This amazing and simple device is incredibly useful in closeup photography. The plamp is named by combining plant and clamp. It has a clamp on each end of it which is connected by rigid, but bendable plastic tubing so it can take on any shape. We use the plamp constantly for stabilizing wildflowers so they won’t blow in a light breeze. Sometimes we use two plamps at the same time, one for bracing the subject, and the second one for moving a splash of color, such as a yellow blossom into the background. We also use them for holding a reflector or diffuser in position, and for holding the feeding tube on a hummingbird feeder still, so it won’t move in the breeze.

Although the instructions that come with the plamp advise attaching one end to the tripod leg and the other end to the wildflower, we never do this. It is much more effective to buy a cheap light stand or tripod, and attach the plamp to that. Then, when you move your tripod, you won’t jerk the subject if it is still attached. When using the plamp carefully, you never injure the subject either. The plamp is amazingly effective and a very necessary part of our bag, especially for closeup images.

We often use reflectors and diffusers to control the light illuminating our subject. Our favorite is the five-in-one reflector/diffuser. This lighting device comes in it’s own carrying case. When unfolded, it snaps open to form a circle. A reflector surface snaps over the circle with the metal frame. The reflector surface has four choices. One side is all white and the other side is all gold. If you turn it inside out, one side is a combination of gold and silver which we call soft gold. The fourth side is all silver. We primarily use the white side when we don’t want to introduce a color cast such as a white flower. If we want to add warm color to the subject, then we use the all gold side or the soft gold side. The inner disc with the metal frame has a white diffuser stretched over it. This is ideal for turning bright sun into instant bright overcast light. We use and recommend two sizes which include the 22-inch and 32-inch reflector/diffuser. The 22-inch reflector does a fine job nearly all of the time. However, when you need a diffuser, the bigger the diffuser the better. You must diffuse the bright sun on the subject and the background, so it must cover a large area. Therefore, we nearly always take our 32-inch five-in-one reflector/diffuser when shooting images.