Peter's Photo Blog

Last week I posted about how to make your own L bracket for a portable Strobist style flash unit. That allows the photographer to shoot strobe directly into the center of an umbrella mounted on an umbrella bracket. (link is here)

These work great, but sometimes the sun is so bright that you really need 2 strobes to overpower the sun. There are some solutions like bungee cording the 2nd strobe to the light stand, but do you really want to do that with a $350 flash unit? Also, you could set up another light stand to fire into the same umbrella, but who wants to carry around 10 light stands at all times?

Keeping in the DIY spirit of the strobist and of the Home depot posts I knew I could manufacture a replacement that was sturdy, lightweight, compact, and inexpensive. I simply needed a way to attach 2 of the same L brackets I manufactured. All I needed was a piece of metal with 3 holes in it that was small and sturdy. The solution is kind of suprising but I found it in a metal door hinge that only cost $3 or so.

The double bracket is made from the same parts as the original L bracket that I made. One of these days i'm going to borrow someone's chisel and knock off the extra half of the door hinge that I don't need

The parts you need are:
One door hinge
Two 1 1/2" Corner Braces
One 1/4" - 20 Wingnut
Two 1/4" - 20 x 1/2" Machine screws (and the nuts that go with them)
Ten 1/4" Cut Washers (3 on the back of each hotshoe mount and 2 on the back of the door hinge w/ the nut)

Tools you need:
Phillips and Flat head screwdrivers
A Socket wrench with a 1/4 bit
pliers

The holes are a tight fit so you might want to use some gloves too b/c brute strength might be necessary

Enjoy!