3 Non-Photographic Items In My Bag
Like many photographers my camera bag is stuffed full of gear. Some things like Camera bodies and lenses are obviously essential and get used all the time, whilst other things like lens cloths and random batteries are always handy to have around.
Space in my camera bag is always at a premium and I hate carrying around things that I won’t use. None the less there are a few things I always have with me which, on the face of it, have nothing to do with cameras but have proved their worth time and again.
So here are my top three most useful non photographic things I keep in my camera bag.
No.3 – Modelling Balloons
These first found their way into my camera bag back in the days when I was a wedding photographer. As the only professional at the wedding for the whole day, the photographer is also a bouquet fixer, guest liaison officer and occasional shoulder to cry on. The modelling balloons came in handy in my role as Photographer / children’s entertainer. If you can get the kids on your side photographing them (and the adults) becomes much easier!
So why are they still in my bag? Knot one up and you have an elastic band, adjustable strap or a quick way to mark your gear out from the crowd (hard to miss pink rubber band wrapped around your lens) Of course it’s also handy to surprise clients with kids by making an impromptu balloon animal!
No.2 – Multi-Tool card
From the traditional Swiss Army Knife to top of the range Leatherman, multi tools come in all shapes and sizes but my personal favourite is the small card type like this. It has everything I need from a small knife, handy for getting into cellophane wrappers and the all important selection of screwdrivers.
It’s probably the screwdrivers that I’ve used the most. From the tiny screws that work loose in modern electrical items right up to the full size screwdriver need for running repairs on bigger items, this tools can handle them all.
Whether it’s repairing my gear, or more often someone else’s, these things were cheap, durable and endlessly useful. They also take up next to no room in my bag.
No.1 – Beer Towel
A towel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have… It’s also top of my non photographic gear must have list. These small, rectangular towels are priceless to me.
Need to protect something in your bag? No problem, just wrap it in a beer towel. Need to wipe a bit of light rain, mud or snow off you or your gear? Reach for the beer towel. Need to kneel on the ground without getting muddy? Use the beer towel… I could go on.
You can buy a pack of 10 beer towels for about £1.50 per towel and they’ll last for years. Small, cheap and endlessly useful they are my number one must have non photographic accessory.
Do you have a non photographic accessory that lives in your camera bag (and you actually use) if so I’d love to know what it is so please leave a comment below.
I like the beer towel idea. I always carry around an umbrealla and a small pack of cheap food bags. The umbrella comes in handy if it suddenly starts raining and I want to catch those stormy skies without getting my camera wet. The cheap food bags have a similar use – they can be used as quick cheap temporary rain covers for your camera and lens. They are see through and thin so you can still see and use the controls without any difficulty. Any lens cleaners used to remove rain from your lens then get put into one of the food bags before going in my rucksack, so keeping the moisture away from the rest of the contents of my rucksack, and they are great for those moments when you are halfway through eating a sandwich/a sausage roll/a piece of cake and you need somewhere to put your food while you’re jumping up to get that shot you’ve been waiting for.
Emm
Hi Gavin,
I always carry and use tape, not Sellotape, but nurses tape. Its not as sticky, but it’s just as durable, easier to use, won’t wrap around itself and up your arm and pull off the tiny hairs on the back of your hand, and it’s great for holding down backdrops without leaving marks or tearing the paper.
It’s a must have in my camera bag
Cheers
Daf
The cheap shower caps you find in Hotels !! Great to keep the rain off your camera and lens !!
Hi Gavin,
I always take with me a laser pointer: If you find yourself having to take a night shot and your subject isn’t very bright, you can use that little red dot to focus on it! Once you can clearly see the dot you know you correctly focused on your subject! Mine also doubles as a LED torch, and it has a little ballpoint pen on it too!! Very useful and awefully cheap! 😀
The beer towel is a complete win! 😀
have a nice night!
Antonello
A sun compass, and a huge plastic sheet, the sort that is sometimes used for parcels as it’s more durable than a bin liner. I use that for lying on when I need a low angle for landscapes. When it gets mucky, take it home and hose it off in the back yard and leave to dry ready for next time!
Hi Gav Useful things, well aside from the the beer towel I did use microfibre cloths to clean equipment on the outside, however when doing weddings I find the most useful item I have is ” tv aerial wire” Aerial wire I hear you say, hmm with a couple of small model makers clips attached to each end , i can can use them effectively to hold up the Brides wedding veil for those all important veil blowing in the wind shot, now of course alot of people use someones hand etc which has it’s issues in post production, but with this little thing you can barely see it,and if you can barley see it in Lightroom or photoshop then your well on your way to spot healing it away…
Gavin – I like your additions – I need to buy some balloons
It took me a day or to of practice but balloon modelling is a skill you never loose. As well as a dog I can also do a sword and a worm… ok the last one is less impressive!
Nothing puts a smile on an babies face quicker than a couple of blows from a Dust Rocket.
I always carry a set of different sized knitting needles in my rucksack. They are very useful for flower photography. All you do is stick them in the ground either side of the stem of an orchid or flower and use a twist tie that seal bread/roll bags to hold it steady. It will reduce the flower movement by about 70% and mean the difference between getting a sharp shot or a blurred one. Only works when photographing the flower head.
Also, if you are sitting waiting for the light to improve you could always take a ball of wool with you and `knit one, pearl two ….!
I like things that have a duel use Roger. Thanks for the great tip 🙂
I carry zip lock bags in my back pack in case i get caught in the rain while on a long walk from my car. That probably what some of you are calling food bags. I don’t have a lot of equipment so i carry a bag for each lens and for my one camera. but most of the time all my equipment lives in my pelican case which is water proof.
One question i have is just a lens getting wet from the rain all that serious?
I have one 200 – 500 mm lens that doesn’t fit a bag very well. but i usually don’t take it out unless i plan on using it, By the time I put it om my camera and hang it around my neck it feels like it weighs a ton. Cheer ya’ll.
If the lens is weather sealed the rain shouldn’t be a problem. If not it’s probably a good idea to avoid extended periods of exposure to rain.
The Wife… She is not classed as “Photographic Equipment” – but very useful. Directs people, holds stuff, moves stuff, keeps me amused and get the tea in )
Nice 🙂
But does she fit in your bag Spen? If not then I might have to dissallow this one 😉
lol… Just tried – and she did not 😉 – Plus she hit me with the bag…
….have a great Friday all.
Spen
Blu Tack – 2nd most useful thing, after the towel
Blu-Tak and Duck Tape… absolute essentials in my studio too 🙂
Where can I buy the multi-tool card in Sweden or on the net?
Check out E-bay for multi-tools. Pages of them.
I also like the beer towel idea. Thanks.
Here are some items I keep in my kit.
Tiny bottle of DEET insect repellant.
Black Neoprene beer cozy with its bottom cut off. Useful to protect a small lens stored in my bag and can be used as an impromptu sun shade or snoot.
Note pad and pen.
Roll of doggy clean up bags. These come in a roll not much larger than a 35 mm film canister. Useful to protect equipmment
Pen or key chain light
Rubber bands
Black electrical or friction tape.
Small carabiner attached to bag strap ring. Not only can it hold a set of keys but serves as a quick means of attaching the bag to the base of a tripod.