Light Stands

If you are shooting inside with a light stand and or umbrella than you do not need to worry about this type of situation. However, if you are shooting outside than you might want to take a minute to think about this.

Say you have a shoot lined up that has to be shot outside. You have a nice set up, strobe, umbrella, light stand, wireless receiver, but you get a nice small breeze or a gust of wind. Before you know it and can move fast enough, your equipment is hitting the ground. Damages to your equipment can ruin your shoot and even put a complete end to it. Not only will your equipment be damaged, so could your reputation. Not being able to complete your clients shoot could hurt your chances of working with them again or potentially loosing business via word of mouth.

The solution to this is a sand bag or a weight that would prevent your stand from toppling over.
Here is one product that I have found. Bogen - Manfrotto G100 Sand Bag Weight
Lately there has been a growing trend of Do It Yourselfers hitting the market with their ideas to producing products for a lot less than the cost of buying them. Some of the products that people are making are worth the try. Here is a site that I found that offers a Do It Yourself way of making light stand sand bags/weights.

DIYPhotography Light Stand Sandbags

Make sure you are prepared to when you are going to your shoots. Having the right gear really helps and makes things go smoothly. Of course, accidents do happen and some times you can not control these things no matter how hard you try. Be rest assured, being prepared usually prevents disasters from happening. Keep these products in mind when purchasing your first light stand or if you are doing out-door/location work.