Yes, I have a DSLR camera in my camera bag. Shock! And various lenses and a flash and all the bits and bobs that go along with it. But I do also have a few items stashed away in my camera bag that would puzzle and fascinate some people. So I thought I would share this with you today; the 5 weirdest items in my camera bag are:

1. Light coloured tulle material, just enough to make a halo around my lens. My motto is always to try do things in camera first, and then just do a bit of finishing and correcting in Lightroom and Photoshop. So rather than adding haze or filters after the fact, I have a lot of fun playing around with translucent material such as tulle, during my photo sessions. I will place this material in front of my lens, or just around the edges. I love the soft dreamy effect this creates, so I now make sure I keep a small amount as standard in my bag.

2. Prism. This is a fairly new addition to my  camera bag, and I am having a lot of fun experimenting with the distortions of light and colour that this little gizmo creates. It also makes me think of high school science class, and the geeky facts about white light splitting into all the colours of the rainbow, some of which I happen to catch during my favourite shoots. Here’s the prism which I keep in my camera bag if you would like to have a play with this too.

3. Film cameras. Ok, I know this isn’t THE weirdest item, but I included this mostly because I realised that so many people will not think of going near an old school film camera in today’s mega speedy age. For me, I love the process (it forces me to slow down and really LOOK at what’s in front of me) as well as the beautiful results of using these cameras. Usually it’s my old Minolta XD5 film camera or my Polaroid in my camera bag, but I also have a Diani Mini that occasionally get popped into my bag to shoot with towards the end of a shoot too.

4. Confetti. Because I LOVE IT. Confetti makes it’s way into a few of my shoots ’cause it is so much fun. It’s also a compact little item to instantly introduce colour and movement into a photo session.

5. Flower crowns. For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you will already know that flower crowns are my current spring obsession. These can be made from either fresh or artificial flowers (you get some AMAZING fake flowers nowadays that are super pretty). In fact, I did a tutorial on making a flower crown here.

Do you have something really unexpected in your handbag? I’d love to see it, so please do share and tag me on Facebook or Instagram.