (Clarity) and The Post Office are both cards I have held in the past. I am also aware of the Santander Zero card, which might be easier if you already bank with them.

Email me to be referred and receive an additional Sign Up Bonus! ( info (at) barneywalters.co.uk )

What do you do use Barney?

I use the Supercard (it’s FREE! and no credit search), and the Lloyds Avios Duo cards interchangeably. I am always paying ZERO exchange fees and always being rewarded for any spending. The Supercard plus a backup card with minimal or zero fees is a good combination for most people. Especially if you don’t want to apply for any new credit.

Always have some cash.

Not having any cash, can, at times, be a problem. My philosophy is to always carry around £20 in cash or currency equivalent, and if driving – carrying that cash in change – the most common use I have for this cash when travelling for weddings? – car parking.

Personally, I’ll choose to withdraw that cash on arrival at my destination airport at the first ATM I see. I use my Supercard and pay 1% for the convenience, which I’ll then charge to a Credit Card redeeming 0.5% (or more) and then the cost to me is 0.5% at most.

Practical tip: After withdrawing 20 Euro, or similar, from a cash point, I’ll then buy a bottle of still water, which I’ll likely need anyhow, and then ask for the change in as much ‘change’ as possible – I am now car park (or toll)* friendly. :)

*most tolls in France/Italy/Spain now take Amex.

Ultimately the amount of cash you need for any given trip is dependent on where you’re heading. My go to amount is; £20, or 20euro, or $30 – but make your own judgements.

90% of the time I never use any cash and end up keeping it for the next trip.

Why have you not mentioned Visa?

Historically, Mastercard provides a better day-to-day exchange rate than Visa. Simple.

Visa, Mastercard and Amex all set their own daily ‘flat’ exchange rates, and Mastercard nearly always comes out on top. Hence you’ll find most ‘globally friendly’ cards to be Mastercard. If an Amex is ‘internationally friendly’, then the slight extra 0.001%* you’re paying for the conversion is likely outweighed by the additional rewards offered.

*approx %.

Back Ups of Back Ups

Just like when you back up your images 3 or 4 times before leaving a wedding, be sure to have just as many backups for your spending. The most common stressful situations I hear about when people travel is they take two, or even worse, just one card away with them.

Then to compound the problem, because they have not travelled outside their home country for a few months, both cards have been locked on day one of their travels for ‘security’ reasons. Whilst thankfully this is becoming a little easier by being able to confirm a transaction via a phone app, or by text, it’s not fixed completely – so be aware.

Some banks and credit providers still require ‘notice of travel’. The Lloyds card I mentioned above allows you to do this within the mobile banking app. Once you’re travelling a couple times a month though, this problem does seem to fade away as banks get used to your spending habits – it’s been a long time since I had a ‘security’ check and I never tell anyone when I travel, not even through an App anymore. – not that I suggest this as a best practice, it’s simply because I frequently (i.e weekly) travel between European countries and my bank(s) have become used to this.

The main point is travel with an assortment of cards, and if possible split them between two separate locations within your luggage, I always keep one or more with my passport, whilst several others are in my wallet for day-to-day spending.

Last Defence

A final fail safe I implement for access to cash abroad is keeping copies of all my cards in a secure online space. Somewhere online which is password protected and that you can access from any computer.

A dedicated dropbox account could work, or a LastPass style online volt, just don’t forget the password! You should also use this space to keep copies of your passport, travel insurance, medical cover and driving licence. If the worst were to happen, at least you might have means to check into a hotel or pay a medical bill.

A final point on money, whenever both myself and my other half are travelling together, we always carry an online banking card reader (or number generator) so that we can login to our online banking or pass security with our telephone banking – all worst case scenario stuff, but it’s much easier to be prepared, right?

Also, if you need your debit card to generate a code, then don’t forget that too!

(just don’t go using it for any foreign spending!)

If you like geeky articles on photography, travel and productivity, just like this one, please tell me.

Barney’s Top Tips

In my experience airlines rarely have scales at the gate and rely primarily on check-in staff to weight cabin bags. Having your boarding pass on your phone (or printed) means that you can skip the check-in desk, head straight for departures and in most cases not have your carry on weighed at the time of boarding.

Always board as early as possible to secure your overhead locker space.

