Separate Your Flash From Your Camera With A PVC Bracket
One of the good things about on-camera flash is that it travels with you. Sure, this on axis light gives a really terrible flat light and red eyes, but it is always with you. you'd most likely get better, more directional light from an off camera flash, but setting this up takes time and space, which You don't always have.
This is why they invented the flash brackets, and why Jerry Hamby made a PVC version of it. A flash bracket is a contraption that attaches to the camera and creates some distance between the flash and the lens. (Bye, bye red eyes).
When your flash is on a bracket you would need to trigger it and you can do so with a sync cable, a TTL cable or (if your flash supports it) trigger it wirelessly. And before the comments start poring about this, we know that the lens cap is on, this is just for illustration)
Materials
- 3 ft x 1” or ¾” PVC pipe
- 1 x 45-degree elbow
- 2-3 x 90-degree elbows
- 1 x Cross and/or 1 T
- 1 x end cap
- 1 x flash adapter
- 1 x ½” x ¼” screw
- 1 x 1” screw for camera plate
Tools
- Small saw (table, hand, hack, miter box, etc.)
- Screwdriver
- Drill with bits
Instructions
The first thing that we build will be the camera plate - this part will attach to the bottom of the camera (kinda like a tripod plate).
Start by cutting off a 9 inch section of the PVC pipe. Having a piece longer than you need will allow for cutting at either end and adjusting to you desires.
Mark the pipe with magic marker at six inches.
By far the most difficult part is cutting off the top 1/3 of the nine-inch section back to the 6 inch mark. Those 6 inches of sawed pipe will act as a camera bed - the camera will rest on and be screwed to the level six-inch section.
I used a saber saw on a table utilizing the table fence and guard. The guard should be used when sawing the piece.
I used the 45-degree elbow because my shoulders are broad and my joints old. This allows me to have the handle farther away from the camera and forward of the camera. If you do not need this adaptation then use only the 90-degree joint to the left of the nine-inch PVC piece.
Drill appropriate holes in the nine-inch piece to screw the camera to the handle.
A piece of rubber mat or kitchen scrub pad will serve as a pad between the camera and nine inch PVC.
Drill a hole in the end cap and screw the flash adapter to the end cap.
From that point on it is cut and slip into place. The configurations are endless.
This configuration allows for the camera to be in the right hand and the flash a foot to the left and above the lens. This is the configuration I use almost exclusively. It will negate the probability of having flat images.
This configuration allows for getting the camera and flash closer. You only need to move the short PVC piece and the end cap.
This configuration allows for the camera to be on a vertical grip by only moving the end cap from the left to the right of the T or Cross.
It is very easy to attach the vertical grip to the camera and then back onto the flash bracket.
If you want the flash to be more elevated, simply put in a connector and a piece of PVC pipe.
A short piece of PVC pipe and a connector can be used at any point to change the configuration.
And Then Some...
You can use connectors and PVC pieces to add height or distance in any direction at any time.
You can shorten each piece by simply sawing short pieces off until it fits you.
After you find your comfort zone, either glue or peg the pieces into place to avoid the camera slipping out onto the ground.
You can then paint your bracket to match your camera or your eyes or your truck.
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Comments
GWC
Ummm, and have every model you shoot with it fleeing in fear screaming "GWC!!!!" :)
Here's an idea
Just put the flash in your left hand. It's highly adjustable and saves you the embarassment of associating your camera equipment with PVC piping.
+1 if you are going to use
+1 if you are going to use your left hand to hold the bracket anyway, you might as well just hold the flash. That's what I do.
Someone has too much time on
Someone has too much time on their hands.
WOAH
I am all for DIY but this looks ghetto! Clean it up a bit, you'll scare more than models!
[=P)
Yes but it's a great way to disguise a bong.
Great !! Thanks for sharing
Great !! Thanks for sharing !! But it would great if they could have removed the lens cap and taken the photos for the demonistration !!
this looks absolutely
this looks absolutely terrible and is far too bulky for the purpose it serves. Please use some discretion on the level of quality something has to be to be posted here.
