PSA: Camera Bags Could Be Damaging Your Body
If there’s one photography video you should watch today, then this 7-minute piece of advice from photographer Jay Perry is the one. Perry explains why messenger camera bags may be very bad for your health.
The diagnosis? His camera bag was causing the problems.
His messenger-style bag, slung over one shoulder, was pulling down on one side of his body. In fact, Perry says that his osteopath told him that his right shoulder was lower than his left shoulder.
“If you do something with one side [of your body] more than the other, you’re going to create a muscular imbalance,” said Perry’s friend Jarek, a massage therapist. “When we don’t have any symmetry to our body, it’s going to show up as pain.”
The answer? Use a camera bag that is a backpack — it distributes the weight properly and will help avoid these problems.
Don’t forget to pay attention to your posture, too, however. Photographers spend a lot of their time looking at a computer screen, and sitting poorly at your desk can cause similar problems.