Keep copies of all your important documents in an online vault such as LastPass or Dropbox. Plan for the worst case scenario and you can stay calm when, one day, something happens.

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Best Destination Wedding Photographer Hand Baggage

Hand Baggage – Part One

A Practical Approach to Travel as a Wedding Photographer

As a write this Article in the Spring of 2017, the laptop restrictions have just come into force for a selection of 7 middle eastern airports, as well as Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia & Turkey. Currently, the restrictions vary between the UK and the US and it’s important to remember that the restrictions only effects inbound flights at the time of writing. It is beyond the scope of what I had hoped to put on paper for this article, but seeing as though my inbox currently contains a sprinkle of questions surrounding this subject, I thought it worth highlighting here. I am not planning on travelling back to the UK from any of the affected airports until the Autumn of this year – maybe the restriction will be removed by then – I doubt that very much, but optimism is key.

Whilst I will keep myself updated with any progression, or relaxation, of these new rules, I don’t expect to see them adopted globally and thus have not covered them in any further detail here.

(If you’re a couple looking for less travel advice and more Destination Wedding Photography, then you just need to click here.)

A Travel Geek. Is what many of my friends and family would call me, and not in the sense of; ‘What should I do in Nepal, Barney?’ because I honestly wouldn’t have the foggiest clue. Whilst some would say I am well travelled, maybe I am, depending on your own personal travel life, and how much is ‘ALOT’ to you.

Where my knowledge and ‘geekiness’ really lies though, is the method of travel, namely, flying.

What I do more than ‘travel’ is – ‘commute’. It is off the back of this frequent commuting around Europe (and further afield at times), that has led me to write this series of articles about the lessons I have drawn from my time in the air to date.

Every week I get some form of a Facebook message or e-mail from various photography friends asking me about travel tips for weddings, travelling more generally, and how they should best approach it. Whilst this article, and those that will follow, won’t be very philosophical, they will be extremely practical and offer an insight into the frequent things I do, to ensure stepping into an airport 100+ times in 18 months, is both a comfortable and productive, experience.

Answers. On the basis of the most duplicated questions I get in my inbox about travel, I have pulled out five key topics that this, and following articles will broadly address…

(1) Hand Baggage

(2) Travel Money (NOW LIVE!)

(3) Shooting Weddings Abroad with ZERO Hassle (NOW LIVE!)

(4) Staying Productive on the Move (NOW LIVE!)

(5) Introduction to Air Miles (COMING SOON!)

Toward the end of each article, I am will also include a list of some of my top travel tips. These are one or two liners designed to make you think about what you could do to make life just a little easier for yourself.

Two caveats before I begin…

Europe. The premise of most of what I have to say is built from my experience over the past 3 years flying predominately on a select number of airlines across Europe. Whilst I have travelled as far as Dubai, Bali, Thailand, New York, Mauritius & California in that time too, I predominately travel weekly between the UK, Spain & Italy. Most of what I have to say will, therefore, be relevant most to those living in the U.K and Spain and looking to travel around Europe more conveniently, enjoyably & economically
Opportunity Cost. This is something I will address more directly later, but off the top, I wanted to let you know that I write this from an opinion that ‘spending a little more’ is often a good thing, and ‘the cheapest option is not always the easiest’.

I’m happy to pay for an easier, simpler and more productive life.

Download The Hand Baggage Size Guide

* Europe 2017 addition*

Part ONE: Hand Baggage

Probably the group of questions I get asked most are in some way related to hand baggage. Either the answer being a simple, “yes, the way forward is hand baggage ONLY”. Or slightly more interesting, the words ‘how’ or ‘what’ being placed in front of those two magic words – hand baggage.

Before you can understand fully ‘how to travel hand baggage only’, you must first understand which airlines you can travel with. If like me, you shoot with Canon or Nikon DSLRs, as opposed to the rising stars of the Fuji world or other smaller/lighter bodies, then you’re probably going to be more restricted. Like me, you’re going to be restricted based predominantly on the maximum hand baggage weight imposed by airlines.

Ryanair, Monarch, Norwegian and Flybe all impose a weight restriction on their passengers.

Whilst the subject of the size of your hand baggage is often the most discussed topic, it is the weight restriction for photographers, like you and me, that is often the most concerning.

