Rubber bands are cheap, easy to carry around, and can turn you into a veritable Macgyver when combined with various other simple objects. Don’t believe me? Here are some ways I’ve used them while shooting.

1. Rubber band + plastic bag over your flash: Cheap diffuser. Or use colored plastic to add a little fake gel effect
2. Rubber band + folded paper/index card attached behind the flash: Reflector, good for adding catch light with on-camera flash
3. Rubber band + folded paper/index card attached on one side of a strobe or a flash: Used as a cutter or to prevent lens flare
4. Rubber band + paper wrapped around the entire flash, creating a barrel off of the end of the flash: Makeshift snoot
5. Rubber band: Shoot it at uncooperative subjects
6. Rubber band + paper wrapped around front end of the lens: Lens hood…use dark paper for this
7. Rubber band: Keep a broken lens cover from falling off
8. Rubber band: Secure a transmitter/transceiver/cord/etc to a pole or tripod
9. Cut a small hole in a plastic bag, put the end of your lens through it, secure with a rubber band and pull bag over camera for quick camera protection from the elements. I suggest using a plastic lens hood to protect the front of your lens if you do this
10. Rubber Band: Keep a subject’s hair out of the way

Bam! There’s ten off the top of my head. And I’m sure there are plenty more. The important thing to remember is to keep a few in your camera bag. You never know when you will need to rig something. Between rubber bands and duct tape, you could probably save the world. If you have any creative photography uses for rubber bands, leave them in the comments section…