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| © Clyde Butcher / www.clydebutcher.com |
| Bellows give unusual control over perspective and focal plane. Huge 8x10-inch negatives yield super detail. You can rent antique lenses for a soft-focus, flare-filled look. And film gives you control of tonality and contrast, illustrated here by Clyde Butcher's "Little Butternut Key," made with a Deardorff 8x10 field camera and Ilford 400 Delta Pro film. Click photo for more images. |
Want to supercharge your creativity and take photos that are gloriously different from your usual style? Forget the cameras and lenses already in your bag, and consider unusual, specialized equipment -- perhaps a super telephoto lens, a large-format camera, or a softbox as big as a car.
You don't have to invest in a lot of new gear that you'll use only occasionally. Instead, do what the pros do -- rent it for a day or a week from one of the full-service rental houses in metro areas across the U.S. The cost is reasonable, and the payoff can be huge.
Besides helping you capture new subjects and see familiar ones in new ways, there are lots of practical reasons to rent: It lets you use top-quality equipment that you couldn't otherwise afford, or test-drive gear before buying. (In fact, most rental houses rebate up to 50 percent of the rental price if you buy the same item new within a specified period.) It saves you lugging or shipping heavy equipment to distant locations. It helps you imitate a specific look -- especially in fashion photography, where trends rocket through the industry. Plus, if you sell your photos, the cost of renting is tax-deductible, while the cost of buying may have to be amortized over many years. And if you push yourself into the unknown, renting can uncover photographic talents you may not have realized you had.
Start by calling the rental house at least a week before you'll need the gear, or even earlier if the item is rare or very popular. For instance, 100-year-old large-format lenses can be hard to get, especially in the summer, when workshop students scoop up large-format cameras and glass. Is there a big sporting event in town? Expect super teles to be in short supply. So be sure to reserve early.
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| © Todd Laffler / www.toddlaffler.com |
| Unusual optics like fisheye, tilt/shift, soft-focus portrait, and Nikon's unique Defocus Control lenses can provide distinctive imagery not obtainable with more conventional gear. New Jersey pro Todd Laffler made this portrait of daughter Zoe using a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fisheye on a Canon EOS-1D Mark II. |
Before ordering, ask the rental agent for advice. For instance, an agent may recommend an 8-ounce 2X teleconverter at $15 a day instead of a 12-pound 600mm f/4 at $150 a day. If you're renting a complex piece of gear that's unfamiliar to you, an agent might suggest you rent it twice -- once to learn to use it and again for the actual shoot. Some rental houses -- such as Global Imaging in Dallas, TX, and Louisville, CO -- also offer in-store training.
Don't see what you want on the company's website? Ask. Most rental houses also sell used equipment and they rent items from this continually changing inventory.
Consider renting over weekends and holidays, since rental houses often don't charge (or cut the rate) for days they're closed. Have to cancel a reservation? Do it 24 or even 48 hours ahead to prevent a charge.
Not surprisingly, rental outfits generally require a photo ID and collateral held in escrow to cover part or all of the gear's replacement cost. Usually this is an "authorization hold" on your credit card: No charge is made against the card, but your maximum credit limit is reduced by the replacement cost of the item until it's returned.
If the value of the equipment exceeds your credit limit, expect to provide a "certificate of insurance" from your carrier, listing the rental house as the "loss payee" if the gear is lost or damaged. (Not all homeowner's policies allow such certificates, which are more common in business policies.) Organizations such as the American Society of Media Photographers may also offer rental insurance to members.
In any event, before renting, discuss your liability with your insurance provider. Often, the insurer will add a rider or "floater" to cover the replacement cost. Such add-ons typically cost between $100 and $200 for between $5,000 and $15,000 in coverage, and are usually good for the life of the policy. The floater can be canceled if you don't intend to rent again, and you'll be rebated a portion of your payment.
If you use a premium credit card such as the American Express Platinum card to pay for the rental, the issuer may cover you automatically. It's worth checking.
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