An example. My Think Tank Airport International V2 (there is now a V3 version), fully packed with cameras, lenses, flash equipment, laptop, chargers, batteries & clothes for a 3 day trip in Europe, weighs in at around 15kgs. That’s without including another 4kgs in my shoulder bag. When combined, which is how it should (and can be) calculated for many airlines at check-in or at the gate, we are talking close to 20kgs!

In practice, I have not had any experience of a bag being weighed by ground staff at the gate. However, if they did, I would be in the wrong if flying with airlines like Ryanair, Flybe & Norwegian. Touch wood, it’s not happened to me. I have heard of it happening, and even seen it happening to others, and thus I will always do my utmost to stay on the correct side of the argument by flying other airlines that have less strict criteria.

Side note: It would be nice to see Ryanair, Flybe & Norwegian relaxing their carry on criteria for premium passengers.

Weight. The weight I carry varies from trip to trip, depending on the climate at the location(s), how long I am away from home and if I’m shooting a wedding or not. In all honesty though, my bags never really weighs in below the 12kgs mark, and on occasion can be in excess of 20kgs.

For me, and I’m sure for many of you, this is a problem when frequent weight restrictions from the European carriers tops out at 10kgs (Ryanair, Norwegian, Flybe and Monarch), or as little as 6kgs if flying Thomas Cook.

If you are flying long-haul, Emirates and Qatar (whilst both offering an exceptional long-haul economy product) have a ludicrous (in my opinion) 7kgs maximum for economy passengers!

Of course, one natural answer is for those of use shooting with DSLRs, to switch over to the smaller and lighter cameras when we travel. Enter the Fuji era for many.

Another option is to travel with a small shoulder/rucksack with most of your expensive equipment contained within (2 bodies and 3 lenses for example), whilst checking into the hold your clothes and any ‘less expensive’ equipment. I practise this procedure with Air Nostrum flights, whereby you can wheel your roller to the door of the plane before having it stored in the hold for flight, on arrival, you collect it again as you walk down the steps. (the technical term for this is; Gate Checking)

The only difference is having to move 2 bodies, 3 lenses and my laptop into my shoulder bag for the flight. If only more airlines would practise this, but I can understand why not, it’s certainly a hassle for the ground staff and is only really common on small prop-based planes.

Whilst I would never say never. I’m not a fuji shooter – today.

AND I really enjoy the convenience, simplicity, time-saving, and cost, of hand baggage only.

So what’s the answer?

Enter EasyJet. Orange is easy. Yes, it really is. For many, EasyJet can be your very best friend, unlike many of its competitors, EasyJet does not impose ANY weight restriction whatsoever. You can bring two bags as standard, (guaranteed by paying approx. £20) which is now standard across most European carriers. Yet what’s more, with that small £20 fee (or less), you not only secure your bags in the cabin on every flight, but you can also; select a seat, get extra legroom and board the plane first. Depending on how you book EasyJet call this service ‘Speedy Boarding’ or ‘EasyJet Plus’.

This provides you with ‘status’ like features (more on status shortly) that other ‘legacy carriers’ only provide to their loyal frequent flyers. It’s very similar to ‘Ryanair Biz’ but with Ryanair, you still have the 10kg limit as well as a smaller carrier on size which means replacing my Airport International V2 with a smaller bag such as the Airport Essentials.

(no affiliation with Think Tank – I just love the quality.)

EasyJet also permits the larger cabin bag size of 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.

If you fly or intend to fly EasyJet frequently, then you’ll definitely want to consider using the Nectar programme or the cash back site ‘TopCashback’ as a means of rewarding yourself or simply reducing the overall cost. In the UK, Nectar offers an Amex Credit Card too, which at worst provides 0.5% cash back on your day-to-day spending, which you can then redeem on EasyJet flights or a family holiday. (DON’T use this card for overseas spending – more on that later)

Tip: If you fly with EasyJet more than 10 times a year, then definitely look into becoming an ‘EasyJet plus cardholder’. EasyJet plus negates the need to pay £10-£20 for each flight for the above extras and thus if you fly enough, the £200 fee might well be worthwhile. I personally don’t fly EasyJet for work enough to concern myself with becoming a cardholder, but if I did, I wouldn’t hesitate. You can also get reduced fees for your spouse or children to join too.

