Photographers, how often do you bathe? No, not wash yourself but how often do you clean your photo equipment?
After a particularly dusty, sandy or otherwise dirty job, I make it a point to clean all my cameras, lenses, laptop, flashes, light stands and other gear by using compressed air, isopropyl alcohol and sometimes an ammonia-based cleaner.
Depending on the item being cleaned, cotton or paper towels, lint-free wipes, a nylon brush, camel-hair brush and even a toothbrush can come in handy. This is also a good time to check that all the little screws in your equipment are tight.
Camera bags, lens pouches, backpacks and other soft bags can be washed with warm soapy water, rinsed and hung to dry. It’s amazing how much dirt these bags can collect. The dividers inside a bag should be removed and washed separately. Plastic and metal cases can also be washed. Roller bags should especially be cleaned if you wheel them through the slush and salt of winter.
Today I washed all my Chimera softboxes. A few of the older ones really smelled bad. I’m not sure why* but maybe it’s Nature’s way of telling me to buy some new softboxes. A warm soapy wash and hanging to dry helped clean the softboxes.
If you’re a smoker, there’s a good chance your gear smells like an ashtray.
Do your clients, and yourself, a favour and clean up your act. Showing up to a job with dirty, smelly or abused-looking gear shows that you have no respect for your tools or your client.
* Added: The original Chimera softboxes had some sort of white coating applied to the interior. After several years, this plasticky coating can feel sticky, flake off, turn yellow and/or smell. A good wash with bleach can reduce the yellowing and the smell.
