>>3574056Depends on the protest. For protective at least a helmet. And if they are throwing things or cops are shooting foam or rubber then some serious eye protection. For general body protection you can use a life vest, like what they use on boats, but chances are cops will hit you on your legs mostly. If they’ve used gas before have a respirator within reach, you don’t want to have to take your back pack off your back, open it, reach for the respirator etc in moments of heavy chaos, you want to have it by your side. Then you have to decide if you wanna go with the fluorescent vest on the top of that or no. Depends on how friendly are protestors to press.
There is a natural tendency for all media to pack together in moments of tension, don’t be afraid to go with them. There will always be some idiot thinking everybody is just copying his angle position and making dumb angry remarks about it or complaining that everybody else is ruining his shot. Ignore him, do your thing. Try not to be an asshole to camera crews, they usually need more space than photographers and it’s not cool to be on their shot constantly. Also, don’t tell the cops you are from the press if you don’t have a press id with you.
Post results