So after recommending EasyJet to most people, you might then be surprised to learn that I don’t actually travel EasyJet that often. and here is why…

OneWorld. The two carriers I fly most are British Airways and Iberia. Since 2012, both are owned by the same company, Airlines International Group (AIG). Both have 23kg baggage allowances, both permit two carry-on bags, both permit the larger 56cm x 45cm x 25cm cabin bag size and both belong to the global airline alliance called OneWorld.

Airline alliances, of which there are three main players globally, OneWorld is just one, offer a way in which airlines from different companies can integrate together and offer rewards for flying within that same alliance. It’s a little like a referral system, where one airline recommends the other and visa verse and any ‘perks’ or ‘status’ you have with one – you, in turn, have with the other. We are verging on the lines of discussing air miles at this point, but I don’t intend to get into that here. Your intuition that this is an entirely separate article in itself – is correct.

For now, understand this, as with EasyJet Plus you can receive similar services or ‘perks’ from the likes of British Airways and Iberia, by flying with them frequently. However, unlike with EasyJet where your EasyJet Plus card only works with EasyJet, with British Airways and/or Iberia, your card (or in this case your ‘status’ – as it’s called) is transferable between 15 airlines worldwide.

Service. Many people, especially those who flew British Airways back in the 80’s and 90’s, will try and tell you that British Airways and other national carriers have gone down the toilet since then. Whilst this might be true (I wasn’t even a twinkle in my dad’s eyes in the 80’s – so what would I know), this is not really relevant here in 2017. In comparison today, I would agree there is very little between the likes of British Airways and EasyJet, but for me, it’s about what the rewards system with OneWorld entitles me to and how far globally that reaches. Thus, providing me with one of the most important things – choice.

Airline Tiers. With airline status, it’s worth being aware that there are normally three ‘tiers’ to any status and typically the middle tier is the one required for most of the benefits. However, whilst you can’t buy status, it can be relatively easy to achieve if you know how, especially if you willing to splurge once on a long-haul business class seat every 18 months or so.

As well as the benefits associated with EasyJet plus, a common advantage of having status with an airline alliance is the use of Airport Lounges, something I am a huge advocate of from a productivity (and cost saving) point of view.

If lounges interest you, take a look at the options provided by Priority Pass, American Express and even your package bank account. You can also drop me a line if you want a recommendation for your individual circumstances. Personally, I use both Priority Pass (included with my Amex Platinum Card) and my OneWorld status interchangeably, this works best for my circumstances, but I know several people who fly EasyJet combined with a Priority Pass and make this work well.

Is this really relevant to me? As a guideline status is not something that you will be able to gain overnight and normally involves flying more than 25 short-haul flights each year or upward of 8 long haul flights. (or a mix there off)

The numbers 25 and 8 are a little arbitrary but serve as a decent guideline to where having ‘status’ with an airline becomes easily achievable. As I eluded to above, another way is to splurge once every 18 months or so on a business class long-haul.

For example: My other half did just this a few months back with a £800 return business class trip to Phuket which now guarantees her status for the next 21 months! – as well as being a lovely experience on a mixture of the Qatar 787-9, A380 and A300. There are often some particularly good deals with Qatar to Asia from the likes of Stockholm, Copenhagen & Oslo, but for now – let’s get back to baggage…

Sizes. The worldwide standard cabin bag size is approximately 55cm x 40cm x 23cm (approx. – some airlines use a cm or two each way) and this is certainly 3 numbers to remember when bag shopping. Arguably though this is shifting to smaller sizes around 50cm x 30cm x 20cm, to be safe on many of the more ‘basic’ airlines. Most airlines adopt some size between.

In fairness to some airlines, Flybe included, this is due to the nature of the plane’s design and for a small ‘puddle jumper’ or prop based aircraft, the larger sizes physically don’t fit into the overhead bins anyway. I guess you could argue poor aircraft design.

Ryanair actually has its own size in between the two, currently 55cm x 40cm x 20cm and along with Norwegian, they stipulate a maximum size for the second bag (often referred to as a ‘personal item’), which is 35cm x 20cm x 20cm and 33cm x 25cm x 20cm respectively. When compared to what EasyJet, British Airways and Iberia will allow, this seems tiny! Generally speaking though, if it fits comfortably under the seat in front, your unlikely to have an issue.

