Barb Badstibner’s Story

Sep. 12018 . Category:business, Encourage, growth, Guest Blog, How Do You HoldFast?, photography

From the get-go, HoldFast’s allegiance lies in this: steadfast dedication to professional photographers and the systems they utilize. Committed to paving the way, HoldFast gear accentuates style while also performing comfortably and efficiently. Responsible for creating a new genre within the industry, we’re changing the way photographers look and feel while doing their best work.

In this series, you’ll hear stories of HoldFast gear and the photographers–the pioneers, the adventurers, the originals–that use them. This is How You HoldFast.

We are true believers in getting out there, taking that first step, and letting the adventure lead the way. It’s generally understood that experience is the best teacher, and anyone that’s willing to let their past inform their future, at least in a good way, will be able to attest to that fact.

Such is true for veteran photographer Barb Badstibner. The Maryland photographer says it took just a brief experience with a HoldFast Money Maker to tell her all about what she’d been missing.

“I’ve worked with several photographers who used HoldFast systems. One of my second shooters offered to let me try hers, and I was hooked. I loved it!” Badstibner says. ‘

As a wedding and portrait photographer, Badstibner’s love for photography was birthed from her childhood with a blue Fisher-Price 110 Camera. After years of shooting around her family farm, a Photography 101 Class in high school, and a brief time studying photography in college, Badstibner says her camera began to collect dust, until 2008, when she brought it back out again. Since then, she’s continued to capture the authentic emotion that’s present on her clients’ big days.

After trying out her second shooter’s Money Maker, Badstibner immediately purchased one of her own–a Chestnut Bridle Money Maker. “It paid for itself after my first wedding using it. My back didn’t hurt, it sped up my shooting, and my clients thought I looked like a total badass wearing it!” Badstibner explains. “I used to pop Ibuprofen before and after weddings for my back and now I don’t need to.”

Badstibner had less than stellar experiences with other systems she used to haul her gear from shoot to shoot, moment to moment. “I used another harness type system and hated it. The cameras just swung too much; other systems made me feel like I was choking, and put so much unnecessary stress on my neck,” she says.

Now, Badstibner says, the Money Maker simply makes her gear comfortable–finally. “I can drive comfortably with it on and it doesn’t really feel like it’s there.” Where other gear forced her to choose one lens at a time, slowing down her shooting rate, the Money Maker’s reliability and durability have changed the game for Badstibner.

“I was swapping out lenses on one body or laying one body down to shoot with another. Now, I don’t have to worry so much about my gear banging into walls, doors, etc. The bodies are held close, and the sliders allow everything to be within reach. Other straps I’ve used made me feel like I was tangled up. The sliders give me great range of motion!”

In addition to a system that allows for easy access to her cameras, Badstibner is also able to make adjustments as needed throughout the entirety of a shoot.

“With the Money Maker I know that my gear is secure, and that I can easily work with two bodies; it has tremendously sped up my shooting. If I’m changing locations or scarfing down my vendor meal, I can even unhook my cameras and leave the Money Maker on,” Badstibner says.

“It’s very well-made. It doesn’t compare to other gear I’ve used in the past. There’s nothing like it.