Direct flash where you want with a DIY clamp. We show you how to make one at home
(Image credit: Digital Camera Magazine)
Off-camera flash is one of the most effective ways to introduce extra light into your shots - and particularly if you are being forced to work indoors.
However, with one hand taken up by holding the camera and the other directing the light, it’s often a juggling act to get the composition and the direction of the lighting to work in harmony.
The solution is to use a simple flash clamp, which you could make at home – with bits you may well have lying around. We converted a spring clamp (usually used for DIY) using a bolt, a few nuts and washers, a mini ball head we found in a drawer, and a handy cold shoe adapter called a Frio. You can find links for stores offering the key components online, if you don't have these.
Drill a 1/4 inch hole through one of the handles of a clamp. Don’t make the hole too large because you want as little play as possible. Screw a nut onto a 1/4 inch bolt.
Now push this bolt through the hole in the handle, then thread a washer on, then screw on the second nut. Ensure that there’s little or no movement once the nut is tight.
Add another nut, a washer, and another nut. Doing this will enable you to tighten the group under the small ball head once attached, keeping the whole unit tight.
The ball head should have a standard 1/4 inch thread at the base. Attach it to the bolt, then adjust the group of nuts with a spanner so they sit tightly under the ball head.
Once the ball head is secure, screw the Frio coldshoe directly onto the top of the head. Make sure that everything is tight and secure. Your flash will now slot directly into the Frio.
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