If all the numbers, different sizes, and different weight restrictions were a little confusing, then you can Download a Cabin Baggage Size Guide that I have put together, as well as including all the airlines mentioned here, it also contains all other major carriers that operate in Europe. SAS, Air Berlin & Vueling are included, to name just a few more.

Therefore, the reason I love to fly British Airways, Iberia & EasyJet, is not only the fact that I get a very generous weight restriction but also the maximum cabin bag dimensions of 56cm x 45cm x 25cm. This is as large as you will find anywhere!

Cost. It’s likely that as far as factors go when choosing which airline to fly with, the size and weight of your hand baggage, may not be your only considerations. I wouldn’t be concluding this article well without mentioning the cost differences.

Without a doubt, on most routes like for like, Ryanair is the cheapest product, shortly followed, or often matched by Norwegian. Not always, but often enough.

For me though, I would rather pay the additional monies, sometimes as little as £10, and rarely more than £40 (short-haul) to either fly with EasyJet, Iberia or British Airways, even at times when Ryanair’s schedule is at a more convenient time of day. I say this coming from a philosophical point of view that I would rather just ‘keep it simple and stress-free’, travelling hand luggage only.

I have flown both Ryanair and Norwegian in the past 6 months, both are cheap and simple when I am NOT flying with camera equipment. But whenever I am flying for work, it’s imperative I arrive stress-free, rested and in a good mindset. I put myself in the best possible environment – always.

When choosing between EasyJet, British Airways and Iberia, I am simply looking at the combination of the route, time of day, and price. Coming to a conclusion based on the intersection between these three elements will be a personal opportunity cost for you.

Final Note: When comparing prices on Kayak or Sky Scanner, I always add £20 to EasyJet’s advertised prices (each-way), this allows room, within the price, to add on my Speedy Boarding and thus guaranteeing both my bags in the cabin. I have found that normally when EasyJet is cheaper (once adding my £20 buffer), then British Airways is only more expensive by a very small margin, so providing the times work for me, I will choose British Airways as I normally earn the difference back in miles alone. (not to mention adding to my status)

Download The Hand Baggage Size Guide

* Europe 2017 addition*

I do hope you found this useful and if you have had enough of baggage for the day, here are a few other travel related tips for you…

If you like geeky articles on photography, travel and productivity, just like this one, please tell me.

Barney’s Top Tips

When passing through security, put your phone and headphones in a completely separate tray. When your camera bag gets stopped for a random search for ‘being too busy’, you’ll have something to do whilst you’re waiting.

Sit in an exit row to avoid being asked to have bags/coats around your feet. Especially if you’re tall like me.

When booking your exit seat over the wing, be sure to book the row in front if there are two rows (the middle if there are three rows). Children are not allowed to sit on exit rows, so you’ll have no-one kicking the back of your chair.

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Shooting Sparkler Tunnels – The Complete Guide

So, I am sure we have all seen it on the likes of Rock My Wedding & Love My Dress, in recent years we have viewed or participated in, a growing wedding trend in the form of the ‘sparkler exit’. First brought to our attention in 2013-14 by our friends across the pond, some form of sparkler shot at a wedding has almost become a ‘staple’ of the wedding to-do list today. Often I suggest such an event to my couples, but more recently I get emails from my future brides asking about how to approach such an event to “get the best pictures”. So much so, that I even have a PDF now to explain to my couples how to best organise, seek permission and prepare for shooting the named ‘sparkler exit’.

It occurred to me recently that I took to this sparkler thing much earlier than many people, and I normally shoot this, in some variation, at most weddings now. I LOVE IT! Much like confetti, it’s very energetic, fun and visually stunning, all-be-it for only 90 seconds. Plus it’s a great excuse to take control for a couple minutes, especially, if like me, you spend most the day in the shadows.

Frequently I share pictures of Sparkler Tunnels, (see my change in language there – a good reason to follow) and whether on Instagram or via a private Facebook chat I have answered many questions on how to best execute Sparkler Tunnels. Everything from f/stop & shutter speeds, to what sparklers to use, to how to negotiate with venues. So, I thought I would take the time today, sat in Madrid Airport (my office away from home), to collate all my thoughts and tips into once place. Whether you’re photographer looking to make the first attempt at a Sparkler Tunnel, an engaged couple seeking assistance, or even an experienced wedding photographer looking for some extra insight, hopefully, this article will help you along your sparkler journey.

