As a journalist who went through different eras (college student, video producer, freelance writer), I always gravitated toward owning a large purse, tote bag, or practical backpack that can fit everything I need for freelance assignments or personal projects.
Yes, I’m aware of how smartphones can do everything and fit neatly in your pocket, but I have a personal horror story as to why I don’t rely 100% on my iPhone that I will explain further down the list. The memory of this incident still haunts me and also taught me the significance of having the right tools for my content creation work.
Without further ado, these are my highly-recommended, can’t-live-without essentials every multimedia journalist and/or content creator should have within reach.
Personal Bag for Belongings
Let’s start with the most obvious fact of how using a backpack, purse, tote bag, or any other type of bag makes it easy to access your possessions. This is where recommendations may vary based on someone’s personal style and bag functionality preferences.
Personally, I carry my stuff inside this Meliae camera bag that’s shaped like a boho-style crossbody purse for travel content and journalism events. I love it because it’s not a traditional camera bag that’s bulky to carry, and it has that feminine appeal where it can pass off as a typical purse to the untrained eye. It comes in three different colors (still missing the brown version), has interchangeable straps, and removable padded dividers with room to spare for the camera body, lenses, wallet, notebook, and other random things.
However, I’ve been eyeing the Brevite backpacks myself, particularly the Brevite Jumper backpack with its simplicity and uniformity of dedicated compartments for laptop, camera and lenses—even clothing and passport for travel. The vibrant color selection is a personal perk and at a lower price point than the Peak Design bag collection.
Notebook & Pens
Nothing beats a good old-fashion pen and paper to write down everything you see, hear, smell, touch and taste (shout-out to food critics out there reading this post). While it’s convenient to pull up the Notes app in-between social media scrolling, a case study seen in Frontiers in Psychology determined how writing and drawing “facilitate learning to encode new information” versus typing on a keyboard.
Any notebook or pen should suffice, but on a personal note (pun intended), I make sure to restock on my favorite pens such as Pilot G2 retractable pens in 0.7mm point size in safe colors like black or blue. For notebooks, I alternate between the cliché reporter’s memo-style notebook (primarily used for journalism work) and my LEUCHTTURM1917 notebook (primarily used for personal projects, bullet journaling, and brainstorming ideas).
Not-so-shameless plug, but I have a separate Instagram account all about my bullet journaling hobby where I share the amount of stationery I truly own.
Handheld Audio Recorder
Going back to my iPhone horror story, it was my first reporting assignment for the college newspaper when I spoke with a top university official back in the spring of 2014. I used the Voice Memo app to record our conversation…only for my phone to ring multiple times, even though I set it on “Do Not Disturb” mode, cutting the interview short. Since then, I own a handheld audio recorder now, and it’s been a true blessing because I don’t have to worry about having enough memory on my smartphone or another phone call interruption.
I purchased the now-discontinued Zoom H1n model, but the newest model is similar in size and original price point and is aptly named Zoom H1n-VP. Hardcore audio engineers would recommend the higher Zoom models, but my main usage is transcribing conversations I’ve had with sources instead of audio-first storytelling like podcasts.
Speaking of podcasting, the Blue Snowball is a popular starter-kit microphone and it’s what I use for podcast recordings or Zoom interviews. In a similar fashion, there are higher-quality microphones available from different brands like Shure, if you want to upgrade your broadcast recording quality in the future.
Digital Camera & Lenses
This is the most flexible suggestion, as I’ve had my moments where I prefer taking photos and videos with my iPhone instead of carrying my mirrorless camera and swapping out lenses. However, the image quality is undefeated, and the versatility in capturing a variety of shots with a reliable digital camera versus a grainy, zoomed-in smartphone clip is unmatched.
I’m a fangirl when it comes to Sony cameras, working my way up from the CyberShot point-and-shoot to the Sony Alpha models. Currently, I have the Sony a6400 as my main camera alongside Sony-brand and third-party lenses. My favorite features are its accurate auto-focus, flip-up screen for solo filming or vlogging, microphone input for better audio quality, and no record limit. If you want to make the most of your setup, consider adding some accessories like a mini portable tripod or some sturdy wrist straps.
Curious to try out a Sony mirrorless camera? Or test out other familiar brands like Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm? You can click on my affiliate link here from Lensrentals where you can get $25 off your first camera rental. Highly recommend this place, especially for renting out gear you want to use but can’t afford to own.
Of course, technology is always changing and it’s the reason why I keep my Kit.co profile up-to-date whenever I add a new piece of equipment into my tool kit.
Lynnette Cantos 