The woes of a female photographer....

Why is purse shopping so ridiculously hard? This was no big deal before I became a photographer. I had a purse addiction, they filled my closet, and I was certain they were the reason of my happiness.

And then I went a little deeper into photography world and thought "Hey, I can't be without my camera EVER!", and carried my handy dandy DSLR everywhere I went.  I've been known to slam on the brakes & pull over to take a picture -- I've gotta have more than just my iPhone on me! And when I entered the whole "adult world" and had to start paying for all my own stuff, reality hit real quick that carrying in my purse wasn't the greatest idea.

Enter the world of camera purses. I did so much research on them and was so incredibly specific on what I wanted. There are SO many out there that are massive, and those come in handy for shooting weddings. But I needed something that fit and protected one camera body (with a lens attached), one small additional lens - and one flash. I don't always carry a flash, but I wanted the space for it -- and then my every day stuff -- wallet, sunglasses & case, compact, lip gloss, keys, etc. This way I could carry my camera every day, and I could even take it to a portrait session without having to swap bags. All this, and I needed it to be super cute.

My first was the Lola from Epiphanie Bags:

Gorgeous, and I loved it at first - but the angle of the top made it slightly difficult to get the camera out. I overlooked this, until the purse started showing a lot of wear and tear -- not even a year after purchase. (The same problem I had with what I bought after it, from Jo Totes. Cute bags, but my Jo Tote started coming apart less than 4 months after purchase.)

I sold it and eventually moved onto the world of Kelly Moore - who is AMAZING. I love love love her bags! My first KM was the B-Hobo. I LOVE my B-Hobo.  It's a great feel, fits how I need to stuff to -- and after TWO years of use, it's just now starting to show some wear! 

Anyway, I decided I wanted something different & ordered the Posey 2 from Kelly Moore this week. It arrived today, and....I wasn't as in love as I thought I'd be! I was able to fit in the basics using two dividers (as shown in this crappy photo below --- too much effort to dig out my 2nd body for one quick pic!):

That fit one body with a 50mm attached, an SB 600 & in the middle I was able to put in a medium size lens & my sunglasses. I was able to fit my coin purse, lip gloss, phone, hand sanitizer in an outer pocket. But pulling the body with the 50mm attached was difficult, and I didn't like the way it fell when I had the strap attached to the sides. I was contemplating keeping the bag and using it for super light days, when I don't need my flash -- but I REALLY want that space to take my flash if I need it....so I emailed Kelly Moore tonight to exchange for the Mimi.

I've secretly been in love with the Mimi for awhile, but was concerned she was too big for every day use -- she's a little wider than the B-Hobo and the Posey 2. But after 2.5 hours of review reading -- I think this one will work perfect. Fingers crossed she's my perfect bag!

Are there any other bag designers worth checking out, photogs? I don't know that I'll carry anything other than Kelly now -- but I'm all about looking for new bags!