A word of warning; you’ll find no information here about shutter dragging, long exposures or drawing love hearts in the sky. As many of you will know – NOT MY THING!

If you’re a couple looking for less writing and more pictures, you can find more of my Cornwall Wedding Photography, Surrey Wedding Photography and Destination Wedding Photography using these links. Enjoy. :)

Safety First. As it should be, you should start by thinking of the safety concerns. Whilst I appreciate that we are normally dealing with adults and not children, it’s important to remember that you are actually dealing with 50-100 intoxicated adults, and not everyone will see sense like you do, probably the only sober person at the wedding. Therefore I take it seriously, it is yours, and my, responsibility to make sure we take appropriate considerations as to the ‘where and when’ of shooting a Sparkler Tunnel and also consider the ‘who’ is involved. I promise we will come to the fun stuff below, but don’t skip over these safety points I ALWAYS consider…

Where. Is there anything or anyone nearby that you could harm? Most importantly I’m thinking about flammable materials, roofing of some wedding venues, especially barns, are high on my watch list. Next up, I’m thinking about what’s on the floor, are you in carpark? If so, are there any oil spills on the floor? or are you in a field, if so, are you too close to any dry hay or straw bales? – those lovely bales can quickly go up in flames! Tents and marquees are also very flammable! Consider your surroundings.

When. I believe that one of the common perceptions about a Sparkler Tunnel is that it needs to be at the end of the night, just as the couple leave the venue. I strongly discourage this, and this is exactly why I don’t use the phrase ‘sparkler exit’.

Let’s take a typical day in September, it gets dark at around 8-9pm, waiting until midnight, or beyond, means that by the time you get to shoot the Sparkler Tunnel, everyone is thoroughly hammered! This should be a safety concern, and as such, I would much prefer, and will not agree to it otherwise, that a Sparkler Tunnel is organised immediately after the first set of evening entertainment, or at dusk, whichever comes first. It’s safer and easier to control. Where possible, I will shoot a Sparkler Tunnel BEFORE the first dance.

Who. Of course, you’ll be needing the bride and groom, but who is going to hold all the sparklers around the tunnel? The guests, duh! Well yes, but how many of them? This is a point that took me dozens of attempts to get just right. My number is 80, 80 people as a maximum. With 80 people the tunnel is long enough to get enough pictures, it’s short enough to be able to communicate with everyone who is outside (you’ll need a loud voice), more importantly though, it’s enough people until it becomes ridiculous to manage and keep safe. Now, this number varies a little for me, it’s not cut and dry, BUT I think it is a great guideline.

In reality, it works, for me, like this…

40 wedding guests, okay let’s get everyone involved.

90 wedding guests, okay let’s get everyone involved.

120 wedding guests, I will suggest in advance to the couple that we only take about 60 people to make the tunnel, normally I suggest bridesmaids, ushers, parents, siblings and partners of all these people, plus a few extra people that are closest to the outside door, or whom are already outside.

150+ wedding guests, I will suggest taking around 80 people outside, including those mentioned above.

Permission – it’s not confetti. As I mentioned earlier, a really fun event at weddings is the ‘traditional’ confetti, no huge insight there. However, whilst I regularly implement ‘its better to seek forgiveness, than seek permission’ with confetti. The same does NOT go for sparklers, at least with me. The worst that can happen with confetti is that some poor sod has got a lot of sweeping up to do, or a neighbour complains about the mess.

Note; My couples all know that the only way to do confetti is with real petals, I do not advocate paper littering – even the biodegradable rubbish!

The ideal scenario is that the wedding reception is on private land belonging to the bride and groom or a family member, in which case, no problem. The next best thing is the reception is taking place in a field, a large garden, or next to a sandy beach. However, sometimes we get central city hotels. That’s not to say it’s not possible, although sometimes it just isn’t. It’s always worth speaking in advance with the venue or landowner to see what is possible, and what isn’t. From an insurance view, I know some venues simply won’t allow it! Whilst I won’t take such rubbish for the confetti argument, I totally understand this and won’t fight them (too much). ;)

Whilst I always ask my couples to check, it’s worth having the chat with any authority at the wedding venue (owner, planner, staff) to check. I have found a good starting point to this it to assume (yes, I preach the assumption phrase too, but stick with me…) that it is okay and my first questions goes something like this…

Me: “Do you have a metal bucket and some water I can borrow…”

Venue: “For sparklers?”