Really?
I enjoy this website tremendously as most of the DIY projects here imitate professional products and they do a pretty good job at it.
This, on the other hand, I don't even have words for. I'm literally at a loss.
I hope that this is a fluke and the quality of the products of this website doesn't plummet. I'll be sad.
diy flash bracket
C'mon guys, be nice....
give the person credit for finding a creative way to disguise his crackpipe as a photographic accessory....
you put your crack in one end of the pipe, hold your lighter to it, and puff on the pipe while pretending to take photos.... with the lens cap on...
Seriously, Edison did not fail the first 1000 attempts at making a lightbulb, he discovered 1000 ways not to do it.
Credit for trying and sharing.
seriously though, even the flip brackets you can buy aren't that good compared to holding your flash in the hand...
I agree
I've built plenty of things, that weren't that good, for photography and otherwise, but they were stepping stones to better designs. I think its a decent concept, it just needs a little work, and perhaps a different material.
why so harsh?
I think the idea has merit, if mounted to a tripod, for macro shooting.... you could connect up a few pieces for dual flash set ups or add some spring clamps for holding reflectors or wind screens and take it all apart and toss it in a bag... I agree it ain't pretty, but if it works...
that's what I mean
When I tried to take my studio flower formula into the great outdoors it failed misrably. one of these with a few minor tweeks might be helpful.
Shouda listened to my gut
Easy! Easy now everybody! I should have listened to my gut. When I saw the pics with that bright white I should have listened to that little voice and gone right out and purchased some 3/4" materials, cut it down to size at the ends and painted it FLAT black. Even this 1" model looks far better when painted FLAT black. I have 10 or so flash frames. This cost $10 and they all cost considerably more. As contended, maybe I do have too much time on my hands, but what a thrill to DIY. Maybe someone can put up a model in 3/4", cut to size and painted. Or maybe that will be my morning effort tomorrow. Retirement is really fun.
omg
hahahahaha, funniest home pictures LOL xD
Wow, if this is the kind of
Wow, if this is the kind of content that makes the site I think I'm removing it from my bookmarks right now...
(I wonder what kind of stuff gets submitted that they turn away!)
PVC cost
By the time I'd bought those PVC bits in the UK I suspect I'd be pretty close to the £10 amazon light stand and a cheap eBay cold shoe bracket, which would be far cleaner looking and allow the use of a modifier also.
I just can't see anyone using that in public.
Great idea to attach the
Great idea to attach the flash to a portable end cap.
And the reason why this idea is better than holding the flash in your hand is obvious: a more stable camera to get a sharper picture.
Are you really worried about
Are you really worried about sharpness when you're shooting with a flash?
yes
Yes. Using the light of the flash as *only* light source will make you a poor picture.
Great DIY tips! Very
Great DIY tips! Very Creative!
GET OVER YOURSELVES
What a bunch of jerks. Isn't this site a place to explore photography and different methods to do it on the cheap? Constructive criticism or suggestions on how to make a project better should be welcome, but outright bashing?... JEEZ!!... It seems the trolls are getting thicker and more vicious here.
This project is a perfectly good method of doing exactly what the author states. Is it genius? No. Is it pretty?, No. But it is mildly clever... and maybe a good cheap way of exploring flash separation and trying out different configurations prior to building or buying something better.
Yes, you probably wouldnt want to pull this thing out on a high end professional shoot but if you are doing that kind of work you probably can afford something better... and that makes you even more of a jerk for looking down your nose at those that can't.
I come to this site to see both the complicated near professional DIY fabrications and the simple cheap shoestring and bubble gum type solutions. Both have their uses and both can inspire further creativity in invention and in photography. Isn't that what this site is supposed to be all about??
thank you Mr. Wow
Thats all thank you
Where can order one of these
Where can order one of these cool looking things?
. . . talking about the flash unit
Not to beat a dead horse but. I just imagined..
....Showing up at a wedding with that attached to my camera lol. Sorry had to get that out.
flash adapter
Give more information on the flash adapter...like were to get it?
Seriously?
What a WANKER!!!!
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