When you kneel down: why your cameras clash and how to stop it

There is one exact moment when a dual camera strap stops working: when you kneel to fix the bride’s veil. Both bodies swing forward, clash into each other, and if you are average height or shorter, one of them hits the floor.

This is not gear nerd trivia. It is the reason a lot of wedding photographers are moving to a camera belt holster, and it is worth understanding when that actually makes sense and when it does not.

The problem, in the words of people shooting weddings

In a recent discussion among wedding photographers the same problem came up from several people, different words, identical substance.

The moment you bend without paying attention the cameras knock into each other. And I am short: the moment I kneel down to shoot, one of them always hits the ground.

Wedding photographer

You can even crouch down to fix the bride’s veil without risking knocking or damaging the cameras.

Photographer, ten years on a holster

Two independent observations, same moment of the day. That is no accident: fixing the veil is the one action a wedding photographer performs dozens of times, always bending forward, always with both hands busy.

Why it happens, in two lines of geometry

On a dual strap the cameras hang from a high point near your shoulders. When your torso rotates forward that point travels, and the bodies trace an arc that ends in front of your sternum. The deeper you bend, the longer the arc. At that point you have two objects of roughly one and a half kilos each swinging free at knee height.

On a holster the anchor sits at your hip, level with your pelvis. When you bend, the pelvis rotates with you and the camera stays still relative to your body. No arc, so no swing.

When a holster is the right call

• You shoot from your knees often. Veil, bouquet, details, children, low angles.
• You are on the shorter side. On a strap the clearance between camera and floor runs out sooner.
• You carry more than cameras. Flash, batteries, a pouch. They coexist on a belt, not on your shoulders.
• Your neck already hurts. The load moves from your cervical spine to your pelvis.

When it is not

This belongs in the piece too, because no system is perfect for everyone.

• If you wear a backpack. Backpack straps and a loaded belt do not get along, and the backpack always wins.
• If you work in very tight spaces. Cameras on your hips add roughly ten centimetres per side to your footprint.
• If you have hip or lower back issues. Moving load to the pelvis does not make it disappear. There is a separate article on that.
• If you shoot seated most of the time. A holster is awkward sitting down, a strap is not.

What you actually need

One point that causes confusion: the holster mounts on a belt, and the belt is not included. Any belt up to 5 cm wide works, including the one you are wearing right now. If you want a dedicated belt that carries the load without deforming, there is the quick release leather belt at 39.

The question everyone asks: is clipping in and out fiddly?

It is the first objection every time. The honest answer is that for the first two or three jobs it is, and then it stops being one. The motion is thumb on the button, lift, to the eye. Once it is automatic it is faster than pulling a strap over your head.

The second recurring doubt is about long lenses. A 70-200 works on a holster, but it shifts the balance and sticks out further when you walk between tables. If you often run a telephoto on one body and a standard zoom on the other, put the telephoto on your dominant hand side.

Not a holy war

If the dual strap works for you, there is no reason to switch. The point is not that one system is better, it is that bodies differ and so do working days. If you have never had the veil problem, this article is not for you. If you have had it three times in the past month, you already know exactly what we are talking about.

If your issue is where the weight ends up rather than where the cameras end up, the right question is a different one, and we handle it separately: shoulders or hips, and at what cost to your back.

Holsters come in four colours, in vegetable tanned full grain leather, with free shipping.

Frequently asked questions

Will the holster hold a mirrorless body with a 70-200?

Yes. The plate screws into the 1/4 inch thread on the body, not the lens. With very long, heavy optics use the lens collar if the lens has one.

Is the belt included?

No. The holster has adjustable loops that take belts up to 5 cm. Use your own, or the matching quick release belt.

Can I wear a holster and a strap at the same time?

Yes, plenty of people do: one body on the holster and one on a single camera strap for the lens you reach for most.

Can the camera fall out?

The housing retains the body and the plate screws down firmly. As with any quick release system, check the connection with a short tug before you start working.