Me: “Yes, exactly, should be great fun with that lovely patch of open area we have around the side of the building.”

Venue: “Cool, let me see what we can find.”

Result! Show that you have thought it through and 8 or 9 times out of 10, it should be all good.

Be open minded, be considerate and speak with authority and you should be just fine.

Kids. Before moving on to the practical execution of a Sparkler Tunnel, I wanted to add one final thought on the permission/safety side of things. As a rule, and in order to know who is involved, I do give out the sparklers and lighters myself to everyone involved. I will normally take responsibility for the sparklers from the bride and groom in the early hours of the reception and make sure they are out of sight of anyone else (normally in my car). However, I invoke a retail store style, 25 and over policy – which is slightly funny in itself if you know my age at the time of writing. :) Anyway… I don’t give out any sparklers to children or teenagers, they are more than welcome to be involved, I am just very specific about giving them to their parents, whom can then pass them to the kids however and whenever they see fit.

Okay so enough of that safety stuff, but I hope you’ll appreciate it’s important to be responsible and proactive.

Dusk & Dark. One of the common mistakes I see from photographers who shoot Sparkler Tunnels is the lack of patience, yes keep in mind what I said earlier about not waiting too long, but the results shown in this post do require darkness, to some degree. If I could choose the exact time at each wedding I would pick about 10 minutes after sunset in the winter and 30 minutes after sunset in the summer, just when the last light is in the sky. Enough light so we can see what we are all doing in a dark field, but dark enough that the sparklers will overpower any last rays in the sky. Perfect, not always the case though.

The next best thing is when it’s pitch black, you’ll want a couple of torches or small lamps to help light the area for guests if it’s really dark, although more often than not, some light from decorations, or the building nearby, will light up the area to some degree. The trap, I believe many people walk into is to move too early, thus have pictures that are simply too flat. Personally, I believe that Sparkler Tunnels look their best when all you can see is the guests, sparklers and the bride and groom – I’m not interested in being distracted by anything else in the background of the frame.

The flash pitfall. Next up, the flash pit full should be obvious to most photographers, but in summary; in order to get all that ambient light from the sparklers you don’t want to be over powering the scene with flash. None of the pictures in this post have any flash or continuous lighting whatsoever. I always ask my couples to hold two sparklers each when they make their way down the tunnel, this light will help illuminate them and fill in any shadows on the faces of the couple. It also helps me with focusing. Flash kills raw emotion.

Control. I talked earlier about taking control before you execute the Sparkler Tunnel in the form of safety thoughts beforehand. Yet, taking control during and in the moments before and after is vital too. One of the keys to making this happen is all 80 people lighting their sparklers at the same time, knowing where to hold them, knowing how far apart to stand and where to put the hot embers after they have burnt out. Taking control, explaining to people what is about to happen is key. I have a well-rehearsed 20 to 30-second speech about how to light sparklers, when to light them, where to hold them and what to do with the embers afterwards. If it’s a small group of people I will likely stand on a chair and tell everyone together what’s about to happen. Although more often than not, I will go down the tunnel before the couple and explain 3 times at the start of the line, middle, and at the end of the tunnel about what’s about to happen. Remember, authority, someone has to know what’s going on.

Long Sparklers & Lighters. Before you even turn up at the wedding, in fact, weeks or even months before, the couple need to know what to buy to make this happen. You can’t expect them to know what you know. Therefore, I’ll discuss the possibilities of having a Sparkler Tunnel at their wedding and if it’s an option, here is a summarised version of what I will advise…

“You’ll need about XYZ number of sparklers, two per person involved. Be sure to buy the 40cm versions, as the 25cm versions are far too short, they burn for about 30 seconds, where as the 40cm ones burn for about 70 seconds. You can buy them on Amazon, about £25 for 120 of them. I can send you a link to the ones you need if you like. Just be sure to buy warm burning ones, not the blue ones! The other thing you will need is ABC number of lighters, one per person (one-between-two at a minimum).

