The glorious spring clamp: helper of hobbyists, buddy of builders, crony of carpenters.

And now, we have 3 ways to make it the most useful object a photographer can have!

1. Instant fill light — Use a clamp to hold a piece of mirror or white cardstock when photographing small items.

   Bouncing light off a card fills in shadows and instantly makes any shot better. (Ya hear that, Ebayers?)

2. Clip-anywhere camera mount — Spring clamps have holes just the right size for a 1/4-inch screw. Convenient, eh?

   Use a thumbscrew and your camera’s tripod mount to attach your camera to the clamp. Then clip it anywhere a regular tripod can’t reach!

   You can fancy it up by attaching a mini tripod head, or use an umbrella adapter to hold a flash unit.

3. Portable lighting stand — Need a bit more flexibility? Use a length of Loc-Line tubing to create a clamp mount with a flexible arm that holds a flash unit.

   Not in a DIY kind of mood? You can buy the new commercial version, but the price tag will probably put you in a DIY mood.

So much utilitarian goodness from one little clamp. How you gonna beat that, bucko?

How to Make a Clip-Anywhere Camera Mount

How to Make a Flexible Lighting Clamp

p.s. If you couldn’t get to our Guide to the Most Perfectest Panoramas on Monday, here’s the link. Sorry ’bout that!

Photo credits: Matthew G. Monroe, six million dollar dan

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