Make it narrow. Back to the wedding day itself, be sure to make the tunnel narrow, about 2 meters wide, maybe slightly narrower if feasible, considering dress size and the like. I will ask all the guests to hold the sparklers up nice a high, “like a guard of honour”, and then ask the couple to walk down SLOWLY through the middle when I give them the nod. Keeping the tunnel narrow allows light from the sparklers to illuminate the couple nicely and also keeps the action and fun squeezed into a tight space, just how I like it.

The Numbers. The most common question I get asked from other photographers about my sparkler pictures is whether I use flash, to which I have already answered above. When I respond ‘no’, the following question is normally always ‘how do I manage’ without. It’s honestly easy, it’s mostly about knowing that once 100+ sparklers are lit at the same time, your dark scene is about to get very bright. The tips above about the bride and groom having sparklers, informing all the guests when to light the sparklers and keeping it narrow, will all help more than any camera settings I can give you. Yet, as I have named this article the ‘The Complete Guide to Shooting Sparkler Tunnels’ then I should probably make it, well, complete!

I am assuming, (I should stop this, but its key) that the camera you are using is a pro DSLR, I’m thinking a D750, D4, 5DIII, or other equivalent, this is because of the high ISO required. Furthermore, you’ll need a fast prime, a 24-70 f/4 staple is not going to cut it, you may also struggle at times with a f/2.8 lens too. Most of the images in this post and my default settings for sparklers are as follows;

Mode: Aperture Priority

ISO: 10,000

Exposure Bias: – 2 & 1/3 stops

Aperture: f/2.2

Focus: Active

I have on occasion used f/1.4 or f/1.8, but as long as there are enough sparklers and the tunnel is narrow enough, I normally find f/2.2 gives me a nice amount of wiggle room for focusing as the couple walk towards me, whilst I walk backwards at the same time. On my Nikon D750’s I have found 10,000 ISO is the sweet spot, but if you’re more comfortable either way then adjust accordingly. As a result, my shutter speed normally works out somewhere between 1/125 to 1/400, a nice buffer on an 85mm in low light WITH a moving camera AND a moving subject.

Most of my sparkler pictures are shot on the Nikon 85mm f/1.4, I simply love the compression. Occasionally, I will get close to a guest with a sparkler to add some foreground out of focus sparks in too (at your own risk!). I have also shot the process several times on a 35mm, and tend to do this when working with a videographer so we can walk back side-by-side without getting in each others frames.

What about at 200mm? I find that at 200mm the pictures look too far removed, it’s as though I’m too far away, which I probably am (in my opinion). The nice thing with an 85mm is that you get the compression but are still close enough to communicate. Perfect.

Final Thoughts. Once I have finished, normally we will be able to walk down the tunnel twice, then I will shout very loudly “Thank-you everyone” and normally that works as a good moment for everyone to mess about for the last few seconds whilst the sparklers are still burning. Once extinguished, I’ll stand somewhere where people have to walk past with the bucket of water/sand and ask everyone to put the embers in. (DO NOT HOLD THE BUCKET)

After everyone has left, I’ll use a torch to look around and make sure all the embers have been picked up, I always find a couple! I would much rather get them picked up (or get your assistant to do it for you) and have the venue think it was a good experience, rather than, in the morning, finding sparklers they have to pick up all over the place.

And with that, I think you’re fully prepared for some sparkler fun!

Be aware. In 3 years and probably 60 separate Sparkler Tunnels I have only had two incidents. Once when a groom’s hand got burnt by a guest holding his sparkler too close, another where a guest’s sparkler went through the brides dress, again for holding the sparkler far too close to them. I have put both of these accidents down to the fact that the guests involved were far too drunk, and, in part, my fault for allowing it to happen so late in the day. In hindsight, I should have said ‘no’. So if in doubt, my advice would be to do just that, and if the couple insists, then be a lot less involved and make sure it’s them pursuing the idea and not you, voice your concerns and then you have done your bit.

Ultimately it’s really good fun! You can achieve some cracking pictures. And everyone will love you for it.

Sparklers bring out the kids in all of us, especially after a couple glasses of bubbles! :)

If you did indeed find this useful then I would be delighted to share some more content with you soon…

Keep Me Posted!

Words & Photos by Barney Walters

Category: Education for Photographers

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